First of all, prices at iTunes HAVE gone up. When everything used to merely be 9.99, it's now become more for big name acts who still got the old school greed on.
Also, there are GINORMOUS savings in distribution. No CDs are actually manufactured. There's only cover art, but no inner sleeve art. No shipping and related costs. Middlemen are whoopie gonzo!
And let's not FORGET that all along Steve has been suggesting prices must DROP to negate the need for filesharing. Once a disc reaches the $4.99 price, only folks who would steal it anyway will. Everyone else would pony up $5 damn dollars.
In fact, if the price dropped to $2.99, people would send each other iTunes as 'thank you' notes/gifts.
Apologist Argument
Umm, this is one crazy argument.
First of all, prices at iTunes HAVE gone up. When everything used to merely be 9.99, it's now become more for big name acts who still got the old school greed on.
Also, there are GINORMOUS savings in distribution. No CDs are actually manufactured. There's only cover art, but no inner sleeve art. No shipping and related costs. Middlemen are whoopie gonzo!
And let's not FORGET that all along Steve has been suggesting prices must DROP to negate the need for filesharing. Once a disc reaches the $4.99 price, only folks who would steal it anyway will. Everyone else would pony up $5 damn dollars.
In fact, if the price dropped to $2.99, people would send each other iTunes as 'thank you' notes/gifts.
Price increases. Dinosaur thinking.