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Media (Apple) Media Music

iTunes Store Available in Australia Very Soon 201

Posted by timothy from the wendell-white-kicks-apple-butt dept.
tintub writes "New Zealander Russell Crowe has probably infuriated Apple by revealing the launch date of the iTunes store in Australia. Apparently it will be open as early as tomorrow (Thursday), selling tracks for AU$1.80 each. Personally I think this is too much, but I'm glad it's finally available in Australia. Now, when's Amazon coming?"
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iTunes Store Available in Australia Very Soon More

iTunes Store Available in Australia Very Soon

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  • Dear Apple (Score:2, Interesting)

    by CaptainZapp ( 182233 ) *
    I read that you will also open an ITunes store in Scandinavia and in Switzerland as well this week; this is nice.

    As long as you don't sell MP3 / Ogg files in 320kb - / very high quality however, I cordially invite you to go and bang yer heads; you won't sell me one damn song.

    I can agree to not distribute downloaded material, but I'm hell bent not to buy anything that even faintly stinks of DRM.

    Oh and while we're at it: 99c a song is acceptable, 9.99 per album is not, specifically for some crippled format

    • Re:Dear Apple (Score:5, Informative)

      by Calroth ( 310516 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:29AM (#12357324)
      You cut out the middleman and a whole lot of manufacturing -, distribution and logistics in the process and I - as the consumer - want at least a part of that savings reflected on the price.

      Whilst you can want that, there's no reason for you to get it.

      The cost of production has little to do with the price of the songs. The price is simply the highest amount that consumers will let Apple get away with. Although they could lower their prices and therefore sell more songs, if you add it up, they wouldn't make more money this way.

      Now, the actual issue isn't this simple in real life, of course. Also, Apple only makes a tiny amount of money from music sales (at the moment, the store is only there to make iPods more attractive). But it's useful to remember, in the real world, we have real world economics.
      • Whilst you can want that, there's no reason for you to get it.

        Of course not, they can charge whatever they damn well please. I on the other hand don't have to buy an overprized, crappy product and that's exactly what I will refrain to do.

        Also, Apple only makes a tiny amount of money from music sales

        I'm aware of that. But then again Apple may or may not feed the agitation of consumers back to the powers that be. In any case, it's the Apple brand representing the store and thus I feel legitimate to addre

      • Re:Dear Apple (Score:3, Interesting)

        by 0x461FAB0BD7D2 ( 812236 )
        Although they could lower their prices and therefore sell more songs, if you add it up, they wouldn't make more money this way.

        That's assuming that demand is inelastic. But given the number of alternatives to iTunes, albeit crappy ones, this is not the case.

        The main reason iPod is still the top dog is because of trend. There are iPod clones and killers out on the market now, but if Apple fails to continue innovation with the iPod, you can be sure that demand will be elastic, and they'd have to lower pric
        • That's assuming that demand is inelastic. But given the number of alternatives to iTunes, albeit crappy ones, this is not the case.

          Yeah. That's why, in the very next sentence, I wrote "Now, the actual issue isn't this simple in real life, of course."

          Seriously, I could go on and on about the economics of the situation, and pick apart everything I said above, and talk dry theory. But why bother? I made my point.

    • Re:Dear Apple (Score:3, Insightful)

      by CrackedButter ( 646746 )

      The RIAA cut out the middleman btw not Apple, it isn't Apple which dicates pricing nor the DRM, iTunes music store is the result of what the music industries want. However I do agree with you on all the other points. Although I do buy music from them, I resort to cherry picking good albums for their singles because I'm not prepared to pay for price for an album to get a few good songs.
      There is also nothing wrong with selling 320kb songs in AAC either as long as the DRM wrapper isn't there, it is an open
      • Actually, recent reporting suggests the industry let Apple drive the price, much to it's later consternation. [afterdawn.com]

        I'm not prepared to pay for price for an album to get a few good songs.

        Ahh well, I almost only purchase albums that has nearly all quality songs, then the per song pricing bought in an album is more attractive.

