Australia Parliament investigating why Apple's digital goods cost more down under

By Simon Sage
last updated

The standing committee on infrastructure and communications in the Australian House of Representatives will be launching an investigation into why digital goods (such as iTunes music and iBooks) are priced so much more highly in Australia than elsewhere in the world. Traditionally, shipping costs drove prices up for physical goods, but for electronic files you're downloading, there's really no good reason for such a price disparity. Stephen Conroy, Australia's Minister of Communications, said in a recent letter:

There is evidence to suggest that the innovative use of technology is not always matched with innovative new business models in the case of products and services distributed online... I agree that Australian businesses and households should have access to IT software and hardware that is fairly priced relative to other jurisdictions … the global digital economy is likely to make it increasingly difficult to sustain business models that are based on a geographic carve-up of markets.

iOS apps in Australia don't really cost any more than they do over here, but there's a pretty big disparity in music prices. For example, Jack White's newest album, Blunderbuss, and Adele's, 21, cost $10.99 in the U.S., but $16.99 in Australia. I'm sure there are different taxes to be paid over there, but they can't be that huge. As for iBooks, there aren't many textbooks that have found their way to the Australian market since the big educational update. Pricing for iBooks can sometimes be even more expensive than a proper paperback, a situation which is exacerbated by a pricing model which is currently under scrutiny elsewhere, too.

Of course, Apple isn't the only one in the crosshairs. Adobe is charging $1400 more than the the U.S. version for one software package in Australia. Microsoft will also be called to explain its pricing model to the government over the course of the investigation, which will be launching sometime this year.

Australians, who have you found to charge the most inflated prices for digital downloads? Have the higher prices stopped you from buying software, music, or e-books?

Source: SMH

Simon Sage
Simon Sage

Editor-at-very-large at Mobile Nations, gamer, giant.

5 Comments
  • hadn't noticed as I don't buying much music atm anyway but you can be sure I wont be buying any now
    I hope to see plenty of scrutiny over prices for digital content as it's typically pretty bad for us here
  • Apple's not controlling the music prices anymore is it? That's all the music companies.
  • We've got a 10% GST, so that is part of it. There is various legislation regarding the pricing and distribution of books also, which would account for a difference there too.
    Let's keep in mind our minimum wage is about double what is in America, our lowest paid workers can earn upwards of $50/ hour on a public holiday, and $20/ hour at normal rates - so we've got much more cash to throw around too!
  • Digital game prices (though they match retail pricing) are ridiculously high here. Where on the US steam store you can buy a new game for ~$60, in Australia it will cost $20-$30 more. Skyrim for example is $90 in our steam store.
    When it costs $2.20 to buy a single song track and more to download a digital copy of a movie than it costs to buy it on DVD it's just ridiculous
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