A source tells CNET News.com that Apple Computer and the record labels are working on a way for iTunes customers to soon “be able to buy the album and get credit for any single tracks they have bought,” Ina Fried blogs for CNET.
Fried reports, “Apple has already been showing more flexibility when it comes to album pricing. The company has started selling some classic rock albums for $7.99, $2 less than its typical pricing. There are even a few albums, such as Bon Jovi’s eponymous release, for $5.99.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “LinuxGuy and Mac Prodigal Son” for the heads up.]
Damn! A Bon Jovi album for $5.99?!?!?! Why that’s a savings of nearly 2 cents over its worth!
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God, MDN, your pop-up ads and annoying inline ads are the absolute worst I come across all day. I’m sure the ads on porn sites and webrings are worse but the fact that I’m even comparing you to them is sad in itself.
MDN get some class. Why be so greedy?
eponymous
Gotta get me some of that ‘eponymous’.
MW-english–Where’s the cap ‘E’.
God, MDN, your pop-up ads and annoying inline ads are the absolute worst I come across all day. I’m sure the ads on porn sites and webrings are worse but the fact that I’m even comparing you to them is sad in itself.
I second that if only for the weirdness — as in, how come a ‘iTunes’ underline turns into a ‘mortgage’ ad?!?
Hey, I must give Apple (and the industry, I guess) credit for what is a good idea here. Several times I’ve bought a track or two off of an album, only to discover I really like the group and want to buy the whole thing. Was a sucky dilemma to either double-pay for the purchased tracks or not buy the album.
This would be a nice third alternative!
does this mean i can 9 of the tracks on one of the 7.99 albums, then buy the album and make a buck?
sounds good to me!
A true “Win/Win/Win” approach – 1) consumers get a discount on album purchases if they already had purchased a few individual songs, 2) the record companies make additional $$ on the sale of the whole album, and 3) Apple makes a few extra $ and shows to the record companies that Apple is flexible which helps to promote goodwill for next year’s round of talks with the record companies.
Peace.
I think this is a bad idea since it would just encourage me to buy more music.
I third the notion of too many pop up (pop under) ads. This site has been a sea of advertisements for too long. And subverting the pop-up blocker in Safari is underhanded. As long as you make money though, right?
What the HELL is up with Apple’s new album pricing in iTunes??? $17 for an album???? $1.69 for a track? Maybe Zune will make inroads with this pricing. It’s bullshit, that’s for sure.
me and DJ,
the pop-under’s are easy to opt out of (I can’t remember how at the moment) but the unbelievably annoying inline pop-ups can be gotten rid of by installing SafariBlock and then blocking *intellitxt* in the SafariBlock Preferences.
Last time I posted this info, I was unable to post again until I reset safari. I have a feeling I was banned from posting in retaliation for spreading this liberating bit of information.
@ G-Spank
What are you talking about? It’s still $.99 and $9.99.
It’s a great idea for all the reasons mentioned, but also because it encourages people to try more music than they otherwise might.
If there’s an artist who interests you, you can get some idea of what they are doing by listening to the 30 second previews, but there’s a big difference between a short preview and the entire album.
By buying a few tracks, you get a much better idea of what they do. If you don’t like it, you’re only out by a couple of bucks, but if you do like it, there’s an incentive to buy the whole album for a couple of bucks less than before.
This is good news for customers and artists too. It’s exactly the sort of approach that differentiates Apple from the others.
I have nothing original to add. Still, I’d like to share my enthusiasm for this idea! It is easy for me to imagine myself, having previously purchased a single or two from an album, being more likely to ‘upgrade’ to the entire album, assuming this great idea is implemented. I hope whoever ‘The Decider’ is makes the right decision. Smart ideal!
I have a lot of, ahem, single MP3’s I’d like to deduct from the album cost.
I wonder if the IRAA would go for that?
OK, enough feedback cruft on this subject. Let’s start a “holy-war” against in-line ads.
What a neat idea. The frigin’ load time itself is enough of a reason.
Never mind the friggin’ misleading aspect of it!
That’s a great idea. It will encourage customers to try a few songs, and if they like those few songs, they can get the entire album for a discount without duplicating previous song purchases.
And I don’t think Apple previously had any “set” pricing for albums. Just for individual tracks.
Well, that makes sense AND saves cents.
Now for some Insense…