danbruno.net

There’s a conflict brewing between Apple and a couple of major record companies. Apparently, 99 cents isn’t going to cut it anymore:

If [Apple] loses, the one-price model that iTunes has adopted – 99 cents to download any song – could be replaced with a more complex structure that prices songs by popularity. A hot new single, for example, could sell for $1.49, while a golden oldie could go for substantially less than 99 cents.

It may initially seem that this is a stupid move by the music industry. After all, the iTunes Music Store has done more for monetizing digital music than anything else — why mess with it? Still, that last bit about songs going for less than 99 cents has people excited, myself included. Maybe an iTMS with variable pricing will introduce the record companies to the Long Tail.