Shock! Disbelief! Amazon MP3 and Walmart ALSO Raise MP3 Prices!
Stop me if you've heard this one before. Apple announces in January that iTunes will switch from fixed pricing ($0.99) to variable pricing ($1.29, $0.99, $0.69) on music singles in April. Reports follow that show Apple was forced to concede on variable pricing -- something long demanded by the music labels -- in exchange for getting permission to provide over the air (OTA) music downloads via the 3G and EDGE networks on the iPhone. (Whether that concession was ultimately good or bad for consumers we'll argue another day).
April comes, and just as Apple says, variable pricing hits the US iTunes Store. And the interwebs darn near 'splodes in crazy. Apple is the devil. Amazon is cheaper. People will flock to MP3. Here's a great way to switch over to buying from some store that is other!
The sun sets, the furor spreads, a new day dawns and -- Boom! -- we find out Amazon MP3 and Walmart are -- surprise surprise -- also raising prices.
Shocked. Shocked are we to find out gouging is going on by Big Media!
[via Macworld]
Editor-in-Chief of iMore, Executive Producer at Mobile Nations, co-host of Iterate and ZEN and TECH, cook, grappler, photon wrangler.
| Tweet |
|
|
← Previously
Apple Sued Over Multi-Touch PatentsLeave a Reply
Note: Comments must be civil, respectful, and on-topic. If a comment does not add to the conversation, if it contains spam advertising, or inappropriate language or content, it will be removed. Insulting the topic, author, staff, site, network, or other commenters will result in the comment being marked as spam and potential prevent future comments from appearing on the site. Do not post as a business or your comment will likely be confused with spam. Comments containing links may be held for moderation. Relax, enjoy, and share in the discussion.
"And the interwebs darn near ’splodes in crazy"
LOL.... good form Petah... good form.
This will probably force people to downloading illegally more often. $1.29 for one song is kind of ridiculous if you ask me.
As if the Internet community needed more of a reason to download illegally.
Isn't it called inflation?
They also gave into record companies to get DRM free tracks as the norm. So for 29 cents more you get DRM free and a much higher bitrate so it's not that bad.
Another part of me is actually happy becuase I love music / bands, but now everyone just downloads one track from here, one track from there. It's kind of sad the idea of an album is almost gone. I say this because it seems like the album prices are still at $9.99, maybe encourage people to buy albums again.
Yea know i've been waiting for the uproar today, now that the other stores have raised their prices. Apple at least told us they were going to
@Justin Well then not all but most bands should have more then 1 or 2 songs on their album worth buying. These days if you buy a album you are usually buying it for 1 or 2 tracks since many tracks are garbage these days...
Recording industry= biggest idiots. I was ok with 99 cents a song, but song be paying 1.29 for it
Won't.......stupid iPhone
Are there any anti-trust lawyers working in the Obama Administration yet?
Sadly, I've heard Biden is pro Big Media, and they'll be staffing with pro-ACTA/DMCA types
Off-topic, but I just want to see the rappers, hip-hoppers, and other worthless freaks disappear for good sometime before I die. How long are brainless trendy fools going to support these illiterate ret@rds? My colon has more musical talent.
Until music is offered uncompressed I'll never purchase music for download OTA or otherwise.
@Steve: Please refrain from pointing fingers as the "worthless freaks" as you so eliquently put it, exist across all genres of music. One that same note they will continue to exist as long as people buy what their selling.
@Wyatt:
Please refrain from your OTA download opinions. They will exist as long as people want to download that way.
Prices went up from $1.69 to $2.19, including some pretty average selling singles from a decade ago. Instead of buying them through iTunes, as I planned - I downloaded then via a torrent!
Inflation!!! Now! The prices are falling down due to the current market situation "financial crisis". I don't know how did they think that people are willing to pay more.
This is why I get my songs for free. I won't give them $ to drive around in 100k cars.
Steve, that reminds me...anyone see the new south park this week? The kanye west bit had me rollin
No problem
You are a very articulate speaker. This is a well reasoned site.