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Apple iTunes to End Flat Fee Pricing?

Posted by Zonk on from the under-pressure-is-not-just-a-queen-song dept.

MdntToker writes "According the Forbes, EMI has an understanding with Apple that flat fee pricing will end within the next 12 months, and more popular songs will be priced higher than 99c, while lesser known acts will be priced lower than 99c." From the article: "Label executives have made multiple arguments for flexible pricing. They argue, for instance, that almost all retail businesses have different price points for different products. But they are particularly interested in boosting their revenue from digital music sales, which aided by the sale of mobile phone ringtones, are increasing but not quickly enough to replace the continuing drops in compact disc sales. EMI said today that digital sales, made up 4.9% of the company's sales in the last six months, up from 2.1% a year ago." We've previously reported on this story.

4 of 556 comments (clear)

  1. Somebody CAN'T read!!! by Warlock7 · · Score: 4, Informative

    From the article:
    "Today EMI Group boss Alain Levy said at press conference today that he believed Jobs would introduce multiple price points for iTunes music within the next year."

    This does not say that "...EMI has an understanding with Apple that flat fee pricing will end within the next 12 months..." as the story claims.

    Why was this story allowed to be posted this way? /. seems to be slipping...

    The actual Forbes story is talking about how the labels want to take advantage of the consumers while Steve Jobs does not want to change the pricing structure. He's fought against it from the beginning and there has been nothing reported to support that the labels have won the fight yet.

  2. Never Mind by Golias · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's a non-story anyway. From TFA:

    "Today EMI Group boss Alain Levy said at press conference today that he believed Jobs would introduce multiple price points for iTunes music within the next year."

    So one guy says with no control over the situation tells Forbes magazine that he thinks Jobs will make this happen, and it gets reported on Slashdot as fact.

    For fuck's sake, not even the various Mac rumor sites have run with this one yet. When did MacSlash become MacWildGossip?

    --

    Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    1. Re:Never Mind by SeattleGameboy · · Score: 4, Informative
      Umm... sorry to break it to you. Apple may control RETAIL pricing for digital music, but the labels set the WHOLESALE pricing for digital music.

      The labels can pretty much dictate WHATEVER pricing they want, and Apple will not have any say over it (unless they want to lose revenue). It would be one thing if they had a marketshare of say, Walmart. But digital sale is still pretty small percentage of the overall revenue for the labels.

      The labels have been offering their goods at "introductory" pricing to see how quickly they can get legit digital distribution to grow.

      Well, thanks to iTunes, they are growing fine, and now the labels want to make (more) money off of it. Which is a lot easier if they can apply flexible pricing model.

      When the exec says he believe iTunes will offer multiple price points is because the labels have already announced to the digital music wholesalers that in 2006, they will be introducing mulitple wholesale price points.

      Unless Jobs wants to lose even more money than he is losing now on iTunes (yes, they make money on iPod but iTunes is still not operating even yet), he WILL offer multiple pricing points on retail as well.

  3. Re:The "Flexible" Elevator - Going Up? by JoshRazz · · Score: 3, Informative

    If you've updated to the latest version (6.0.1) you can disable the music store under Parental Controls (in Preferences).