Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 15 July 2009 10:38
Opinion and Analysis
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I was sceptical when Apple yielded to music industry pressure and accepted variable pricing for iTunes tracks. The introduction of the D45 (digital 45) suggested it might not all be bad, but I'm still not convinced.
Flat-rate pricing was a key feature of the iTunes Store - any track you like for 99c (US).
But in order to get DRM-free tracks, Apple had to concede this point and switch to variable pricing. And that, I thought, really meant higher prices even though the labels promised it would allow innovative deals.
The iTunes Store has begun selling D45s - bundles of two tracks, intended to mirror the A and B sides of the old vinyl 45 rpm discs.
D45s are initially available in the US.
How you respond to D45s probably depends on your memory of vinyl 45s. Apple describes them as "featuring two top-notch tunes for a great price."
I detect rose-tinted spectacles at work in Cupertino.
While I seem to remember some halfway-decent B sides, they were generally pretty ordinary.
Still, there were times when the public would ignore the record company's assumption and buy what was nominally the B side, and occasionally both sides of a single would make the charts - something I think The Beatles managed more than once.
By the 1970s, the practice of putting an instrumental version on the B side was well established. Indeed, "Rock and Roll Part 2" by the now notorious Gary Glitter received as much if not more attention than the nominal A side that included the vocals.
The good news is that remixes and backing tracks seem to be the exception among Apple's initial offering of D45s. Of the 24 featured, Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" appears to be the only one that fails to deliver a pair of songs.
What about the prices? Are the B sides also B grade songs? Find out on
page 2.
