Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

I have heard about the recent Apple efforts to reduce iTunes prices, especially TV programs, in several places of late.

The bottom line is that Apple gets it.

I have been harping on it for years, and there have even been several academic studies with the same thrust - make the offerings cheaper and you will sell many more, more than the difference, and you will combat piracy. Yet many content providers, the same ones that pushed and brought us all the DRM we love (until a few recently were dragged to the trough and dropped it), are still against it. In fact many of them want *higher* prices for audio and video on iTunes. The whole Apple-NBC blow up is a perfect example of the backward mindset.

The content providers have half a point, sort of. They want tiered pricing and don't want to cannibalize other channels, DVD sets for example. Yet, what they are missing is the piracy angle. The lower pricing of downloads is not just about selling that content, it is partly about that, but it is also about combating piracy with quality and convenience.

Honestly, I still think $0.99 per song is way to much, they should be $0.25. And TV shows at $1.99 a pop? I bought a few for the novelty, but I won't be canceling my cable/satellite subscription and going a-la-carte on iTunes anytime soon at those prices? Do the content providers want some more leverage there (that's another angle).

Drop the prices, make the quality great, get rid of the DRM - basically "make it nice for the people" - and not only will you make *more* money on the overall volume, but PirateBay/Mininova won't be able to "compete."