Europe Not Humming Apple's iTune

The apparent change of heart "is an interesting way for him to shift the argument -- or the blame -- to the record labels," says Richard Stice, an equity analyst with Standard & Poor's. "I think it's a pretty smart move."

"It's critical that (Apple) be viewed as being pro-consumer because that's where the majority of their customers come from," he says. Stice does not own Apple shares and his firm does not do investment banking.

iPod sales in Europe helped Apple post record sales in its latest December quarter. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company sold 21 million iPods overall, a 50% boost over the same period a year ago.

"IPod shipments grew even faster in international markets, which resulted in share-gains in every country for which we have market data," CFO Peter Oppenheimer said on its latest earnings call, according to SeekingAlpha.com. "This gives us confidence that our emphasis on advertising, channel development and improved supply in these markets has been effective."

On the call, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said that iPods in the U.K, Switzerland, Canada, Australia and Japan have all pushed past 50% of the digital music player-market share. France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Austria and Denmark all gained between 10 and 20 percentage points of share in the quarter year over year.

Peeling Apple

Richard Staeuber, a lawyer and Ph.D candidate at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, has been researching interoperability in the European music market and says there have been several approaches to challenging Apple: confronting the issue through consumer protection, copyright or antitrust laws.