At Date: Wed, 23 May 2007 15:52:26 Bob wrote:

>However in the web-age, because you can access the US version of iTunes
>from the UK, you can see the pricing differences very easily and the fact
>that you can access a website makes it very frustrating that you can't buy
>from it.  FWIW, eMusic is more expensive in the UK as well.
>
>What I would be interested in seeing is how sales of iTunes vary from
>territory to territory.  As I said previously I am just not interested in
>paying 79 pence per track (nor would I pay 99 cents per track if I lived
>in the States).  I think the tracks are over-priced for what you get.

Yeah....you've mentioned that already.

>Incidentally, there also seems to be a bit of a cartel going on with all
>the major online music retailers charging 79p here or 99c in the States.

Cartel?

iTunes set the standard at $0.99 so that no one was making more money off 
this standardized technology than anyone else and so the indie labels and 
single artists could be part of the game as well. One price. One song. 
Regardless of where it originated.

The major labels bitched about how they were UNDER selling the item (the 
labels wanted to sell for $1.59 per song). iTunes said lump it or leave it. 
The labels ate crow and now have gladly played along to the extent that when 
eMusic or others sell for less than $0.99 they get their knickers in a knot 
(as I have noted in previous conversations).

The INDUSTRY standard is between $0.79 to $0.99 depending on the 
portal....and that translates into pounds, pesos or krugerands as a .79 or 
.99 of whatever currency exists in said territory.

>Does anyone know if iTunes turns a profit?  Or is it just a loss-leader for 
>Apple?

Well, after iTunes takes their cut here's what's left over for me and my 
acts per song converted to US dollars (after which my broker takes his 
chunk):

CANADA - $0.85
JAPAN - $0.91
US - $0.86
EUROPE - $1.03
AUSTRALIA - $0.92
GREAT BRITAIN - $1.06

On the Canada and US sales iTunes is taking $0.14 and $0.13 respectively. I 
must assume that's the average in the other respective territories. Does 
this cover iTunes overhead? Who knows.

Jaimie Vernon,
Bullseye Records

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