Why is iTunes so bloody expensive?!

[CDW1988]

Even after their supposed reduction in the price of some (ie. hardly any) songs, all that seems to have happened it that they're charging the same as before (79p) or 99p for single tracks. It's absolutely ridiculous considering you can get exactly the same thing on amazon for 29 or 69p. It even downloads them straight to your itunes library so you dont even have to move the file yourself. I say we should all boycott iTunes...robbing b******s!

[Eric Generic]

I think their business model - and rationale for selling at the prices they do - has been explained on here (possibly by Daneeboy?), but aside from that I can't see how such a pricing structure can remain enticing when amazon and hmv sell thousands of whole CD albums for between 3 and 5 quid now. For new releases, iTunes aren't much cheaper (if at all on occasion), and for catalogue stuff they're way more expensive.

EG.

[Popjustice]

Amazon are selling music cheaply as a loss leader, it's not sustainable in the long term and it's basically doing to download prices what the supermarkets did for CDs - making it impossible for independent retailers to compete. Having said all that they offer a great service and cheap stuff's cheap stuff, right? Right.

[Eric Generic]

Supermarkets are/were the worst thing to happen to music retailing, I agree. They undercut the "real" music stores to the extent where all but one became extinct, and then stopped giving a shit about the range, pricing and stock of the (little) music they now sell (their chart stuff is often actually more than HMV and amazon these days, and back catalogue is minimal, random and loveless). It's disgraceful but we've all been guilty of buying where it's cheapest. It's left us with virtually no retail industry.

So yes, I think we could be heading the same way with downloads. The problem with iTunes is that when CD albums were 13 quid in the shops, cherry picking songs individually for 79p seemed great....but now that essential chart CDs are a fiver in HMV, 79p a throw is anything but good value.

EG.

[multimediac17]

Back catalogue shelf of a supermarket music section is the most depressing place in the world.

[CDW1988]

what is a "loss leader"? surely they wouldnt be doing it if they were making a loss?

[Eric Generic]

I *think* it means selling something without making a profit purely to get people into a store to buy stuff they can make a profit on.

So, amazon are using the cheap/free mp3 offers to get more customers in who will hopefully buy lots of nice DVD boxsets and ipods and Wiis.

EG.

[liltin]

what is a "loss leader"? surely they wouldnt be doing it if they were making a loss?

It means they lose money on a product, but they're willing to sell because the amount they lose is less than the profit opportunities out on which they'd miss if they didn't offer it. Think of it as maybe losing a bit on selling a computer to make a bunch more on its warranty.

[CDW1988]

ah ic...clever. I wonder if that actually works in practice..i've certainly never bought anything off amazon other than cheap singles and albums. Maybe i'm just a rubbish customer!

[James2009]

ah ic...clever. I wonder if that actually works in practice..i've certainly never bought anything off amazon other than cheap singles and albums. Maybe i'm just a rubbish customer!

I used to work in M&S, and we'd offer food deals like the "dine in for a tenner" offer that was a loss leader, but people would buy loads of other crap (like the insanely overpriced £4 biscuits) on the way to the till, so we easily made our money back from losing like £1 on the dine for a tenner deal.

[egalité]

I don't think iTunes is expensive, i.e. I do not begrudge paying that much, think the product could/should be offered cheaper etc.

Considering the value I personally get out of music, 79p for a track (barely any are 59 or 99) seems like an excellent deal. I'm not particularly rich but I'm not on the breadline, and that's my opinion. I'll gladly spend £5 in Starbucks for a coffee and a croissant, 90p a day on a paper etc. whereas that song I have forever.

Their full catalogue albums, it is true, often (not always, think collectible physicals) represent poor value compared to CDs, but barely any of their customers use iTunes for full albums. Overwhelming majority do for rare/old tracks and singles where they don't want the full album. SOME of Amazon's single prices are cheaper, but not all that many. There is a small selection for 29p, and that won't last, loss leaders never do as they will result in well, a loss! Their MP3s are also (albeit only slightly) worse quality, and I can't buy direct from my iPhone/have the wonderful iTunes store experience with them.

I'm just not convinced that iTunes could be realistically characterised as 'expensive'.

[MOP]

Loss leaders? *gets out Home Ec booklet*

Ah yes, they are when a store prices one item as to make no profit, a minimal profit or a loss as to encourage larger gain in other products.

Best example would be Gilette, doing free razors and then having DISGUSTINGLY over-priced blades.

And there's something about iTunes that just makes me want to buy off it. For no reason at all. Buying off Amazon just feels so... second-rate. Apple's just so clean and methodical and pretty. Fucking hell I'm willing to go about £30 over a year on music just because it's pretty. What the fuck are Apple doing? It's working.

[multimediac17]

there's something about iTunes that just makes me want to buy off it. For no reason at all.

Yes! I've already downloaded all the b-sides and remixes I currently want off iTunes but I just want to go back and buybuybuybuy for some reason. Maybe they've invaded our brains?

[MOP]

THAT IS INDEED IT. The whole experience just makes you feel good for handing money over to evil corporate giants. It's fucking bizzare!

You don't get that in Lidl folks.

[multimediac17]

It's just all so pretty.

[DiscoBlue]

In AMERICA, supermarkets don't sell music.

Also, "supermarket" to me is food market.

[Tribal Spaceman]

In AMERICA, supermarkets don't sell music.

Also, "supermarket" to me is food market.

Wal Mart do...

[ManilaSilk]

Is Target a supermarket? They sell music, don't they?

[multimediac17]

I don't know about America but in Australia Target is more of a "department store" - it doesn't sell food other than candy.

It is weird hearing people say they bought music at the "supermarket" - to me that means food store. Cultural difference I discovered on PJ #526

[ManilaSilk]

Does Australia have a Tesco?

[multimediac17]

Nope. I was discussing the possibility of moving to Britain the other day and my sister went "WOULD THAT MEAN YOU'D GET TO SHOP AT TESCO?!?" She was freakishly excited at the prospect.

I learnt everything I know about Tesco through the Spice Girls Christmas ads and Lily Allen's 'LDN'.

[ManilaSilk]

Nope. I was discussing the possibility of moving to Britain the other day and my sister went "WOULD THAT MEAN YOU'D GET TO SHOP AT TESCO?!?" She was freakishly excited at the prospect.

I learnt everything I know about Tesco through the Spice Girls Christmas ads and Lily Allen's 'LDN'.

It's quite fun. The self service tills make you feel all 'grown up' and the like.

[multimediac17]

Ooh, we have self-serve at Big W, except I never use it because there's always some twat in front of me that can't bloody work it and if that isn't the case it'll be my mother or my sister who can't work it and I have to stand there with an apologetic look on my face to all the other people in the line who are thinking we're a family of twats.

AND there's always some storeperson watching over you anyway, so why don't they just bloody do it?!

[James2009]

Ooh, we have self-serve at Big W, except I never use it because there's always some twat in front of me that can't bloody work it and if that isn't the case it'll be my mother or my sister who can't work it and I have to stand there with an apologetic look on my face to all the other people in the line who are thinking we're a family of twats.

AND there's always some storeperson watching over you anyway, so why don't they just bloody do it?!

DON'T get me started on the knobheads who can't follow "please place your shopping in the bagging area"

HOW FUCKING HARD IS IT?!

[MOP]

It's actually SO annoying. I had my coat tail touching it EVER so slightly once and it nearly ate me, it kept saying PLEASE REMOVE THE SHIT FROM THE BAGGING AREA. And I started screaming at it and there were children everywhere.