iTunes has opened four new stores in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland today.

The stores will sell music from all four major music companies and over 1,000 independent record labels, including exclusives from Stereophonics and the Cardigans.

Since its launch just two years ago, the iTunes music store has extended its reach to more than 70 per cent of the global music market with stores in 19 countries and more than 400 million songs purchased and downloaded worldwide.

In the UK alone, iTunes is said to command around 35 per cent of the UK singles market and bears massive influence in the music industry.

“The iTunes music store has revolutionized the way we discover and enjoy music, and is now selling more than half a billion songs per year,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of applications.

“With iTunes music stores now in 19 countries, music fans around the world can enjoy the number one online music service in the world.”

The launch of the Australian store, also due for this week, has been postponed because of a contract dispute with at least one of the record labels. 

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