It looks like Russia might finally be getting Apple’s music service as a small group of people in Russia received invitations from Apple to an iTunes event in Moscow on the evening of December 4. The email, sent by one of Apple’s PR people in Russia, Irina Efremova, reportedly doesn’t reveal many details, and just notes that the iTunes team will be holding an invite-only musical evening at one of Moscow’s shopping centers, GUM, on Moscow’s Red Square.
Russia has been waiting for iTunes access for a while now. It was originally set to launch in October of this year, but was delayed indefinitely, according to a Russian News Agency.
Rumors have been circling about iTunes arriving in Russia for a little while now. Apple will reportedly sell songs cheaper in Russia for 11 to 20 rubles each, which is about $0.35 to $0.65 in the U.S. Some people have also reportedly been able to search for some music tracks in the Russian version of the App Store, which points towards a launch soon.
Up to now, the iTunes launch in Russia has seen major challenges. Russia is notorious for music piracy and the Intellectual Property Alliance named Russia one of the worst offenders when it comes to illegal, unauthorized content. One of Apple’s biggest delays in launching iTunes in Russia has apparently been due to negotiations with music labels over rights for the store.
Image Credit: RIA Novosti
