Apple has returned fire at Amazon’s Mp3 service today, introducing indie record labels to its DRM-free iTunes Plus service to only 99 cents per song. It is rumored that Apple will also drop the price of all other iTunes Plus tracks to 99 cents from $1.29.
Amazon MP3 only sells DRM-free MP3s, largely from Universal and EMI, but with indies in the mix, too. Amazon tracks cost $0.89 to $0.99 each. Apple began iTunes plus with only EMI on board, but doesn’t have Universal doing the DRM-free thing, and it’s quite unlikely they ever will. Universal is part of the same company as NBC, and we know how that worked out.
Even so, this reflexive decision by Apple is the first time I can remember the company following a competitor’s lead in the digital download market. This is more proof that Amazon’s offering is the first significant challenge Apple has faced since launching the iTunes Music Store more than three years ago.
Via Ars Technica
Pete Mortensen is a design strategist for consulting firm Jump Associates and the co-author of Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy, a book and blog that are significantly more interesting than you might initially think. Pete’s particular Apple avocations are both around design–interface and industrial. Follow him on Twitter!
