Friday, September 25, 2009

Buying Music Downloads Could Cost Even More

Earlier this year Apple increased the price of songs from three major labels (Sony BMG, Warner & Universal.) If ASCAP & BMI have their way, prices may be going up regardless on what label the song is from. The two associations are looking to congress to make it mandatory that anyone who sells a download must pay performance fees. The two organizations are also looking to bank off of movie & television downloads as well as still trying to bank off of the 30 second samples that iTunes allows for.

I think if this were to happen, it could come back to hurt iTunes. In the article it states that after the price increase earlier this year, sales dropped noticiably in the following weeks. So if it dropped after a slight price increase, just imagine how much more they would drop after a bigger price increase. At the end of it all, I think it comes down to how much the consumer is willing to put up with, because if they aren't...It'll be a not so bright future for iTunes.

http://www.mndaily.com/2009/09/24/music-industry-dynamics-suggest-itunes-price-hike

-Marcus Hall

3 comments:

  1. I had read something about this earlier in the week. It is something to think about in terms of how it would affect iTunes, as you mention. Overall I would not expect it to hurt them too much. That is dependent on how much the increase is however. If the price is too high, then I could see a somewhat alarming drop to iTunes sales. Either way I do not think that this news helps the illegal downloading situation at all. People that do that to an excess feel that it is there right, and moves like this only increase that point of view for them.

    -Derek Jenkins

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  2. I think it is the height of stupidity for any organization to be talking about raising the price of music right now. With sales continually dropping every year, a price increase is only going to accelerate the slump. People who actually pay for music are going to feel like they are being hung upside down to nickel and dime them. With the state of the economy and the music industry, we should be figuring out how to reward people who are still paying for music.
    Steve Smith

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  3. *their right,

    I was reading through posts and noticed that I had made a typo in my previous comment.

    - Derek Jenkins

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