iTunes Prices: The Worm in the Apple

I love Apple and its products. I own a Macbook and an iPod and regularly purchase music from iTunes. But that's the problem.

iTunes has long been a sore point for many in the music industry. Some bands have actually boycotted the service because of its slice-and-dice approach to music sales - they want to sell albums, not singles. There was the furore over Digital Rights Management (DRM) that effectively locked users music to Apple products and then to specific products. You couldn't (and still can't) easily migrate music from one piece of hardware to another. On the face of it Apple appears to be protecting the music owners, but having been the dominant force in legal music downloads they hold the handle, not the musicians, and certainly not the consumer.

Fortunately Apple dropped the pursuit of DRM, but not out of magnanimity. I surmise Amazon.com came to the rescue with their DRM-free MP3 download service launched in 2007 and forced Apple to make a competitive choice. Amazon also came to our rescue by offering tracks at a lower cost than iTunes with prices from 69p to 79p.

So as a consumer my major gripe is with the cost of music. For years one could purchase a song for 99 cents from the US iTunes service, but the UK service offered songs for the unfair price of 99 pence. Eventually the cost was brought down to 79 pence across the board, but  is creeping back up to the price gouging 99p once again. I noticed this when purchasing some music the other day. While many songs still cost 79p, the most popular new and even older tracks were back at 99p. As a result I turned to Amazon to purchase the same music available on iTunes but for 20p less.

Apple has always had a great image. It's an icon of innovation, creativity, freedom and reliability. One feels there is real value for money with Apple products, and indeed there is. But let's face it - Apple is a profit-making enterprise and is led by a very savvy and shrewd businessman. Steve Jobs is not just a creative genius - he's a business genius and that ruthless edge of Apple is what makes it so popular. It is its own monopoly. 

But for Apple to be what its image reflects it must stay with the bounds of fair play. The battle between corporations is one they must fight, but its obligation to the customer is not and should not be a battle. So let me just ask Apple and Steve (I hope you're in good health) to keep it fair - keep it honest. Think differently.