New pricing for Apple iTunes
Updated on 07 January 2009
At its MacWorld keynote in San Francisco, Apple announces a new pricing structure for songs downloaded from iTunes.
The changes to the iTunes Store, announced yesterday, mean that all songs will eventually be available without copy protection and, come April, at three different price points.
Effective immediately, Apple has said that the majority of its song library will be available in iTunes Plus, featuring a higher bit-rate of 256 kbps (previously 128 kbps) and without the DRM (Digital Rights Management) that prevents users from playing songs on computer programmes other than iTunes and MP3 players other than iPods.
Today, eight million of the 10 million songs in the library will be available in this DRM-free format, with the remaining two million due for upgrade in March.
A new tiered pricing structure for songs bought on the iTunes Store will come into effect in April, with songs available for 59 pence, 79 pence and 99 pence, where previously all songs were sold for 79 pence.
Apple will also allow individuals to upgrade their current library of purchased songs for 20 pence a song, or 30 per cent of the album price. iPhone 3G owners can now also purchase songs on their phones, where previously they had to be on a Wi-Fi internet connection.
Tiered iTunes pricing could mean that worse selling songs could be priced at the lower price point, while newer, more in-demand songs get the higher sticker price.
Apple has been under pressure from individuals, consumer interest groups and other MP3 player manufacturers to remove DRM from its songs for quite some time. The removal of all DRM from its songs should increase consumer choice, as DRM-free songs will play on everything that supports the AAC format, not just iPods or iTunes.
Similarly, the tiered pricing structure could be seen as a compromise, with the record labels, who have long argued for the ability to set prices on the songs that they sell. It could mean that worse selling songs could be priced at the lower price point, while newer, more in-demand songs get the higher sticker price.
In the same keynote, Apple announced an upgrade to its flagship laptop with the launch of a new 17-inch MacBook Pro with an eight-hour battery life and the capability for 1,000 recharging cycles.
Apple says the new battery combines new battery chemistry technology with an on-battery chip that allows it to extend the life of the battery, at the sacrifice of convenience. Unlike other laptops, the battery is non-removable.
