Ammon News - At last, Apple lovers can download their favourite music after an 11-year wait.
The California-based iPhone manufacturer announced yesterday that iTunes - an online commercial music store founded in 2001 is now open to UAE subscribers and beyond in the region who can purchase songs for as little as 99 cents each.

Users can also buy their music using local currency, Apple officials said in a statement, following years of Apple users being forced to download music from other online or private sources.

Prices for individual artist songs are between Dh4.09 and Dh4.99 while albums range between Dh17.99 and Dh29.99, said the company responsible for other blockbusters such as the iPad and the iPod which share the exclusive Apple platform as iPhone.

Both Arabic and English titles are present, Apple said yesterday, but the UAE store will not in its infancy offer as much variety as in the US.

“We are happy for Apple to launch iTunes officially in the UAE and have been waiting for a very long time,” Claudius Boller, Business Development Director at Universal Music Mena, told Gulf News.

The launch of iTunes will “definitely increase competition in the market as demand for music is growing in the region,” Boller said.

Apple has launched ITunes in Russia, Turkey, India, South Africa and 52 additional countries featuring an incredible selection of local and international music labels.