iTunes Switches to Tiered Pricing: Walmart and Amazon Follow

iTunes recently modified the cost of songs to $0.69, $0.99, and $1.29 with their new "variable pricing" strategy. At first it may sound like an okay deal, but with 12 of the top 20 downloaded songs priced at $1.29, I would have to disagree. Many new releases and popular songs are at the high price point so iTunes can capitalize on their popularity.

Trying to ignore this annoyance, I looked around to see what songs I could find for $0.69. I couldn't find any... I tried to search on Google to see if anyone had found songs for $0.69, and after several tries I found a few. All of the songs priced at $0.69 appear to be Rhythm and Blues from the 60s, most of which I have never heard of. If you happen to be and R&B fan from the 60s, congratulations! For everyone else, it appears that iTunes will be demanding $1.29 for the current popular songs. This pricing increase is not just happening on iTunes, however.

Walmart and Amazon have just announced that they will be using a platform similar to iTunes. I don't think it is a smart move to instantly increase the price of hits by 30%. iTunes (and Amazon/Walmart for that matter) would have been smarter to increase the price to $1.19, which is a much more modest increase. This 30% hike is just too much, and it will definitely push away many music buyers from purchasing as many songs as before the price increase.