Filed under: iPod Family, iTS, iPhone
How much is an iTunes download worth?
How much is an iTunes download worth? About 70 cents, if conventional wisdom is correct. That's the commonly quoted number for the iTunes money that gets passed back to the record labels. And according to the New York Times today, the record labels are angling for more. They argue that broadband music sales through the mobile iTunes store somehow should bring them a greater profit than sales through the standard iTS, pointing to industry practice for ringtone and ringback sales.
I don't quite understand their reasoning. I think most phone-based ringtone sales are outrageously overpriced. Increased sales volumes will benefit the labels even at the current wholesale prices. Ah well, another example of Underwear Gnome economics in action.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
shaun said 3:04PM on 5-19-2008
americans get it cheaper than we do in the UK. I know it's all relative with tax and stuff but still
Reply
tony Raso said 3:28PM on 6-09-2008
I say it's worth nothing, as you cannot sell your digital rights to music to another individual. At least I don't think you can)
totoro said 3:18PM on 5-19-2008
1) I too, think ringtones are outrageously overpriced.
2) Obviously, not everyone does, since the market seems to have thrived at those price points. If people are willing to pay, I don't see the problem. (Since ringtones are completely frivolous/unnecessary/etc., letting the free market decide on the price seems totally fair, despite #1, above.)
3) I'm happy the ringtones for the iPhone are free :)
Reply
Aron T said 3:22PM on 5-19-2008
I have never and will never pay for a ringtone. If I purchased the song I should be able to do whatever I want to it as long as I don't distribute the song or the derivative work.
RIAA et. al can bite my shiny metal hind-quarters if they think they can treat me like a criminal and then cry for money for the pleasure.
Reply
Fernando said 3:27PM on 5-19-2008
RIAA = Racketeering Innocent Americans All the time.
Reply
murph said 3:31PM on 5-19-2008
oh yeah, that argument makes lots of sense. Apple has to code another application, suck up a bunch of bandwidth from their partner ATT, all while the music industry sits on it's large rear-end and collects bigger checks. riiiiiiiiiiight.
Reply
Nay said 3:31PM on 5-19-2008
I remember working for a cell service provider and i showed my boss how easy it was for me to make a custom ringtone and put it on almost any phone. The bastard wanted me to charge 5 bucks for it. Hey, I believe in making money but I felt it was just downright ripping pple off. I never did charge pple for the ringtones. Explains why I'm not working there today either ^_^ The cellphone industry is corrupt.
Reply
Ed said 5:13PM on 5-19-2008
Ha, I read pple as Apple the first two times I read your comment.
And, Cell providers will always be corrupt. Four companies control a market which nearly everyone uses, and they do what they want. People accept the corruption because they need their cells. Apple's got them by the balls, though, because everybody wants the iPhone and every carrier will bend over backwards to get it if given the opportunity. (See visual voicemail, etc.)
mabhatter said 9:58PM on 5-21-2008
Add to that corruption the near 100% lock on the market for buying things via cell phone and the RIAA just wants Apple to play "fair" like everybody else.
One side note was on /. a while ago was that the RIAA got ringtones declared "not" a new work... so they don't have to pay an artist royalty per tune sold... Ringbacks/ringtones/etc are 100% cash to those companies and there's no way they'll let Apple pee in their pool on this one.
Niklas said 3:35PM on 5-19-2008
I will never pay for a ringtone, however, I do not experience the iTunes prices as high. Paying less than $1 per song is well worth it when it comes to good music. The people complaining about that price being too high might want to reconsider their own taste in music as the music the listen to is worth essentially nothing to their ears.
Reply
Fernando said 3:42PM on 5-19-2008
I agree 100% and not only is that true but also these so called "musicians" that complain are the one's putting out garbage music in the first place. They'll have one "hit" single on the album and these suckers go out and buy the whole thing for $12-$15 and they laugh all the way to the bank.
Blaktornado said 3:52PM on 5-19-2008
I dunno but I'm for the increase in price on iTunes... mainly because my album is on there through tunecore, so if prices go up then hopefully I'll get some more moneys ;) lol.
Reply
artifex said 4:09PM on 5-19-2008
I can understand why they want to charge, because they're working from the model where public performance rights cost more money than private rights. Eventually it's the model that will have to change, because we keep finding new uses for this content that blur all those old lines.
Reply
Tiim said 4:18PM on 5-19-2008
In Germany we pay 0.99€. This is 1,54$. :(
Reply
coasterjob said 4:29PM on 5-19-2008
"They argue that broadband music sales through the mobile iTunes store somehow should bring them a greater profit than sales through the standard iTS, pointing to industry practice for ringtone and ringback sales." Well then good for Apple for telling them no. So IF I use my iPhone to buy an album using the built-in app, I should pay a premium? riiight.
So Amazon should charge more for me buying through AmazonMobile??
Shame on us as consumers for allowing this shite to get this far. A song is a song, if it's worth $0.99 from my home computer, then it's worth $0.99 from my iPhone or whatever....
Reply
Jamus said 4:31PM on 5-19-2008
Cell phone carrier greed will try to push iPhone purchase tracks to at least $1.50 is my guess.
Reply
What the Frack?! said 4:34PM on 5-19-2008
This web site is getting fun.
Gnomes...
Reply
Scott said 4:36PM on 5-19-2008
If they're gonna cost more it should be because they're using up additional AT&T bandwith...not because somehow the music is worth more because it's being downloaded via cellphone. You'd think they'd want as many venues for people to download their product... but instead they want to charge a premium for something that will, for the most part, be an impulse buy... they should be happy for any impulsing buying you can get!
Reply
Josh said 4:47PM on 5-19-2008
This is the reason Reznor is god. He's realized what the consumers all did years ago and is putting all of our thoughts into action. The RIAA should be glad it is getting what it is when the economy is so bad. They're idiots.
Reply
Ethan said 5:09PM on 5-19-2008
They're getting a way better deal than in stores. And if I've bought the right to play it, I should be able to do so on my phone, it's not like I'm broadcasting. And that right isn't worth any more if all that changes if the networking (3G).
Reply