        • Yeah but I delete songs I don't like so there is no benefit doing it that way. However, if the album is really good and say only 1 song is bad, I'd just buy it in a sale or from amazon, which ever is cheaper first.
          • Well, personally for me the time saved in waiting for shipment to arrive makes up for it; I've learned to be very impulsive with Internet commerce, and music is no exception. I've only bought about a half dozen songs individually but I have purchased about 25 CD's worth (a few of which I have original vinyl copies I've purchased as far back as the late 70s). Plus I can burn a physical CD of it and rip to MP3 for other devices; I'm not as picky about the file quality as many people are, so the whole bag work
            • Yes, the file quality isn't bad, I don't understand why its a big issue at times. I have a good set of speakers as well and I cannot tell any difference, none of the songs I have bought make me sit up and notice and say "This song sounds shit, I'm not buying from iTunes again"! I even recently downgraded my music from 256kbs mp3 to 128kbs AAC as well. no difference to me other than filesize which saved me 4GB's.

        • I read the article btw, I think it is wrong in that it states that there are many more phones than mp3 players. While this is true, how many would upgrade their phones to the new music downloading phones plus would it be simpler to buy music off them when they might cost more than from a PC which they might already have?
          Also while it seems that Apple does indeed set the price, it is well known that the music industries want to increase this but its because of Apple that they are still at the price of $0.

    • Re:Dear Apple (Score:4, Insightful)

      by nmg196 ( 184961 ) * on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:34AM (#12357350)
      > As long as you don't sell MP3 / Ogg files in 320kb - / very high quality however

      Most people listen to MP3 files though headphones or in a car. The quality of the sound though headphones is so bad that it doesn't really matter if it's only 128K - you're never going to tell the difference anyway. Especially if you don't upgrade from the crappy white headphones that came with your iPod.

      • Re:Dear Apple (Score:2, Interesting)

        by CaptainZapp ( 182233 ) *
        The quality of the sound though headphones is so bad

        This is only true if you refer to the 99 cents ear killers, that they tuck in with portable audio devices. You are however free to toss them and get a set of Sennheiser, or Koss earphones. At least the more expensive models sound rather excellent to my ears.

      • Re:Dear Apple (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Calroth ( 310516 )
        Most people listen to MP3 files though headphones or in a car. The quality of the sound though headphones is so bad that it doesn't really matter if it's only 128K - you're never going to tell the difference anyway. Especially if you don't upgrade from the crappy white headphones that came with your iPod.

        Damn right. Consider the following:
        • the difference in sound quality between 128Kbit AAC and 320Kbit Ogg Vorbis
        • the difference in sound quality between your current crappy earbuds and (for instance) anyth
      • Through a pair of $30 Sony earbud headphones the difference between 128 and 320kbps is painfully obvious. If you invest in a decent set of headphones ($100-200) there are few sets of speakers on the market that will compare to the sound quality. With all due respect if you think the sound quality through headphones is 'so bad' maybe it's your ears that are masking the quality loss at lower bitrates.
    • I won't buy every new song from them, but I sure will (when ITMS reaches Sweden, or I set it all up via my Finnish address etc, that is) buy a cpl of songs that just have to have like 5 minutes ago and/or can't be found at a local store...

    • Re:Dear Apple (Score:2, Insightful)

      by BackInIraq ( 862952 )
      Oh and while we're at it: 99c a song is acceptable, 9.99 per album is not, specifically for some crippled format, which may or may not play in three years. You cut out the middleman and a whole lot of manufacturing -, distribution and logistics in the process and I - as the consumer - want at least a part of that savings reflected on the price.

      You might want to address this to somebody more appropriate, such as "Dear RIAA." Apple does not have as much control as you might think over the prices of songs o
      • You might want to address this to somebody more appropriate, such as "Dear RIAA."

        I'm waware of who calls the shots. Apple however sells the material. It's their logo representing the shop, the customer interacts with Apple, not with the RIAA (unless the customer is a dead grandmother, or an eight year old girl, who just got sued by the RIAA, but I digress).

        I can agree that Apple really pulled something off here. They basically invented legal, downloadable music in a very scalable manner. It's just that I

        • Re:Dear Apple (Score:2, Insightful)

          by Wyatt Earp ( 1029 )
          If you are such a sucker for uncompressed source materials, why are you listening to ogg then? It's been compressed. So no MPEG or JPEG for you either.

          In other words, you are not the type of customer Apple is marketing towards, so really they shouldn't care and neither should you.

          Break out the turntable and the tube amps.

    • Re:Dear Apple (Score:3, Insightful)

      by rokzy ( 687636 )
      >You cut out the middleman and a whole lot of manufacturing -, distribution and logistics in the process and I - as the consumer - want at least a part of that savings reflected on the price.

      yes because we all know how expensive producing CDs is (*cough* AOL *cough*) whereas internet bandwidth is so cheap people never run out (*cough* /. effect *cough*).
    • "Dear RIAA," not "Dear Apple?"

