British Government Criticizes Apple for Download Costs
591509
Phil Evans, principal quality adviser for the Consumers&#39; Association, said: &quot;We&#39;re continually told about the benefits of the Internet, about it breaking down borders.
651436
Apple will scrap online pricing policies across Europe for iTunes music downloads and charge consumers in Britain and the rest of Europe the same amount,  according to the deal.
404955
The European Commission ended its&#160;antitrust investigation into Apple&#160;after the company agreed to reduce the price of music downloads from its iTunes Web site in the U.K., the European Union&#39;s antitrust regulator said Wednesday.Apple said that within six months it will lower the prices it charges for music on its U.K. iTunes Store to match its&#160;already standardized pricing across Europe&#160;in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and SpainUntil now iTunes has been more expensive in the U.K., where the currency remains the British pound, than in the countries that have adopted the euro, as well as compared to Denmark and Sweden which tie their currencies closely to the euro, and also more expensive than in Switzerland, which isn&#39;t even in the European Union.The European Commission welcomed Apple&#39;s plan to equalize prices for downloads of songs from the store in Europe.&quot;The Commission is very much in favor of solutions which allow consumers to benefit from a truly Single Market for music downloads,&quot; competition commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement.For Apple, &quot;This is an important step towards a pan-European marketplace for music,&quot; said Steve Jobs, the company&#39;s &#39;s CEO. &quot;We hope every major record label will take a pan-European view of pricing.&quot;Apple blames the record labels for charging more to distribute their music in the U.K. than in other countries in Europe, and threatened to drop any record label from the iTunes portal if they didn&#39;t cut their U.K. prices.&quot;Apple will reconsider its continuing relationship in the U.K. with any record label that does not lower its wholesale prices in the U.K. to the pan-European level within six months,&quot; the company warned.
83089
In the UK, iTunes charges consumers STG0.79 per song, or around EUR1.20. In France and Germany, however, the cost of downloads is just EUR0.
416822
The competition watchdog has called for an investigation into whether Apple&#39;s new iTunes music download service is &quot;ripping off&quot; British consumers.
418940
TechWeb - Apple responds to a European Union pricing investigation but wants U.K. labels to cut distribution costs as well.
118836
The Guardian (UK) has published an article looking at the battle between Apple and everyone else in the online music download business.
618922
Apple has been accused of bullying tactics in its battle to force a small UK firm to hand over ownership of the iTunes.co.uk web address.
335733
British consumer group Consumers&#39; Association has raised its voice over the iTunes&#39; pricing in the United Kingdom. Most notably, its anger is aimed towards the different pricing model Apple uses for its online music store in European countries.
678218
The European Commission ended its&#160;antitrust investigation into Apple&#160;after the company agreed to reduce the price of music downloads from its iTunes Web site in the U.K., the European Union&#39;s antitrust regulator said Wednesday.
350403
You're still all thieving bastards though The European Commission is to consult on whether to change the current controversial surcharge on devices or storage media which can hold music or video.â¦
255919
Blinded by novelty A House of Commons public spending watchdog has accused BBC chief Mark Thompson of illegally supporting Microsoft. In failing to ensure iPlayer on demand services are available to all licence fee payers he has been blinded by the novelty of the internet, it's charged.â¦
452259
We may see the end of protected music downloads, but it won't be Apple's doing, argues Bill Thompson
206494
A London-based consumer group says Apple&#39;s iTunes music download-service is overcharging customers in the United Kingdom by 17 percent compared to those in France and Germany.
103131
p2pnet.net News:- Britain&#39;s Consumers&#39; Association wants to know why Apple charges its UK users 17% more for downloads that those in the rest of Europe.
53711
Steve Jobs insists that songs on iTunes cost 99 cents and television episodes cost $1.99 because consumers crave simple pricing. Except, of course, when it comes to Appleâs own products.
167049
Apple is to cut the price it charges in the UK for music downloads from iTunes within six months.