For a long time I’ve had to make use of my US iTunes Store account for purchasing music here in South Africa. But that will no longer be necessary. Yesterday on December 4, Apple officially launched the iTunes Store here in South Africa. Locals can now download music (and more) directly from the iTunes store without having to use international accounts.

This is great news for the local music industry and will open many doors for new and upcoming artists who aren’t signed with large record labels or who can’t necessarily afford their own physical CD distribution. Music lovers will also benefit from no longer having to purchase physical CD’s and manually “rip” them to their MP3 players – Instead a quick and easy digital download will do the trick. And best of all; It’s legal and you’ll be supporting the wonderful artists who provide you with hours of music listening pleasure.

Digital media is the way forward!

Apple released the following statement on Tuesday:

Apple® today announced the launch of the iTunes Store® in Russia, Turkey, India, South Africa and 52 additional countries featuring an incredible selection of local and international music from all the major labels and thousands of independent labels. The iTunes Store features local artists including Elka in Russia, Sezen Aksu in Turkey, AR Rahman in India, and Zahara in South Africa, international artists including The Beatles, Taylor Swift and Coldplay, and world-renowned classical musicians including Lang Lang, Yo Yo Ma and Yuja Wang. Customers can choose from over 20 million songs available to purchase and download on the iTunes Store. 

Click [here] to read the full press release on Apple.com

Click [here] to download iTunes 11 for Mac or PC. Or shop iTunes from your iOS device.