10 January 2008
Due to pressure by the European Commission Apple are forced to drop their iTunes prices by 10 per cent.
In what appears to be a significant change to the downloading site's policies in the UK, Apple announced yesterday morning it was lowering its British prices within six months to see songs and albums brought into line with what customers in the rest of the European Union pay.
The company made its decision following an investigation by the European commission which was instigated by British consumer association Which? The investigation launched last April specifically concerned deals signed by Apple with Vivendi’s Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, EMI Group and Warner Music Group, and whether they stipulated varying prices within the EU.
The price change will see UK customers paying 74p instead of 79p per song, matching the EU's current price of 99 euro cents, and an average of £7.48 instead of £7.99 per album, equalling the EU's 9.99 Euros price.
Due to the price changes Apple announced that is may have to reconsider the deals with the record companies concerned unless the labels renegotiated their agreements and dropped their prices for UK distribution in line with the price Apple pays for European sales. If the record companies do not comply with the ultimatum, British music consumers may potentially find themselves unable to buy their songs on iTunes.
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