Thursday, March 26, 2009

iTunes Pricing Change, Popular Songs Cost More ($1.29)

iTunes Flexible Pricing
After setting it's price of $0.99 in 2003 and resisting pressure from music industry, Apple has changed it's tune and now playing along with record labels to make popular songs unpopular. The iTunes came along and helped stabilize the confused online music industry and Apple managed to stay clear of industry wranglings upto now.
"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?" said Jim Guerinot, the manager of groups such as Nine Inch Nails, No Doubt and Offspring.
What Record companies hoping to achieve is to package music like they did before sell more music by packaging less popular songs with popular ones. Like when we went to CD or record store and bought a CD with 11 songs just to listen to one or two songs.
My feeling is that this might not work out as they hope. I will not a buy a bunch of songs to listen to one, period.
One good thing about this whole saga is that in exchange for flexible prices, the digital tracks will be offered free of anti-piracy software, enabling the buyer to make unlimited copies and play the songs on any device, which is not currently possible.
But that should have been so in the first place!
Now is to the question, what is popular? PR is going to be a nightmare as LA Times say.

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