With little (or no) fanfare, Apple’s iTunes opened its doors to a new pricing scheme, and song-based packages that the recording industry hopes will jazz up music sales. Good luck.
Apple unveiled a three-tier price scheme – 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29. Since opening in 2003 all songs in the iTunes store have been priced at 99 cents.
So what sells at what price? A little scouring this morning yielded this comparison:
Current hit “Heartless” by Kanye West: now $1.29.
Classic hit “Magic Man” by Heart: now $0.69.
Marginal hit “Don’t Phunk with my Heart” by Black Eyed Peas
still $0.99.
Hate the 30 percent pop in chart-topping prices? Perhaps you’ll find comfort in the fact that for every one song raised to $1.29, iTunes will be reducing 10 songs to 69 cents according to a label source. (But finding the bargains ain’t easy: every version of a sure you’d think MUST be ripe for a discount, lets say, ”Macarthur’s Park” — even versions by Della Reese and Andy Williams — are still $0.99. Go figure.)
