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iTunes price increases decrease sales

Posted by aubin on Monday, April 13, 2009 at 1:30 PM (EDT)

Apple's recently introduced tiered pricing has had an immediate impact on sales through the iTunes music store. Until recently, all music through iTunes was solid for 99¢ but the major labels pressured Apple to allow price increases to $1.29 and also promised decreases of "some" catalogue songs to 69¢.

Billboard examined the results and found that $1.29 songs lost an average of 5.3 places on the chart while the $0.99 songs gained an average of 2.5 chart positions. For a price increase (to $1.29 from $0.99) to result in an equal or greater amount of revenue, unit sales would to drop by no less than 23.3%.

Even more noticeable is the rarity of 69¢ songs promised by the labels. Gizmodo found one, a Limp Bizkit/Bubba Sparx collaboration, remixed by Timbaland.

Games and Technology (82 comments)

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way. Seriously.

24HourPriapism (April 13, 2009)

still laughing over that last line.

5+ Replies

Dante3000 (rich) (April 13, 2009)

I believe that track is titled "Aural AIDS".
-Dante

xmadcowx (April 13, 2009)

yeah, it was perfect execution.

Cox_Attack (April 13, 2009)

Well really if you think about it, the song could probably make you want to die in the same amount of time as 12 Bazooka Joe comics so I guess the price is just.

MilesQToast (April 13, 2009)

jeez. 12 bazooka joe comics = sprained jaw

BarleyPat (April 13, 2009)

Yeah, that made me throw up a little.

joe_weasel (April 13, 2009)

beautiful.

ffwoodycooks (April 13, 2009)

iTunes should have a used mp3 section.

3+ Replies

MilesQToast (April 13, 2009)

I'm always saying this. I bought this shit I want nothing to do with. Can't I donate it to someone else?

MilesQToast (April 13, 2009)

MattRamone's glowing A.C. Newman blog entry, I'm looking your way....

kidgotham (April 13, 2009)

You leave AC Newman out of this. That man writes good music.

BarleyPat (April 13, 2009)

That would be awesome. What are some of the best records you've gotten i a used bin?

The Vandals- The Quickening
D4 - Situationist Comedy
Alkaline Trio - Goddamit
Alkaline Trio - Good Mourning
Guttermouth- Friendly People
AFI - Answer That and Stay Fashionable

I'm sure there are more, maybe even better ones that I've gotten from used bins, these are just the ones that come to mind at the moment.

IanIsSuperRad (April 13, 2009)

Shocking.

Dante3000 (rich) (April 13, 2009)

What a surprise, Apple tries something based on pressure from major labels and it fails. Who would have thought?
-Dante

Oldpunkerforever (April 13, 2009)

boo to itunes, nothing will ever compare to walking into a good old fashioned record store, that feeling you get is second to none-oldpunker-

3+ Replies

MilesQToast (April 13, 2009)

My whole town doesn't have one. Takes half an hour to drive from one end of town to the other. We have a minor league baseball/hockey/arena football team but not one record store.

fox82 (April 13, 2009)

So it's like the good ol' days of hardcore, when you had to walk barefoot for 30 miles, uphill (both ways), in the snow, just to SEE the cover of a Black Flag 7" and you're complaining?

kidgotham (April 13, 2009)

I completly agree.

Did you know about this?

www.recordstoreday.com/

shrapnel (April 13, 2009)

the_other_scott is stoked

2+ Replies

the_other_scott (April 13, 2009)

no. i couldn't give a shit. i still buy cds and records. i fail to see the point of buying an mp3. you might as well pay for the cd and then you've got a physical copy and a digital copy

Ragdoll (April 13, 2009)

But then you have useless plastic lying around for the rest of your life.

deadXlast (April 13, 2009)

Yeah, and a high-quality digital version of all your songs. mp3s are total shit compared to the quality of the tracks on CDs.

Ravnos (April 13, 2009)

Which is why I rip my music to FLAC.

the_other_scott (April 13, 2009)

liner notes and album artwork aren't useless.

MilesQToast (April 13, 2009)

I've bought a shitload of songs in the last 3 weeks and none of them have been more than 99 cents. Guess I'm just indie as fuck.

1+ Reply

IamtheAvatar (April 13, 2009)

that's what I'm saying. I buy music from there all the time and haven't noticed any price change at all.

MattRamone (April 13, 2009)

Can't wait to see how they price the new Green Day album.

2+ Replies

ffwoodycooks (April 13, 2009)

im probably gonna have to dip into my eyeliner money to get that album. dammit, being a teenager is so hard!

