In a move we may have all seen coming but had hoped would never happen, Apple is planning to raise the price of certain songs—namely, hit singles and classics—from its 99-cent standard to $1.29 in acquiescence with record label executives whose revenue has been starved by the severe recent drop in CD sales, the LA Times reported.
Record label executives believe the tiered pricing scheme, which is set to go into effect on April 7, will allow them to package songs—some tracks will be lowered to 69 cents—differently in a way that will entice users’ to pay more for their music.
This is all a matter of how you look at it. Only 30 cents more? Ah, what’s 30 cents. But a 30-percent price hike? Now, that’s just rude. It also won’t work. As Edible Apple put its, “Though only 30 cents higher, $1.29 seems a lot more significant than a measly 99 cents.”
Considering we’re in an economy where spending money at all on music seems wasteful, some argue this move is just a big middle finger in the average consumers’ face. Myself included.
The vagueness of the current plan—granted, Apple hasn’t technically announced this yet, so who knows what details are still to come—is also troublesome. Which songs will get the price hike, why, and for how long? Of course, most importantly, how many songs will be affected…
“Hopefully, like Apple says, most tracks will stay at 99 cents. But I’m not holding my breath as the record industry has proven to be a greedy bunch.” -Technologizer
There’s a much bigger flaw here, though. As PSFK points out, iTunes, despite the fact it’s the largest music retailer in the world, still has an insidious competitor without any bottom-line concerns: P2P piracy networks. The most coveted songs out there, presumably the very tracks Apple plans to sell at a premium, can be easily downloaded on blogs and other “illegal” servers—for free!
So let’s recap. With its arm twisted behind its back, Apple plans to raise prices on the most wanted songs, during a time when people have hesitations spending their money on anything already, when those same songs will be available at no cost all across the Internet.
It’s a middle-finger move, yeah, but at least consumers have the means to throw one right back. Because, as former EMI Music executive Ted Cohen points out, this goes way beyond just a bad financial decision.
“This will be a PR nightmare,” Cohen told the LA Times. “It is for the music industry what the AIG bonuses are for the insurance industry.”
Damn. Take that Apple.
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