I’m frustrated today. I had a wild hair to pick up a single track from an album by UK group The Beautiful South. I’ve got several of their discs, but this particular track has eluded me, so I figured I’d fire up iTunes, and see if the iTunes Music Store had it.

They did — yay!

One click, and I got the following:

Bummer. So, despite being displayed something for sale, along with a US price, I cannot buy it. A deep dive into the iTMS support site was less than supportive. Lots of folks are complaining about the same thing, and there’s lots of information that says you can’t buy stuff that’s not homed in your country’s store. So, for example, a ex-pat cannot buy music from their home country unless their new country’s store happens to carry it. What’s the likelihood of a Jamaican iTMS store carrying Bollywood music? I suspect it’s pretty low.

The claim seems to be that the rights for the music across borders is complicated, and while that’s a bad situation, I understand it at least. What I don’t understand is why iTMS, which already knows I have a US-only account, will show me things that I have absolutely no way of purchasing through them.

That’s the problem, and the point of the rant. Apple knows for what region/country my account is valid — all I ask is that I not be taunted with things I really can’t get. Urgh. So much for the ease and convenience of virtual purchases, eh?!

Guess it’s off to eBay to pick up a physical CD!