      Considering that pretty much everything you complain about is their fault, not Apple's.

    • Oh and while we're at it: 99c a song is acceptable, 9.99 per album is not,

      Are you math-impaired? For an album of 12 songs, $9.99 is less than $.99 per song. Any album of 11 or more tracks (and most are) will be cheaper bought for $9.99 than $.99 per track. If the album is less than 10 songs, then it is always the number of songs times $.99, not $9.99. So, a 9 track album is priced $8.91.

      The price of an album will *always* be equal to or lesser than the price of all of its tracks purchased individually.

  • It's just sad... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by 0x461FAB0BD7D2 ( 812236 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:22AM (#12357295) Journal
    that even though we have something that is truly global such as the internet and the web, we still find citizens of the web denying access to services based on real-world geographical location?

    Doesn't that defeat the all-encompassing nature of the web?

    • Re:It's just sad... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by MrMickS ( 568778 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:37AM (#12357372) Homepage Journal
      The issue, as always, is the invasion of external legilation onto the web. The reason for no global launch is two fold; the rights holders and the local government.

      In the early days of e-commerce it was simple for me to buy goods from the USA (I live in the UK) and electronically download them, or have them physically shipped, for less money than I paid locally. Now this is much harder. There are agreements in place that require overseas suppliers to charge me UK sales tax, or make it easy for the UK authorities to charge me it directly. This has made the world shrink again. I recently looked to buy something only available in the US but found that the company didn't ship to the UK, not because of shipping costs but because of the hassle of the form filling.

      • True as it may be, it still harks back to my original comment, that the true global capabilities and function of the internet is not being used to its full potential.

        Rather than adapting traditional laws, regulations and customs to those of the internet, people are forcing the internet to adapt to traditional laws, essentially nationalizing and limiting something international.

        Perhaps, it's for the best. I certainly wouldn't want kids jumping up and down behind CNN anchors screaming "First post!".

      • Re:It's just sad... (Score:5, Interesting)

        by BackInIraq ( 862952 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:51AM (#12357445)
        I recently looked to buy something only available in the US but found that the company didn't ship to the UK, not because of shipping costs but because of the hassle of the form filling.

        Welcome to off-topic land, but I just have to say something. I am a soldier deployed in Iraq, and have found that for some reason I cannot order software online and have it shipped here. I'm a US citizen on a US installation trying to buy something from a US store and have it delivered by the US mail system (even though the army handles part of it, they would still be a US entity), and for some reason I cannot do so. Even sillier because there is some computer software available at the post exchange here. And even sillier because I could legally have the Xbox version of the PC game I was trying to buy shipped here, no problem (from the same store, even).

        So go figure.
        • What reason do they give? "We don't ship to APO/FPO" is a common 'excuse'.
          Who is it and what are you trying to buy?
        • Yeah, I hear they had the same problem in the 'Nam.

          Seriously, that totally sucks. If you haven't got family willing to do the transfer for you, you've got friends on Slashdot. Lemme know what you want and where you need it sent.
        • I worked in mail order for years. I know the company I worked for could only ship UPS. The post-office wouldn't pick up, and Fed-Ex was too expensive. Can UPS ship where you are?

          I imagine the problem you are fighting is that companies just dont know how to ship there, not that they wont do it. If you explained exactly how to address the box and whatnot, and explained that there is no additional cost, I know I would be much more willing to help you.
      • There are agreements in place that require overseas suppliers to charge me UK sales tax

        Please cite these agreements.

        The EU would like to have the rest of the world act as its tax collector; remarkably, many of the large American corporations have bent over already. But as small suppliers, I and many of my colleagues are scratching our heads saying "wtf".

        -b
    • Doesn't that defeat the all-encompassing nature of the web?

      Unfortunately the all-encompassing nature of the web defeats the geographic nature of markets and governments. Neither are going to change anytime soon.
    • There are rights issues to consider, as the seller has to have the legal right to sell that track in the locale. Probably other legal issues as well. It does seem kind of silly, given that importing CDs is a trivial thing for a lot of people.
    • Wait until IPv6 gets penetration and the routing becomes easily centrally controllable because of the natural hierarchical nature of IPv6 addressing. You'll need some kind of network passport to connect to other countries, and won't be able to connect to some countries at all.

