New Tunes Page

I’ve added a new page (called “Tunes” for now) that contains more information about music.  Give it a look!

New iTunes Variable Pricing

Some of us thought it was just a rumor, but the promised variable pricing structure of the iTunes Store is now live.  I did some cursory searching around the store, and I have a few observations about the new prices.  All links in the list below refer to the iTunes Store.

• Out of the Top 100 songs, 28 of them have an increased price ($1.29).  The remaining 72 songs have remained at $0.99.
• The higher price is not solely applied to new songs and/or artists.  For example, many popular Bon Jovi songs are now $1.29.
• I have yet to find any songs that are $0.69.  If you run across any, please post them in the comments section.  (Edit: Thanks to the Ars Technica article, here are two albums that offer $0.69 tracks.)
• Music is now 100% DRM-free (iTunes Plus).
• Complete CD prices seem to be unaffected.  Most CDs are still $9.99, and the occasional CD sells for $12.99 or higher (usually for special/deluxe editions).
• It’s too early to say if price increases are linked to music label.  My initial browsing of the store yielded inconsistent results for pricing when looking strictly at music label.

I’m not sure how I feel about the price changes.  Living in a state that charges tax on downloads from the iTunes Store, I was already paying $1.05 for a $0.99 download.  If you factor in the 30% price increase (from $0.99 to $1.29), I’d now be paying, at most, $1.37 per song from the iTunes Store.  This represents a 38% increase since I first started using the iTunes Store (in a different state without the tax and before the recent price increase).  I feel that $0.99 was the “sweet spot” for digital download pricing.  While the additional $0.20 is hardly anything to complain about, it’s a large mental leap to go from less than a dollar per song to over a dollar per song.

From what I’ve read, it seems that this latest pricing structure is the result of the recording industry and labels and is not an Apple brain child.  I can believe this, as Apple has a history of standing up to the recording industry.  Still, it seems like a step in the wrong direction.  While record labels and the recording industry are constantly complaining about illegal downloading, does it really make sense to raise prices on legal downloads?  The old rules of supply and demand don’t apply with digital distribution; the supply is completely elastic.  While Amazon is still selling tracks for $0.89 and $0.99 each, I expect them to be pushed into a similar agreement by the record labels in the near future.

Will I still buy music from the iTunes Store?  Yeah.  As much as I’d like to take a stand and boycott the new prices, it’s simply too convenient to relinquish.  I guess that’s what happens when you get hooked on something.  So I’ll say hello to $1.29 downloads (plus tax) and hope for change – someday.