The LA Times is reporting that iTunes hottest tracks will cost $1.29 starting April 7th. The article goes on to say what the rest of us already know. This is only going to hurt the music industry. The major music labels are trying to offset declining CD sales with higher digital download prices. This is […]
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New iTunes Pricing to Take Affect on April 7th

Mar 26th 2009 by

The LA Times is reporting that iTunes hottest tracks will cost $1.29 starting April 7th.

The article goes on to say what the rest of us already know. This is only going to hurt the music industry. The major music labels are trying to offset declining CD sales with higher digital download prices. This is a stupid move on there part. How can this work during a recession, in already piracy riddled industry?

I think this except from the article sums it up nicely:

Jim Guerinot, who manages such bands as Nine Inch Nails, No Doubt and Offspring, said the industry’s pricing was moving in the wrong direction if it hoped to compete with still rampant music piracy.

“Wouldn’t it make sense to try to price it cheaper instead of squeezing the handful of people who are still willing to pay for music?” he said.

Apple (rightfully) set music prices at $.99 a track when it opened the iTunes Music store back in 2003. This blanket price made buying simple, and appealing to the average consumer. Now with a three tiered pricing system (announced in January at Macworld), aimed at making the most money it can off of the latest craze, it would be a safe bet confusion and mud slinging will follow.

This whole article has more or less been my opinion, but hear me now believe me later; THIS WILL NOT WORK. Naturally, Apple will get the blame for the music industry’s bone-headed move. That said, Apple didn’t have much choice but to go along with this evil plan if it wanted to compete with Amazon’s DRM-free music service.

The big music labels days are numbered, and they don’t seem to realize it yet. An indie artist can circumvent the music labels and make money on their own with service like TuneCore. They are panicked and hemorrhaging money, and I don’t think they are going to bully there way out of this one.

Tell us what you think! Leave a comment, I’d love to hear your opinion on this matter!

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