AfterDawn: News

EU to investigate iTunes UK pricing

The EU is to investigate the pricing of the music downloads in Apple's iTunes music store. The UK music store offers over 700,000 tracks for download to UK customers at a cost of 79p a track. While 79p might look like it's not a bad price for a DRM-restricted digital download, it is actually about $1.51 in U.S. currency. UK consumer groups find this price unfair as other European music stores offer downloads for 99c (in Euro) per track, which is about $1.31 in U.S. currency.

The iTunes music store has also been under fire in the EU for not allowing customers to buy music from stores located in other EU states other than their own. For example, a British downloader could not go to the French iTunes store and purchase a track for 99c. There are similar problems across the Atlantic also, as downloads cost 99c in the U.S. and just 80c in Canada.



The EU however maintains that this is an informal investigation and they have only requested information from Apple.

Source:
BetaNews

Written by: James Delahunty @ 25 Feb 2005 16:06

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• 6 comments

• punx777

  see thats apple for you...... theres not many compediters in EU, so being the corperate nazis that they are, they loook for any chance they can get to make more money...
  
  STOP FEEDING THIS DRAGON!!! buy a cheaper, better portable music player, there are so many cheaper alternatives to itunes, why pay twice as much as real? even if you do have an ipod, real will work on it!

  25.2.2005 18:26 #1

• daemonzx6

  and THAT is why I don't use iTunes.

  25.2.2005 20:04 #2

• indienemo

  I reckon these single songs are reasonably priced seeing as you can buy the albums for like £9.99 with 13 odd tracks on them...

  26.2.2005 08:37 #3

• mattF099

  To indienemo's post: i think that it would be a resionable price also, if they didnt drm their music files(not saying there arn't ways of circumventing drm protection)...

  27.2.2005 13:22 #4

• indienemo

  People are always gonna crack everything the industrys throw at us...in time. DRM is a fair method for most people, most people dont need to burn unlimited copies of their songs and if they do they can buy the CD ffs!

  27.2.2005 23:26 #5

• daemonzx6

  well yes, but some DRM actually prevents you from burning it to a CD. DRM in all forms is bad, I think. it's just another way the RIAA tries to control you.

  2.3.2005 19:49 #6