Apple has made online music sales a viable business with iTunes and the popular iPod devices. But music publishers are not happy with Apple's one-price-fits-all model at iTunes. An EcommerceTimes.com article quotes an expert who thinks iTunes pricing may change in the near future.
The music industry has turned up the heat on Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Latest News about Apple CEO Steve Jobs. The industry wants a tiered pricing system for music downloads instead of iTunes' current system in which 99 cents gets you any song in the catalog. Industry executives have been agitating for months to price songs based on popularity, but Jobs has stuck to his guns.
The furor heated up this week with EMI Music's Alain Levy saying in a press conference that he believes Jobs will change his mind within a year. That could be because iTunes and the major labels are schedule to renegotiate their contract in the spring. Apple is also getting pressure from Sony (NYSE: SNE) Latest News about Sony BMG and Warner Music Group. Sony BMG has refused to allow its catalog to be sold through iTunes in Japan and Australia because of the pricing dispute.
Mark Mulligan, a senior analyst from Jupiter Media, told the EcommerceTimes that a "tiered system is inevitable and worthwhile." With other music services competing for iTunes marketshare it looks like the publishers are starting to flex their publishing muscles. But how will they determine which songs are the most expensive? And will they try to use tiered pricing to control sales and demand?
