He said Apple will also do well with its 69-cent catalogue, “because that’s even more of an impulse purchase than the 99-cent catalogue. From that perspective, the music labels are likely to make a little bit more money,” said Gartner research analyst Van Baker. “The vast majority of music is purchased by teen-age girls and they tend to buy popular music, and they buy it when it first comes out. The widened price range - a departure from Apple’s rigid 99 cent-a-song system - could wind up boosting revenue for the major music labels, who had worried Apple was becoming too powerful. Ĭopy protection was designed to prevent fans from illegally sharing digital downloads, but it also prevents or slows legitimate buyers from moving their own songs between devices. The agreement, struck with labels including Vivendi's VIV.PA Universal Music Group, Sony Corp's 6758.T Sony BMG, Warner Music Group WMG.N and EMI, brings iTunes in line with rival sites such as AMZN.O and Napster and will heighten competition in an already-tough marketplace, analysts say. Songs will also be available straight to iPhones over the air, instead of through a computer. “People were bullish going into it, and now they’re kind of taking money off the table.”Īpple said its iTunes music store, the world’s biggest digital music retailer with sales of 6 billion songs since 2003, will offer its 10 million-song library free of digital rights management - or copy-protection - by the end of the quarter, for between 69 cents and $1.29 apiece. “There were some innovative products, but no true blockbusters,” said Robert Francello, head of equity trading for the Apex Capital hedge fund in San Francisco. Investors remain hopeful the firm, expected to focus on marketing this year rather than shuffling out groundbreaking products in the midst of a global economic downturn, will in coming months unveil new desktop products or modifications to its best-selling iPhone. IXIC 1.5 percent gain and reflecting frustration over the lack of news from the trade conference that had introduced the iPhone to the world. SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Apple Inc AAPL.O announced plans to drop copy protection from songs sold over the Internet and debuted a slim, big-screen laptop, but with no dramatic products or master pitchman Steve Jobs, the company's final Macworld performance disappointed Wall Street.Īpple shares slid by as much as 2.3 percent, lagging the Nasdaq's. (Adds analyst comment on music industry, other details)
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