The iTunes Store may be going variable, but eMusic is vowing to keep its pricing structure intact.
“While I am CEO, I promise that eMusic will never sell single MP3 downloads for more than 99 cents,” assured company chairman and chief Danny Stein.
Other competitors are likely to shift away from a 99-cent-only structure, following Apple’s lead. Then again, eMusic is a subscription-based download store, and not an a-la-carte proposition like iTunes. Depending on the plan, per-download charges can dip below 30-cents, and lower when introductory freebies are considered.
That has caused some problems for certain label members, based on a perceived devaluation of content. But the issue is debatable, especially since most subscribers fail to maximize their monthly download allocation, the famous ‘gym club’ advantage that subscription-based services enjoy.