Music downloads become cheaper
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Music downloads become cheaper as Amazon encroach on iTunes and Apple bow to EU law
Online music downloads are set to become cheaper in the UK as Amazon sign a deal to sell tracks that lack copy protection and Apple announce they will cut iTunes prices.
Sony has announced that they have agreed a deal with Amazon to release their entire catalogue of tracks on Amazon’s MP3 store. All of the songs on the system will be free of Digital Rights Management (DRM) controls. The presence of DRM has been a controversial topic in the online music download industry. By trading DRM free music Amazon will be able to offer its consumers a realistic alternative to Apple iTunes. All of the tracks sold by Amazon are available without copyright control whereas iTunes only deliver EMI tunes without copy controls. The service is set to become available by the end of January.
In another story that is set to improve the download industry for the consumer, Apple has agreed to cut the prices of their iTunes in the UK. They currently charge UK customers 7 percent more for their downloads than other customers in the Euro zone. The European Commission found that the current deal breached European Law and Apple has subsequently amended their pricing structure. According to Which? Magazine the move meant that Apple had finally agreed to ‘give British music lovers a fair deal’. The news is not set to significantly damage Apple as iTunes only contributes 4 percent of the company’s total sales.
Both stories are likely to worry Apple shareholder.
Posted on: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 11:12 am 
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