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When copying links to stuff in iTunes or Mac App Store, I always get a countrycode-specific link. Is there any way to get a generic one?

If not, will those links resolve to national-specific iTunes destinations when people from abroad click on it?

E.g, might this lead to some other store except the Swedish one?

http://itunes.apple.com/se/artist/nash-the-slash/id160526527

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15

You can remove the country code from the URL, so it reads http://itunes.apple.com/artist/nash-the-slash/id160526527. That gives you a valid iTunes URL, that if opened in a browser (that doesn't auto-open iTunes), appears to be the same as if the link were a US link.

However when any iTunes link is opened in iTunes itself, it will attempt to redirect to the version in the user's local store. I.e. when I click on the link you posted, I get sent to the same item in the Canadian store.

If the item isn't available in the Canadian store, I get a message like this: dialog for unavailable content

So, you should be safe using country-specific store links, and iTunes will handle the redirection as appropriate.

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  • However my iPhone is now in the wrong store to receiving a country specific URL and won't update as I am not in the correct country – user151019 Nov 14 '12 at 10:22
  • This should probably be asked as a separate question, but on the iPhone, which iTunes store you're in can be controlled from the iTunes Account settings, which you'll find by going to Settings → iTunes & App Stores, tapping on your Apple ID at the top, then View Apple ID, and tap Country/Region. – robmathers Nov 14 '12 at 16:29
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I think there is a better way to this, as it is described here: https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#qa/qa1633

You can use something like: http://appstore.com/<appname> for example, http://appstore.com/keynote

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1

A "generic" or "global" iTunes / App Store link has less to do with the two letter country code in the URL and everything to do with ID.

If the link is recognized / available in the "target" iTunes / App Store country specific storefront you are golden, if not you just served up an error message.

For example (look at the IDs in each link):

Apps (Tetris from EA):

Music (Adele's 21):

We (GeoRiot) have found that "artist" links (either for a musician/band or app developer) are your best bet for an ID that works internationally but still don't have 100% success.

For specific products, we've found the following rates of links not working for international clicks (based on top 300 items in each category, originate from a US based iTunes / App Store link and tested in the UK, Germany, Australia, and Japan storefronts):

  • 8% to 12% of the time for Apps
  • 65% to 75% for Music
  • 50% to 75% for Books (native language plays in here)
  • 60% to 85% for TV shows / episodes (again language is a major factor)
  • 50% to 98% for Movies (language again playing in big here)

If you really want to dive into the specific availability of a link then you can check out this tool we put together: GeoRiot Link Availability Tool (beta)

I hope that helps!

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  • 2
    The reason you are seeing disparity in apps is more than likely the fact that the builds are different binaries. At the time of my post, the two Tetris versions are actually 0.1mb different in size. – bojo May 20 '15 at 8:03

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