    • Re:It's just sad... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Sunspire ( 784352 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @08:27AM (#12357667)
      Even when your country is added to the iTunes approved list, all the content is localized. I have zero interest in the stuff on my local iTunes, it's the same poppy crap I can listen for free on the radio.

      I want to listen to what's new on the Brazilian scene, download the newest releases from Japan, listen to UK indie etc. Sell to me dammit! I've got a credit card and a 10 second attention span. I hope someone will take iTunes to the next level and truly offer a global service. I realize this isn't Apples fault, but it still sucks.

      Everything that can be digitized should be. Imagine being able to call up any song or movie ever produced. That way the media companies would be putting their vast archives to work for them instead of rotting away in some vault. Bulgarian jingles from the 60's are worth something to someone on the Internet right now. When there's see a "watch now" button on IMDB, no matter how obscure the movie, the world will have changed.

      • I hope someone will take iTunes to the next level and truly offer a global service. I realize this isn't Apples fault, but it still sucks.

        I'm sure that as soon as the music industry can work out all the rights issues and agree on terms, Apple will jump on the opportunity to increase the selection of music in iTunes.

        Currently the US iTunes music store has "French Pop" and "German Pop" sections .. I imagine that they'll expand their selection whenever possible. I heard something about them adding a larg

  • What for ? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:24AM (#12357302)
    Why paying A$1.8 per song when you can buy a
    whole unprotected CD at www.allofmp3.com for
    the same amount ?

    And legally as well :
    http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/26/108283147 555 6.html

  • How much is that? (Score:1, Flamebait)

    by bhima ( 46039 )
    1.80 Austrialian dollars? What is that 15 US dollars and about 1.5 Euros? Why is the price so high and I wonder if they'll get into trouble for over charging people like they did in the UK...
    • 1.80 Austrialian dollars? What is that 15 US dollars and about 1.5 Euros?
      1.8 Australian Dollars, at today's currency exchange rates, are about 1.40 US $, or about 1.08 €.
    • actually it's $1.40 USD...
    • Some people on one of the Apple boards in Australia managed to create accounts today and purchased a few tracks. The cost of them was AUD$1.69 which is more expensive than the US but cheaper than the UK. That's pretty much par for the course for everything these days.

      Those accounts have now been closed by Apple. Sorry, I won't put up the link to the relevant threads on the Apple board as local readership to an article on there caused the server to slow down appreciably and there's no way they will ever

  • When's Amazon coming to Australia? (Score:4, Funny)

    by artifex2004 ( 766107 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:26AM (#12357307) Journal
    When everyone learns how to read upside-down!

  • Price (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Puremajik ( 853810 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:26AM (#12357310)
    I agree with the fact $1.80 is too expensive.

    I would be much more inclined to purchase tracks if they were $1.00 or at least $1.10 or $1.20.

    A lot of traditional distribution costs don't apply and I think they are not really passing on these savings as they should.

    If you really could get cheap fast track downloads with high bitrate in a flexible format you would cut out a lot of piracy.

  • Apple is gladiating the RIAA! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Dancin_Santa ( 265275 ) <DancinSanta@gmail.com> on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:26AM (#12357312) Journal
    The whole anti-freedom effort on the part of the RIAA (A as in Australia) is really chafing. I'm glad someone out there is finally fighting for the rest of us, and it makes me happy that it is Apple, of all companies.

    iTunes may not be the best solution, but as far as a halfway point between music slavery and music freedom, a for-pay music download site is a great step and a great way to give the finger to our rights usurpers. I'd love to have a system that didn't require any pay at all, but Apple's pioneering of this type of business method is absolutely wonderful.

    And now, to have it spread to Australia, it is great to see freedom on the march. I hate to sing the praises of any company, but Apple deserves it this time.

    • Re:Apple is gladiating the RIAA! (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Artega VH ( 739847 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:36AM (#12357357) Journal
      In Australia the correct acronym is ARIA, as in Australia Recording Industry Association.

      But they are pretty much the same thing.

      The price is horrible though... the current exchange rate is 1 USD = 1.28923 AUD... so 1.80 AUD per track is outrageous.
    • halfway point... to where?

      to paying the same per album as you would on a physical disc, while still the majority of the money goes to riaa, only with MORE PROFIT???

      APPLE IS __NOT__ BATTLING RIAA! NOT AT ALL! apple is working with and for the riaa.
    • How, pray tell, is the benevolent Apple "fighting for the rest of us"?

