Jeremy Charette
05-02-2006, 05:15 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/02/technology/apple_itunes/?cnn=yes' target='_blank'>http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/02/technology/apple_itunes/?cnn=yes</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Apple Computer said that it has renewed contracts with the four largest record companies, ensuring that songs will still be sold at 99 cents each, according to a news report Tuesday. The record companies had been pushing Apple to allow different pricing for tracks, especially the ability to charge higher prices for new material from top-selling artists, said the Financial Times. The companies - Universal, Warner Music (Research), EMI and Sony BMG - were forced to accept Apple CEO Steve Jobs' pricing because the iTunes music store has so much influence over the U.S. download market, the report said. The iTunes music store accounts for 80 percent of paid downloads."</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/apple_logo_clean.03.jpg" /> <br /><br />Apple: 1, Music Giants: 0. Looks like even the record companies won't bite the hand that feeds them. I'm glad Jobs stuck to his guns, the one-price strategy may be one of the key things that has sold consumers on downloadable music. It's simple, it's inexpensive, and it works.