MilesQToast (April 13, 2009)

they were playing a green day concert on the hd music channel like a week ago. I was kindof high. But all I could think was...jesus, people pay money to stand in a crowd and pump their fist. How thoroughly absurd.

MattRamone (April 13, 2009)

inb4 Anti-Flag

MilesQToast (April 13, 2009)

for sure. But really, the whole to-do is just bonkers. Lets go out tonight and hang around at a club where people are trying way too hard to "be themselves" and watch a band we like play. Fuck it all.

DropThePop (April 13, 2009)

how irrelevant that you were high. I was listening to the four tops the other night, and I was kinda hungry...

mikexdude (April 13, 2009)

kgv,mn .n

1+ Reply

MilesQToast (April 13, 2009)

what about kevin garnett had VD in minnesota and now he's spreading it worldwide?

Petrus_T (April 13, 2009)

pshhhhhh

blogspot

belfast-sxe-vegan-madman (April 13, 2009)

I actually turned a few dudes from itunes vegan the other week through one of my vegan workshops was awesome

6+ Replies

MattRamone (April 13, 2009)

Cool story, bro.

kidgotham (April 13, 2009)

Isn't sad when a meme is attempted and fails. A little peice of the internet dies with each attempt.

RamblinBoyOfPleasure (April 13, 2009)

Isn't sad when a kidgotham attempts life with his loser comic name and fails. A little peice of my heart dies with each attempt.

MattRamone (April 13, 2009)

Is Milhouse a meme yet?

kidgotham (April 13, 2009)

what's "a" kidgotham?

RamblinBoyOfPleasure (April 13, 2009)

a fat and balding man who sits on his ass all day.

MilesQToast (April 13, 2009)

mattramone kills online with daily. is part of his charm.

android (April 13, 2009)

MattRamone IS the internet!

MilesQToast (April 13, 2009)

workshops are tools for the delusional.

CrackerEvan (April 13, 2009)

pics or it didn't happen.

belfast-sxe-vegan-madman (April 13, 2009)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3058/2783740609_1f3b7b2a01.jpg?v= 0 thers ur pics sarah and rachel from itunes

MilesQToast (April 13, 2009)

the riddler thinks ur gay

belfast-sxe-vegan-madman (April 13, 2009)

belfast-sxe-vegan-madman thinks ur not vegan, perhaps youd like to join in on one fo my online vegan workshops

MilesQToast (April 13, 2009)

online and workshop sounds like mad work. I took some defensive driving courses online though and they weren't too hard. Do I get a certificate if I participate? Certificate of Participation should be a band name.

MilesQToast (April 13, 2009)

nah but those are some hot dudes.

belfast-sxe-vegan-madman (April 13, 2009)

of course you get a certificate, as well as the satisfaction of knowing you aint gonna be munchin on prok swords anymore, 3 workshops and ur a VEGAN, ten workshops and you can be a team leader....hell 75 workshops and you get to give the darn workshops much like myself, roll on workshop 109.....

Guy_Incognito (April 13, 2009)

Nice work! That'll help drive down meat prices for the rest of us. Keep up the good fight.

mechpope13 (April 13, 2009)

anyone else a fan of the bugle podcast?

1+ Reply

MilesQToast (April 13, 2009)

I like bugles cause of the way they fit on your fingers.

RossHostage (April 13, 2009)

I think the statistic regarding the drop in unit sales is bogus because the new price point is really competing with the people who download music for free. If you're really so cheap that a 30 cent increase keeps you from buying music you're an asshole to begin with.

4+ Replies

Vulture_Dude (April 13, 2009)

30 cents is more than I pay for a single track on emusic, so it is ridiculous.

Big_Guy (April 13, 2009)

30 cents per song adds up man

fallingupwards84 (April 13, 2009)

30 cents per song times fifteen... thats nearly 5 dollars more per album

Ravnos (April 13, 2009)

That pushes it up to the point where you may as well just buy the CD and rip it yourself just to save yourself some money.

Vulture_Dude (April 13, 2009)

who needs iTunes, emusic has more great tunes than I'll ever have the chance to listen to. They just need to bring back Epitaph and the other half of the Fat Wreck catalogue that recently went missing

jacknife737 (April 13, 2009)

What the fuck is this, econ101?

1+ Reply

Guy_Incognito (April 13, 2009)

Yes, now sit down and pay attention. You might learn something interesting.

DrewXFishy (April 13, 2009)

hey i got one
fuck itunes
buy CD's

1+ Reply

Scandelicious (April 13, 2009)

i agree dude, i've been buying a lot of cds lately.
it's kind of like a flashback to like the 90s or early 2000's for me...

ps i used to talk to you on aim i think, scandle90?