      At $1.80 per song I can get most music on a physical CD for the same price or less at a range of Australian shops - e.g. K-Mart, JB Hi-Fi, even Myers, and of course much overlooked independent music retailers. As others have pointed out, Apple and ARIA can just split $1.80 pure profit (less hosting costs, which are surely negligable) for each song sold - no need to employ people in a retail store, no need to pay for physical packaging an
    • Rumor has it that the iTMS is coming to Norway as well. Two weeks ago, four or five of the record company execs told the music industry rag that the store was coming, and on the 28th of April. They printed it, but the country manager did not comment anything.

      Yesterday the TONO, rights holders organization, issued a press release about their agreement with iTunes (sic!). After that some forum guys went on to try local credit cards to purchase music with limited sucess and published the results. The country

  • price?? (Score:3, Informative)

    by aerthling ( 796790 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:27AM (#12357318)
    According to XE.com, US$0.99 = AU$1.27. Why then are they asking almost almost $2?
    • According to XE.com, US$0.99 = AU$1.27. Why then are they asking almost almost $2?

      Because Australia is where they sent all the pirates in the olden days.
    • 0.79 GBP = 1.94 AUD. 0.65 GBP (Price without VAT) = 1.59 AUD (according to xe.com) Do Australians pay sales tax added onto the purchase price like the American style, or use VAT?
      • We do, but retail prices must be quoted with GST included.

        So the ex-GST (ie: ex-VAT) of a song is going to be around $1.60.

        Personally that's still too much for me (as it works out to about the same you pay per-song when you buy a whole CD, which I consider about 3x more than I'm prepared to pay). If they get down around the $0.50 mark I might consider it.

    • Firstly, remove the 10% GST we have in australia.
      So thats probobly ~18c of it.

  • iTunes is the only site where iPod users can legal (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Idimmu Xul ( 204345 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:29AM (#12357323) Homepage Journal

    From the article:

    iTunes is the only site where iPod users can legally download songs.

    Is this really the only site where iPod users can legally download songs? It's a shame that the mass media can get away with spouting complete falacies such as this :(

    There are many sites to get free, legal, mp3s from:

    In This Defiance band [inthisdefiance.com]
    Online Tonight [onlinetonight.net]
    John Peel sessions [plus.com]

  • two comments (Score:1, Redundant)

    by ccdotnet ( 786114 )
    1. Finally!
    2. Over-priced by 30%

  • Russell Crowe (Score:5, Funny)

    by TuataraShoes ( 600303 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:34AM (#12357348)
    What are you doing telling everyone that Russell Crowe is a New Zealander???
    We've been doing a pretty good job up till now convincing the world he's an Aussie. The Aussies can have iTunes if they promise to keep Russell Crowe.
    • Oh come on. Im embarrased that the Australian media claim him as our own. Yes he is an Australian citizen, yes is was born in New Zealand and yes he was good in that movie about tobacco and LA Confidential (oh and check out Rompa Stompa - very good - dark but very good), but since he seems hell bent on insisting he is a muso too NZ can have him - have you ever heard any of that TOFOG crap? And now he thinks he can pull off a solo career? Hmmm
    • Oh no you don't you sneaky sheep farming weasel. Claiming Russell Crowe is ours is like claiming that the nuclear bomb is Japaneese.
  • Writing music, selling songs, iTunes round the World!

  • $1.80 a bit steep... (Score:3, Informative)

    by GrahamCox ( 741991 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:38AM (#12357377) Homepage
    While $1.80 is in line with the prices charged elsewhere, based on the actual exchange rate, it does FEEL too high nevertheless. Wages and the overall cost of living in Australia is lower than e.g. UK and US, so the affordability of iTunes is that much poorer. Something like $1.30 - $1.50 would seem right.

  • Amazon (Score:3, Informative)

    by Yakman ( 22964 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:39AM (#12357386) Homepage Journal
    Now, when's Amazon coming?

    There's not enough of a market to make it worth Amazon's while setting up the distribution infrastructure for an Australian store.

    iTunes on the otherhand doesn't have a physical product so it's only contractual reasons (ie. stupid music industry) that prevents a worldwide iTunes day one.
    • There's not enough of a market to make it worth Amazon's while setting up the distribution infrastructure for an Australian store.

