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 Stephen Withers turns his gaze on the world of Apple, with
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Technology news and Jobs 
Our Blogs Core Dump iTunes Store finally allowed to drop DRM - at a price
Our Blogs Core Dump iTunes Store finally allowed to drop DRM - at a price | iTunes Store finally allowed to drop DRM - at a price |
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| by Stephen Withers | |
| Wednesday, 07 January 2009 | |
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In what could be seen as a major backdown, Apple is dropping its 'all one price' model for music sold through the iTunes Store. Instead of charging a flat rate of $US0.99 per track, the iTunes Store will from April list songs at $US0.69, $US0.99 or $US1.29. The prices will reflect the wholesale rate charged by the record companies. Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that many more songs would be priced at $US0.69 than $US1.29, but it seems probable that new songs from big-name artists will initially attract higher prices than those from the back catalogues or minor performers - otherwise what is the point of variable pricing? According to Apple officials, most albums will remain at $US9.99. Customers will be able to upgrade previously purchased songs to unprotected versions for $US0.30 per track. Major labels have wanted variable pricing for some time, and some of them are believed to have insisted on it as a precondition for Apple to sell DRM-free tracks. While other online music retailers such as Amazon have offered a full range of DRM-free music for some time, the majority of the iTunes catalogue has only been offered with Apple's FairPlay DRM. Also new is over-the-air downloads from the iTunes Store to the iPhone 3G. Please read on. |
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