iTunes faces music price hikes -- CNN

[BrightKnight]

http://money.cnn.com/2006/04/04/technology/business2_browser0404/index.htm?cnn=yes

"SAN FRANCISCO (Business 2.0 Magazine) - You'd think Steve Jobs would be the hero of the music industry, after a year in which online music sales almost tripled to $1.1 billion. But no. The record labels are again pressuring Apple (Research) to raise prices at the iTunes Music Store from 99 cents a song. Apple and the labels are renegotiating deals struck when its music store launched three years ago, and a key issue is variable pricing -- the right to charge more for singles from a hot band, and less for music from lesser-known acts. But charging more could backfire, since pirated music is still widely available to consumers on file-sharing networks, Needham & Co. analyst Charlie Wolf told the Associated Press: " have an alternative -- they can get it for free.""

"Record labels aren't the only ones who want a bigger cut of digital sales -- Hollywood wants in on the action, too..."

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There is a worm in my Apple.

[BlooInBloo]

1. I'm sooooo glad....

... I don't use either Idiot-Tunes or cds....

[rocktivity]

2. Wouldn't if work better the hot songs cost less and the rare ones more?

Don't they realize that this will only force the digital music back underground again? And do they honestly believe that we won't notice that they want the extra money simply BECAUSE they WANT the extra money? People are patronizing iTunes PRECISELY because they feel they're being treated fairly. Apple should start their own record label, that's what they should do!

:headbang:
rocknation

[BlooInBloo]

3. Might wanna take a class in basic microeconomics...

supply/demand curves, equilibrium, and the like.

[rocktivity]

4. There is NOTHING "economic" about chasing your customers away!

:headbang:
rocknation

[BlooInBloo]

6. I stand corrected. An econ class probably wouldn't do much for you.

[Deja Q]

5. Good - I prefer lesser known, outdated brands.

Oops, artists.