      Says who? There are a number of distribution centres throughout the U.S., and if you divide it into the population, I'd say one U.S. distribution centre covers the same population as Australia. Plus, there is NZ and other surrounding Asia-Pacific populations that would benefit not having goods shipped from the opposite side of the world.

  • I expect... (Score:5, Funny)

    by j0e_average ( 611151 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:40AM (#12357393)
    we'll see a rise in "Men at Work" downloads now...

  • What? (Score:2, Informative)

    by datacaliber ( 202682 )
    Anyone else read that and think, "What the hell does Russell Crowe have to do with iTunes?" Well here's the answer:

    Crowe said songs he had recorded since the break-up of his band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunt [gruntland.com], would be available when iTunes launches.

    Seriously, I wouldn't have read the article if I hadn't read that Crowe was involved. Pretty boring story otherwise.
  • ... using a "side" door to get in early. The song price appears to be AU$1.69. Russel Crowe in the interview was talking about the price of the sanity.com.au online store, not the iTMS(AU).

    Looks like out accounts have been disabled for getting in too early too. :-(

  • 30 odd songs and grunts (Score:3, Informative)

    by digitaldc ( 879047 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @07:57AM (#12357481)
    1.80 AUD Australia Dollars = 1.39636 USD US Dollars
    A 40 cent difference just for living 'dahn undah'?
    Now is anyone actually going to download Russell's songs without being totally inebriated first?
  • Frenzal Rhomb (Australian punk band) summarised Russell Crowe's involvement in music nicely -

    "At least we know that Russell Crowe's band is a fucking pile of shit".

    If this is what iTunes Australia is offering, count me out.

    flamearrows

  • Hmm (Score:2)

    by darnok ( 650458 )
    I was prepared to put aside my DRM objections and give this a try, but not at $1.80 a song. I'd probably consider paying up to $1.20 a song, but at $1.80 I'd get that "ripped off" feeling.

    At that price, it's actually *cheaper* to buy many/most new CDs in a regular shop, and then you're not having to deal with DRM rubbish.

  • It's actually $1.69 (Score:4, Informative)

    by ojek ( 20262 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @08:05AM (#12357533) Homepage
    It's actually $1.69, not $1.80 as predicted. See this Sydney Morning Herald article [smh.com.au]
  • Because when you buy from Amazon in Australia, you get charged shipping fees from North America, yet most of the time the book will actually come from their Hong Kong distribution centre (geographically around the corner compared to the US, plus cheaper labour to boot).

    Just be happy that you can buy itunes music legit down under now, even if it's more expensive than as if you got it from the US.. (US$0.99 AU$1.80 by about AU$0.50).

  • Price blah blah (Score:4, Insightful)

    by danielacroft ( 167383 ) on Wednesday April 27, 2005 @10:09AM (#12358598) Homepage
    Why the hell does everyone think that taking the US rate and doing a currency conversion is a valid comparison in price? Do you morons think that the Australian (or other countries) record labels have the same cost structure? They're negotiating the price with the record labels people, not picking a number out of a hat and deciding that it's fine.
    • Because it *is* a valid comparison in price, just not the only way of doing it. And given the price of CDs over here, I *do* think the Aussie record labels have the same cost structure as their US counterparts - which can basically be summed up as "rip their wallets a new one".

      Each new technology (vinyl, tape, CD) has seen the manufacturing cost go down while the retail price goes up. And now along comes iTunes, with no physical medium to manufacture and ship, and the cost per track... actually goes down?

    • I agree and while I think that AU$1.80 is reasonable for a single song, paying for a whole album makes it about the same price as a nice pressed shiny CD with cover, sometimes lyric sheets, etc.

      Being in NZ, I'm expecting that when and if they come here, they'll be something like NZ$1.99. Again, that's great for one song, and if there are only 10 songs on an album, it'll cost $20 for the whole thing. A CD in the shop costs about NZ$35. So that's a saving that's worthwhile. But once that CD has 15 songs, the
  • This might be a very stupid question, but what happens when an Australian tries to buy/download songs from the US site? Does apple block Australian IP addresses or is that when you try and pay with an Australian credit card, it won't go through? They use PayPal. Does PayPal tell Apple if the account holder is Australian? Like I say, this might be a really idiotic question.
  • Assuming you want at least 11 songs on the album (and that there are at least 11 songs), then the $9.90 figure represents a bulk discount on buying them individually.

    So: why do you have a problem with the bulk price but not the single?

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