MP3 Download Prices to Rise?

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Posted by Hemos on Monday February 28, 2005 @05:40AM from the bad-move dept.

OBeardedOne writes "The major music labels are in talks with music download services attempting to get them to increase the price of music downloads. " Sounds like there is division in the ranks of the music companies, but something to watch.

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Can't read the article! by Little+Grey · 2005-02-28 05:42 · Score: 0, Redundant

Linky no worky
Working Link by mrighi · 2005-02-28 05:45 · Score: 0, Redundant

Working Link
fixed broken link and article text by biryokumaru · 2005-02-28 05:48 · Score: 1, Redundant

the link from the post:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/28/downloads_ price_rises/
and text:
Music download prices to rise
By John Oates
Published Monday 28th February 2005 10:24 GMT
The market for downloaded music is strong enough to take a price rise, according to the major music labels.
Several big labels are in talks with online music retailers to get them to increase prices,according to the FT. The labels are looking to increase the wholesale prices shops pay for tracks. Sites in the US typically sell tracks for 99 cents each. The wholesale price is currently 65 cents per track, according to the FT.
Universal and Sony BMG are less keen to put prices up. EMI and Time Warner refused to comment on the FT story. Some observers are concerned that increasing prices would push people back to peer-to-peer networks and dodgy copies of songs.
The music industry is apparently unhappy with Apple's increasing share of the market - the firm sells about 65 per cent of songs sold online. The arrival of cheaper iPods is likely to give the firm an even larger share of the market. Apple refused to comment on the FT's story but Steve Jobs is reportedly deeply unhappy with the attempted price hike.
One suggestion is that labels want to introduce variable pricing - so they can charge more for top selling tracks.
Meanwhile it was confirmed on Friday that the European Commission is investigating allegations that British consumers are being ripped off by Apple's iTunes service because it charges more for downloads from the UK site and does not allow punters to buy tracks from other country's iTunes sites. ®

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When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!
Re:Profit Margins by AceCaseOR · 2005-02-28 06:00 · Score: 0, Redundant

Not completely pure profit. You still have to pay for overhead (hosting and bandwidth), and the artists still get their (albiet small) cut.

--
Zagreus sits inside your head, Zagreus lives among the dead, Zagreus sees you in your bed and eats you in your sleep.
Re:Thanks for proving it is not theft. by crawling_chaos · 2005-02-28 07:32 · Score: 0, Redundant

So using a descrambler to view and record pay cable channels is not theft? I mean the signal is still there for others to take, right? You don't need to actually totally deprive someone of the use of something to take it. You merely need to use it without the owner's permission. That certainly occurs during MP3 downloads according to current IP law.
If you have a problem with that, then you have a problem with the law and should work to change it. In the meantime you are committing theft as it is defined under the legal code, no matter how you seek to rationalize it.

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You can only drink 30 or 40 glasses of beer a day, no matter how rich you are.
-- Colonel Adolphus Busch
Re:Profit Margins by blackmonday · 2005-02-28 08:05 · Score: 0, Redundant

Right. It costs no money to handle servers, technicians, software developers, bandwidth or advertising. Right on.