iTunes drops all DRM, adds variable pricing
In the never-ending battle of where to spend your George Washington's (the paper ones, that is) some battles are won and some battles are lost. In this case, however, it's turned into a bit of a draw. As we previously mentioned the day hath befallen on which iTunes now "features" a variable pricing structure. The three flavors available are $0.69US, $0.99US, and $1.29US with, according to Apple, "many more songs" available at the $0.69US price point.The idea of a DRM-free iTunes is definitely a popular one that has been requested for years. The unfortunate side-effect, as imposed by the record labels, is that more popular songs are going to be charged a premium over the tried-and-true $0.99US price point. On the other side, however, is the $0.69US price point for songs that
In my opinion, record labels are going to see a decrease in sales due to this decision. Many people have iTunes account balances and gift cards that are now going to get them less "tune for their buck." The result of that is consumers will buy less (they have less to spend) and they will be more meticulous in deciding what to purchase. DRM-free, iTunes Plus tracks are a novel idea, but the main benefit will be lost on many consumers. The only change they will notice is that the bill has gone up.
Via Macworld
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Draper said 12:11PM on 4-07-2009
Is this to say that they've also dropped DRM from movies/tv shows?
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ja said 12:13PM on 4-07-2009
nope! if they did you would see itunes movies selling for a variable pricing range of $19 - $25 haha
Draper said 1:50PM on 4-07-2009
I'm willing to pay a bit more for that. I've finally come ot the place where I can buy all my music from iTunes(what little I do buy) and feel comfortable knowing that whatever device I want it on, I can get it there. My problem comes that I would love to subscribe to certain tv shows and buy certain movies from the iTunes store but I use my xbox 360 to play them on my TV and can't do that due to DRM. Its sad that due to the regulations they've enforced to PREVENT piracy its actually making me become a pirate!
ja said 12:10PM on 4-07-2009
stupid record companies. you already have bad press because of your horrible lawsuits. way to garner public support, dipshits.
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required said 1:30PM on 4-07-2009
The thing that I find odd is that Amazon.com sells music that is DRM free @ 99¢ a track and they also sell iPods for ~15% less than the Apple store.
Does anyone have any idea why this is the way it is?
msr said 4:16PM on 4-07-2009
Required, the record companies made it that way because they want people to stop using iTunes so they have more leverage to do things like force artificial bundles and stuff like that.
Len Banks said 12:12PM on 4-07-2009
I am not certain that in the long run it will affect sales much. 99 cents is definitely easier and cleaner to work with in your head, but in the big picture it's still doable. We are constantly nickeled and dimed nowadays that this just falls into that oh-here-we-go-again cynicism. At least for me.
On another note, I notice that even though all the offerings are DRM free, not all my purchases have been qualified for the plus upgrade (I realize that it doesn't apply to free downloads, these are actual purchases). Even more annoying is that one of my albums, instead of becoming DRM free, was actually dropped from their catalog.
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Martin said 12:57PM on 4-07-2009
An album that you bought, or an album of yours that you were selling on iTunes?
Andy said 4:48PM on 4-07-2009
Yes, I've seen this happen also. Quite a number of songs I've bought previously are no longer available in iTMS.
Kero9x said 7:41PM on 4-07-2009
I had something similar happen - I had an album in my shopping cart, and was planning on buying it soon, but when I checked it, today, the album was gone.
Steve said 12:14PM on 4-07-2009
Just plain stupid if you ask me... My take: "iTunes variable pricing has nothing to do with “supply and demand”, just record label greed and stupidity" http://www.last100.com/2009/04/07/itunes-variable-pricing-supply-and-demand/
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adam said 1:05AM on 4-08-2009
Using supply and demand to calculate prices for anything downloaded makes no sense because the product is available in unlimited quantities. Which means that the urgency to have something is because of the consumers lack of self control. The record industry can only feed off of greed if the consumers are greedy too.
Essentially, the value of something with potentially unlimited quantity is worthless (price is a different issue).
Howard Jeffrey said 12:13PM on 4-07-2009
Bout Time!!
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Rubbinz said 12:13PM on 4-07-2009
DRM free music yes, but not DRM free movies and TV.
Their .69 pricing for "less popular" songs is a complete joke. Many people have been doing searches for some not so popular songs and they still ring up as .99. Anyway, there's always Amazon if you want a song that's now at 1.29 on iTunes.
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3rdpig said 12:20PM on 4-07-2009
I like Pandora even more now.
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Galley said 12:16PM on 4-07-2009
69 cent tracks do not exist! Don't believe me? I dare you to find even one.
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thezonie said 12:43PM on 4-07-2009
London Calling by the Clash is $0.69 ... The rest of the songs on the album are $0.99 still, though.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=152996781&s=143441
stucco_x said 4:10PM on 4-07-2009
Godzilla by Blue Oyster Cult is $.69. No way in hell there are more at $.69 than $1.29. Not that it matters to me- like the rest of you apparently I shop elsewhere. If Amazon gets into the HD television shows, you can stick a fork in iTunes.
Andrew L said 12:24PM on 4-07-2009
I wonder how many 69 cent tracks there actually are.
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Dones said 12:31PM on 4-07-2009
I respectfully disagree. While I typically still buy my music by the disc (and then rip to my iPhone), when I want a single track, I've typically gone to Amazon's DRM-free shop. Usually I buy obscure stuff, not uber-popular tracks, so there's a very good chance I'll buy more from Apple now than before.
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