I'm surprised that Interpol didn't seize Apple CEO Steve Jobs as soon as he touched foot on British soil, and clap his casually dressed arms in irons. Everyone is booing Apple for its expensive UK iTunes service right now, and the EU (usually more interested in defining the bend in bananas) is puffing up its chest against the iPod innovator.
I can't see how the EU thinks it can win in its case that Apple should charge the same in the UK as it does elsewhere in Europe when it's the record companies that forced Apple to hike its prices.
In response to the pointless EU legal action, Apple says that it "has always wanted to operate a single, pan-European iTunes store accessible by anyone from any member state, but we were advised by the music labels and publishers that there were certain legal limits to the rights they could grant us. We don't believe Apple did anything to violate EU law."
Where was the EU when record companies used to charge us up to £15 to get our hands on a single track via CD albums? It was Amazon and the Internet that forced down CD prices, and its Apple and the Internet that allow us to spend just 79p to get the music we want.
Of course it would be better to pay just 67p like our beret-wearing neighbours, but we'd also have to wade through hundreds of thousands of Eurocrap tracks before we get to The Streets or Lily Allen.
There's also much less chance of the Free Single of the Week being from some daft singer dressed in Lederhosen and blowing an alphorn.
That's worth 12p to me!
Comments
simonjary said: But you cant download the albums for 79p that cost 79p per track on iTunes Would you only listen to music that cost 79p an album A bit extreme
Chilly Willy said: At the end of the day it is up to the consumer to vote with feet as to what price they are willing to pay I would NEVER download a song which costs me 79p while there are other legal websites where I can download an album for around 79p
Chilly Willy said: At the end of the day it is up to the consumer to vote with feet as to what price they are willing to pay I would NEVER download a song which costs me 79p while there are other legal websites where I can download an album for around 79p
simonjary said: Have you not watched the Eurovision song contest
Harry said: The cost should be down in the tens of pence of course but I dont really want to talk about that Id rather just complain about the crass xenophobic tone of the article I find it quite disgusting and Id like to see an apology posted Gutter writing in my opinion You should be ashamed of yourselves for writing and publishing it in a wholly unrelated article Im sure theres a National Front site thatd be keen to publish more of this garbage if you have the time and such an unfettered inclination
Forum Editor said: My own view is that Apple has more than enough market clout to be able to tell the record companies how much the UK site will charge consumers rather than the other way aroundI cant follow the certain legal limits to the rights they could grant us justification for the 79p charge but Im prepared to be convinced I certainly dont buy the argument that its difficult to rationalise charges to online purchasers in different EU countries I have clients admittedly in other industries who do it all the time Surely the whole essence of internet selling is that it enables businesses to sell to consumers all over the world It happens millions of times a dayHaving just spent a few days working in Vienna Im certainly in agreement about the hoorrors of Eurocrap music though
daisy2bell said: I for one would welcome being able to download from any european country The sooner that time comes the better
NerdBrain said: Ron RumneyWell people especially those who have iPods download because of the convenience iTunes is considered to be the best all-round download servicemusic dukebox sofware around Plus albums are generally cheaper than on the high street being as low as a fiver Also if you download a single you can go back and download the album at a discounted price later So you never pay twice Its the only service that offers this
Ron Rumney said: why download a full cd you are paying near the same as if you bought it from a high street store As the tracks are each having multiple downloads going into the thousands and beyond for the more popular Why are downloaded tracks so much when you do not have the cost of production of the plastic and then the pressing of the cd then the packaging and distribution the cost for all this is taken out of the equation So why are downloadable tracks so high can anyone tell me the margin of profit between a cd downloaded from a single source to one purchased at HMV
Ron Rumney said: why download a full cd you are paying near the same as if you bought it from a high street store As the tracks are each having multiple downloads going into the thousands and beyond for the more popular Why are downloaded tracks so much when you do not have the cost of production of the plastic and then the pressing of the cd then the packaging and distribution the cost for all this is taken out of the equation So why are downloadable tracks so high can anyone tell me the margin of profit between a cd downloaded from a single source to one purchased at HMV
NerdBrain said: I totally agree-and we have to take into account the fact that we dont use the same currency as others in the Euro Zone Prices are hard to streamline across currencies-they can go up or down Also you must realise that this Apple-EMI deal is going to force the hands of the other 3 Majors with regards to DRM-free music on iTunes Why Because EMI from May under the deal with iTunes will allow for their music to be charged at the same price 129 across the whole Euro Zone UK price differentiation is inevitable This is really a case of the other 3 Majors defending their stance on variable pricing If the prices in the Euro Zone were raised to reflect the current 79p price in Britain then there will only be a 012 difference between the lower quality DRM-protected price and the higher quality DRM-free one Steve Jobs is a genius This is not about iTunes its about the labels - the EC spokesman Jonathan Todd has said as much recently