We've discussed this before, and my opinion remains the same: record labels are trying to make up for their own poor business decisions (pursuing one-hit wonders at the expense of cultivating artists who build a following, among other mistakes) by squeezing more profit out of the iTunes store. I think this is a foolish, short-term strategy.
By cutting out manufacturing and marketing costs, record companies already make more profit by selling a song through iTunes than on a CD, Apple's co-founder and CEO said. “So if they want to raise the prices it just means they're getting a little greedy,” he said.
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Mr. Jobs indicated that he plans to stand firm. “We're trying to compete with piracy, we're trying to pull people away from piracy and say, 'You can buy these songs legally for a fair price,'” he said. “But if the price goes up a lot, they'll go back to piracy. Then everybody loses.”
Apple has sold about 22 million of its iPod digital-music players and more than 500 million songs through the iTunes store. The service accounts for 82% of all legally downloaded music in the U.S
WSJ.com - Steve Jobs Slams Music Companies Seeking iTunes Price Hikes