Guy_Incognito (April 13, 2009)

As hinted in the story, I'm sure this calculation is currently being done and watched closely over the next few months. If $1.29 turns out to be a less than optimal price point, it will go away.

I'm willing to bet that "singles" driven artists/labels like those you might see on MTV will lean more towards $1.29 to get the revenue the can out of the non-filler songs on their albums whereas "album" driven artists/labels who create complete works will end up pricing based on $0.69 and $0.99.

Big_Guy (April 13, 2009)

why would someone pay to download music?

they make cds and vinyl for a reason

2+ Replies

ChokingVictim (April 13, 2009)

yeah i mean...i don't really have any qualms with people who download music for free, but if you're gonna pay $10, why not get a cd? doesn't really make sense to me.

Guy_Incognito (April 13, 2009)

I'm still almost 99% exclusively buying CDs but I think the convenience factor is what is at play here. Not everyone is as invested in music as you or me so the convenience of digital wins out.

It'd be like a car guy wondering why anyone would buy a Honda instead of the new bad ass Camaro. I guess not everyone is a hobbyist.

Damo (April 13, 2009)

add that to the fact that Amazon is cheaper

fox82 (April 13, 2009)

I can only imagine a load of coke-head execs sitting around a table staring at each other's ponytail yelling at each other and going 'huh? 69 cents? are fucking shitting me?' Of course they are going to sell everything for 1.29, since it equates maximum profit or something.

In my opinion, records sold as mp3's shouldn't be sold for even half the cost of the physical CD, vinyl or tape, when you factor in the drop in production and distribution costs.

fallingupwards84 (April 13, 2009)

i was under the impression that only the hit singles would be $1.29 and the rest a lower price

looked at (relatively) low-selling albums like the new Propagandhi or Dillinger Four and none of the songs are sold at a lower price

fallingupwards84 (April 13, 2009)

this is the beauty of the free-market system though... iTunes thought they could increase prices but consumers responded by buying less music and lowering demand

unless iTunes wants to continue losing profits, they'll have no choice but to change prices.
if they don't, then another competing mp3 service will gain ground and iTunes will ultimately be replaced as the premier mp3 supplier

2+ Replies

fallingupwards84 (April 13, 2009)

although soulseek will always reign supreme in my book

Ravnos (April 13, 2009)

People have said that for ages. The reason iTunes is successful is because they're basically the default. Most people already have an iPod, they have iTunes installed for that iPod, so it's just easy to go use the iTMS for buying because they're already half way there. As long as Apple products are the de facto standard for portable media, their store will be the de facto standard for purchasing online music.

And in any case, it's not really Apple that's setting the prices here. The tiered pricing scheme was something the labels were pushing for a while now, and they got it as a concession on the DRM issue, which is, quite frankly, much worse and I'm very happy that it's gone. But I don't think that higher prices will do much to break Apple's near-monopoly on online music sales. More likely, people will just revert to piracy, which they were doing before anyway.

damnitsderek (April 13, 2009)

Max Bemis is not stoked.

BarleyPat (April 13, 2009)

How's everyones local/independent music shop doing these days?

The one by me is hurting, but they have always been WAY overpriced, with mediocre selection and annoying hipster clerks who treat the customer like shit (or just have an I-don't-care attitude).

The one back home (in MI) is still doing very well. They have alot of vinyl and great used/new CD selection complete with awesome clerks that are nice, respectful and actually care about the customers. I stop there everytime I go home and drop as much as I can afford (or more).

SumWon (April 13, 2009)

I 've been wanting that Limp Bizkit/Bubba Sparx track remixed by Timbaland for ages, I've just been patiently waiting for the price to go down. Now is my time to strike!

jlee562 (April 13, 2009)

"Greed, it ain't goin' anywhere! They should have that across a big billboard on Times Square." ~ Joe Strummer.

drugmoney (April 13, 2009)

seems like bullshit to me, i mean who really pays to download an album? does the art work come with the download? im sure the only "artist's" effected by this are the ones who have only one song on their entire album that anybody likes, you know the one played 3 X's an hour.

glad to say ive never used itunes to download anything, i have way too many albums and mp3 blanks that will fill my ipod for a long time.

LeightonESmith (April 14, 2009)

For every $1.29 song there should be a 69cent song.
This is another example of major labels with no fucking idea and fingers nowhere near the pulse.
You know what they're doing.... After losing for years now's their chance to TAKE IT BACK!!!
The only solution is a concerted pirating effort. Fuck people are stupid for paying for music. I haven't bought music since.... umm..... the 90's......

1+ Reply

donny (April 15, 2009)

people are not stupid for paying for something they're supposed to pay for. and stealing for a decade or more and not getting caught doesn't mean that you you're not a thief.

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