Purchasing Music From Foreign iTunes Stores

Question

I had just recently discovered the option of "My Store" at the very bottom of iTunes which enables customers to view other iTunes stores all over the globe. When trying to purchase music from the Österreich iTunes store, I found I wasn't able to do so. I received an error message, as shown above, stating that I was only valid for purchases within the US iTunes store. My question is simple: Why are US iTunes customers not allowed to purchase items from foreign iTunes stores? I do know that you must register to one country in order to begin your iTunes experience (when you first download the program) but does that choice of a country really limit you to your range of music? Is this due to various licensing laws or problems with converting currency? Also, if customers are not allowed to purchase items from foreign stores, why are they allowed the option to view these stores? Answers to these questions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Answer 1

Yes, it's all about copyright and licensing. Currency conversion isn't at issue. In order to purchase music from a particular store, you have to have 1) a valid billing address in the country and 2) a credit card billed to that address or purchase gift cards in that country. It is quite possible that one person could have valid residence and billing information for more than one country. My parents, for a long time, maintained residences in both the U.S. and Canada, so if the iTunes Store had been available, they could have had two accounts, one U.S. and one Canadian.
Yes, it seems at odds with our global economy but intellectual property law has really caught up to the twentieth century yet.