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"In what is a clear sign of the times, struggling entertainment giant Sony has finally given in to Apple and opened its catalogue of music to users of the US company's iTunes service in its native Japan, ending an 8-year long shutout.\r\n\r\nThe Nikkei reports that the service began yesterday in what is further proof of Apple's domination of the online and personal entertainment devices spaces that Sony once ruled. Sony put up eight years of resistance, during which the Nikkei says it &amp;quot;long refused overtures from Apple&amp;quot;,\u00A0but it has quietly abandoned that stance in a move that, somewhat tellingly, has not been publicly communicated by Sony Entertainment Japan.\r\n\r\nSony went halfway to\u00A0accommodating Japan-based Apple users in July of this year when made its Japanese music collection, which includes songs from popular artists like\u00A0Ikimonogakari, Toshinobu Kubota and Kana Nishino, available via a separate system. Though it had come to an agreement for overseas markets some time ago, Sony Japan picked\u00A0music distributor\u00A0Recochoku\u00A0as the middleman to supply its tracks to Apple owners.\r\n\r\nNow, however -- as Japan-based Serkan Toto pointed out on Twitter -- those in the Asian country can buy and stream Sony-owned music for around 250 yen (roughly $3.10) per track, with albums priced near the 2,000 yen ($25.00) mark.\r\n\r\nSony is said to be using Apple's own sound quality rate of 256 kilobits per second and, more interestingly, it is not using its DRM technology which will allow users to download music to a range of other devices too.\r\n\r\nTruly this is the end of an era or, at least, the end of a period of long-standing, stubborn resistance from Sony Japan.\r\n\r\nSony's restructuring continues and the electronics giant reported second fiscal quarter net losses of\u00A0$158 million, despite bringing in $20 billion in revenues during the period.\r\n\r\nSony provided further details on its restructuring plans last month, which includes the closure of a lens factory and culling of 2,000 jobs through early retirement. The reorganization, which\u00A0began back in April, will see overall headcount reduced by as much as 10,000.\r\n\r\nHeadline image via\u00A0Kazuhiro Nogi\u00A0/ AFP / Getty Images,\u00A0thanks to Serkan Toto"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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