Chinese authorities have blocked all access to the iTunes music store, ostensibly due to one single album out of the over 8 million or so songs, that doesn’t groove well with them.
The album in question, entitled ‘Songs for Tibet’, includes tracks such as “great firewall of China,” criticizing the the unfair treatment that Tibetans have faced for so many years.
Michael Wohl, executive director of the Art of Peace Foundation, the group that had released the album, said “We issued a release saying that over 40 (Olympic) athletes downloaded the album in an act of solidarity, and that’s what triggered it…then everything got blocked.”
While Apple does not have localized iTunes operations, users that had iTunes accounts based in other countries, were able to access the iTunes store until the block was initiated. The Chinese government is said to employ nearly 30,00 individuals to block access to web material that is found to be unacceptable.
Several notable artists have appeared on Songs for Tibet (iTunes link), including Alanis Morissette, Garbage, Imogen Heap, Moby, Sting, Suzanne Vega, Underworld and several others. The album also includes a 15 minute oration from the Dali Lama himself. Proceeds from sales of the album went to help support “peace initiatives and Tibetan cultural preservation projects important to the Dalai Lama,” says the iTunes description.
[via Wired]
