Apple on Wednesday announced that users in China can now enjoy Apple Music, as well as browse and download their entertainment from the iTunes Store and iBooks Store, marking the first time customers in the 1.33 billion people market will have access to Apple’s entertainment ecosystem with music, movies and books right at their fingertips.
“Customers in China love the App Store and have made it our largest market in the world for app downloads,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “One of the top requests has been more great content and we’re thrilled to bring music, movies and books to China, curated by a local team of experts.”
Apple Music
Apple Music in China comes with a catalog that combines music from popular Western artists such as Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran with that from local artists including Eason Chan, Li Ronghao, JJ Lin and G.E.M, with more music being added regularly.
Starting on September 30, the Chinese can sign up for a 3-month trial membership of Apple Music, after which a 10 RMB per month subscription fee will apply, or 15 RMB per month for a family plan providing service for up to six family members.
iTunes Movies
As for iTunes Movies, Chinese can rent or purchase flicks from a selection of local studios like Bona, Huayi Brothers and 1905, as well as Hollywood blockbusters on the iTunes Store such as “Jurassic World,” “Furious 7,” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron”. To celebrate iTunes Movies’ debut in China, Apple is offering the recent Chinese hit, “The Taking of Tiger Mountain,” for free to all customers in China for a limited time.
iTunes Movies in China have features like iTunes Extras and will be available starting at 5 RMB for rental in high-definition and 18 RMB to buy new releases in high-def.
iBooks
As mentioned before, the iBooks Store is now carrying both free and paid iBooks in China, with paid iBooks starting at 0.5 RMB. Some of the Chinese language books offered in the iBooks Store include “Big Head Son & Little Head Dad” by Zheng Chunhua, “The Family Belongings of Chinese People” by Ma Hongjie and Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight,” marking the first time the series will be available in a digital format.
Like iTunes Store customers in other countries, Apple’s fan in China can re-download their purchases to their iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices through the corresponding stores’ Purchased tab, regardless of which device they used to make the purchase.
Source: Apple