When most
music download stores started up in the UK, most chose the typical 99p price,
equivalent to how iTunes chose 99c in the US. However, when iTunes came to France,
Germany and the UK, it went with 99c (Euro currency), but chose 79p as a more competitive price to other UK music download stores rather than the Euro -> Sterling equivalent. After conversion, this works out at around 17% to 20% more expensive than iTunes France & Germany.
Despite
this lower track pricing compared with Napster UK for example, the Consumer's Association has asked Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to investigate the pricing difference between UK and the other two EU iTunes stores, claiming it is a potential breach of the competition law. While the pricing of physical items such as music CDs, movies, games and so on can vary a lot across Europe, iTunes' pricing works different. If a consumer really wanted to, they can purchase their CD, DVD or game abroad in Europe for the cheaper price such as on a webstore and have it shipped to them. However with iTunes, the user is locked into purchasing music from their own Country's iTunes store which means the user must be registered as a resident of France or Germany to avail of the European pricing.
So far, while the Consumers' Association has not encountered a single complaint about the iTunes UK pricing, they believe that iTunes could be made cheaper if priced the same as in Europe. On the other hand, they have no plans on investigating the other higher priced UK music download stores. Feslmogh, wesociety and Quakester2000 all used our news submit to let us know about the folllowing news:
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The Consumers' Association, publisher of consumer magazine Which?, said it has asked the UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to investigate the pricing disparity. If evidence is found of anti-competitive pricing, the group intends to ask the OFT to compel the computer maker to institute a pricing scheme on par with what it charges consumers in continental Europe. "There appears to be considerable evidence that the iTunes set-up is prejudiced against the UK public and distorts the very basis of the single market. If the OFT agrees it will be another example of the rip-off culture that the British public are often victims of," the group said in a statement. When Apple launched the iTunes music store in Europe in June it instituted a set download price of 99 euro cents per track in Germany and France and 79 pence (116 euro cents) per track in the UK. Apple plans to launch the service in other European countries this autumn. Targeting iTunes is an odd choice. In Britain, Apple's music service is cheaper -- in some cases more than 20 percent cheaper -- than rivals Napster and most of the online retailers that resell the catalog of music download firm OD2. Read the full story here. |
As the Sterling to European conversion does vary, it would be better for iTunes to initially base their UK price on the European version and then give the user a choice of paying in Sterling or Euro. For example, 69p would be a more realistic price for iTunes UK. Also, even if iTunes did allow purchasing from an international iTunes store, it is not like that they have to physically ship an item to the customer.
Feel free to discuss about iTunes and other music download stores on our Music Downloads, P2P & Legal Issues Forum.
Source: Yahoo Technology News
