Consumers
who use iTunes for purchasing music are probably aware that while the album
pricing may only be £7.99 per album, one thing iTunes lacks is the CD inlets,
never mind the actual CD or other extras. Universal Music Group now aims
to bring consumers back into the shops using a similar idea by launching basic
"no-frills" CDs that compete with iTunes' pricing, have no more than a simple cover in the jewel case.
Their plan will target back-catalogue releases
rather than recent titles and pricing will be €9.99 (under £7 in UK) a
title. They will also continue to offer regular priced versions that come
with the extras, along with a double-pack version that includes a DVD for
€19.99. These basic no-frills type CDs will be introduced across
Europe and the UK from September.
Both Universal and BMG have trialled basic
CDs in Europe before with Universal selling over 3 million of these last
year during their test phase, but while they originally aimed to compete with
illegal file sharing back then, Universal's plan now is to compete with the
growing iTunes market. It is unclear at this time if
Universal's basic CDs will incorporate copy protection, however if this is
not the case, they will make a good competitive alternative to iTunes,
especially if the CDs can be ripped to put on the iPod. Thanks to
GristyMcFisty for
letting us know
about this news:
According to a report in the Guardian newspaper, Universal Some further info can also be read on Guardian. |
Even if the basic no-frills CDs were priced the same as the iTunes
tracks, there would be several advantages to the CD over purchasing it via
iTunes. The first obviously is having the music on a physical format,
where as with iTunes one must write their own discs from the albums they
purchase if they want a hard copy. Next would be sound quality, since
iTunes uses a 'lossy' compressed version of the CD. Should the
consumer decide to sell their music later, these CDs can potentially be sold
second hand, where as music from iTunes cannot, even if written to CD.
Finally, the pricing of CDs are not fixed, which means that it is possible for
Universal to sell discs for what ever price they choose, unlike iTunes where one
is forced to pay the fixed price of £7.99 or €9.99 per album on the UK and
European stores respectively.
Source: The Register - Hardware
