Music download prices to rise
Found on The Register on Monday, 28 February 2005
The market for downloaded music is strong enough to take a price rise, according to the major music labels.
Several big labels are in talks with online music retailers to get them to increase prices,according to the FT. The labels are looking to increase the wholesale prices shops pay for tracks. Sites in the US typically sell tracks for 99 cents each. The wholesale price is currently 65 cents per track, according to the FT.
Universal and Sony BMG are less keen to put prices up. EMI and Time Warner refused to comment on the FT story. Some observers are concerned that increasing prices would push people back to peer-to-peer networks and dodgy copies of songs.
Granted, I'm not a certified salesman and business strategist, but this idea doesn't seem to be powered by intelligence. If people can get something for free, it might be unwise to make the commercial alternative even more expensive. Maybe they mixed up "price rise" with "price drop". I can already see the next news: "The music industry complains that after a remarkable price increase for crippled DRM music, people switch back to download free MP3s from P2P networks".