Consumer Group Calls for Probe of &#39;Rip-Off&#39; ITunes
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Apple Computer Corp. is charging its British iTunes customers 17 percent more per download than its European customers, a consumer watchdog group said on Wednesday.
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UK regulator the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has not initiated an investigation into Apple&#39;s iTunes UK pricing. The Consumer&#39;s Association (CA) yesterday filed a complaint with the OFT, alleging that Apple is &quot;ripping-off&quot; UK music buyers.
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The BPI, the UK record industryâs trade association, is targeting people who make their music collection available on the internet, illegally, for other web users to share.
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Apple is facing questions over user data placed in DRM-free tracks sold through iTunes.
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Apple&#39;s announcement last week of the iTunes Affiliate Program, iTunes on Campus, and the iTunes Volume Discount program represents the next escalation in what is turning into a heated battle for control of the Internet music services (which is somewhat
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(InfoWorld) - Just because three major online music retailers bind their music stores to specific portable players doesn't make it acceptable, a Norwegian consumer group leading the charge against Apple's DRM (digital rights management) policy says. "ITunes Music Store and others are unfair to consumers no matter how many download services follow the proprietary approach," wrote Torgeir Waterhouse, a senior advisor at The Norwegian Consumer Council, in response to a letter written by Apple CEO Steve Jobs andÂ posted on the Apple Web siteÂ on Tuesday. Jobs examined why DRM exists and discusses alternatives to the current set-up in his open response to calls for Apple to allow users to buy songs from the iTunes store and play them on any device. Norway's consumer representative hasÂ threatened legal action against AppleÂ for violating Norwegian law by limiting iTunes customers to playing their music only on iPods. Consumer groups in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, France, and Germany haveÂ joined Norway's complaintÂ against Apple. Jobs points out that Microsoft and Sony also sell music that can only be played on their players, supporting a model that serves customers well with choice and a continuing stream of innovative products. He also suggests that groups like Waterhouse's "redirect their energies" toward convincing the music labels to sell music without DRM, technology that aims to restrict how buyers can copy or use the music. The four biggest record labels forced Apple to employ a proprietary DRM system as a condition of the agreement that allows Apple to sell their music, he said. Ideally, he said, the labels wouldn't require DRM. "This is clearly the best alternative for consumers, and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat," Jobs wrote. While Waterhouse agrees that the record companies carry some fault for the situation, the iTunes music store and others like it are ultimately responsible. "They're still the company that's selling music to the consumers and are responsible for offering a fair deal according to Norwegian law," he said. Still, with his letter, Jobs' appears to have stirred up some additional pressure on the record labels to change their DRM policies. EMusic.com Inc., which claims to be the second largest music download site, only sells DRM-free music from thousands of independent labels. But the site would like be able to sell music from the four biggest labels. "We are hopeful the remaining four will one day join [the independent labels] by licensing their complete catalogs and reap the benefits of consumer demand," David Pakman, president and CEO of eMusic, wrote in a response to Jobs' letter. Even though Jobs didn't hint that a solution might be impending, Waterhouse appeared to see a glimmer of hope. "If this means that Apple is willing to the kick the lock in technology from the [iTunes/iPod] combination this is really good news -- news that should be put into action as soon as possible to bring us all one important step closer to a well functioning digital society," he wrote.
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Chris Gorog is convinced people won&#39;t continue to pay $1 a song for online music. By Evan Agostini, Getty Images. That is despite Apple&#39;s (AAPL) record string
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A piece of software used by Apple's iTunes has accidentally sparked a scandal in the classical music world -- and cast a shadow on the reputation of an obscure, deceased British pianist now accused of plagiarism.
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The world&#39;s first legitimate music download service, Apple iTunes, is to be investigated by a government watchdog for overcharging its British customers by up to 20 per cent.
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An international music industry group said Thursday hundreds of lawsuits were being filed across Europe accusing people of piracy for illegally sharing music on the Internet.
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UK watchdog the Office of Fair Trading is investigating claims that Apple is ripping off its UK customers. The investigation follows a complaint that UK customers were having to shell out more for the reassuringly
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The European Union's Consumer Protection Commissioner, Meglena Kuneva, has lashed out at Apple, claiming that the company's strategy of bundling iTunes and iPods together is unfair to consumers.
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A media advocacy group on Wednesday urged Apple Computer Inc. to intervene in a dispute over alleged labor abuses by an iPod manufacturer in China.
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British authorities are warning fans of the Apple iPod music player using a companion device called the iTrip is illegal. Made by Griffin Technology and available on eBay for less than $40, it lets users play
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A British sex toy shop&#39;s ad campaign for a vibrating iPod peripheral has drawn the attention of Apple Inc., and more importantly, the disapproval of its lawyers.
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(Article Central) The UK&#39;s Consumers&#39; Association has referred Apple&#39;s iTunes to the Office of Fair Trading, claiming the song shop is overcharging its UK users.
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An unhappy iTunes online music store customer is suing Apple Computer Inc. , alleging the company broke antitrust laws by only allowing iTunes to work with its own music player, the iPod, freezing out competitors, court filings showed.