Apple Cancels Plans to Cut UK iTunes Prices
Apple has managed to dodge dropping the price of songs on iTunes in the UK because the exchange rate has done it for them
At the beginning of the year, Apple announced they would be dropping the price of songs on iTunes UK from 79 pence sterling to match the €0.99 price tag for customers in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and Spain.
When Apple announced the price cuts back in January, €0.99 was the equivalent of £0.74. As you might imagine, some of the iTunes UK customers were a bit miffed when they realized this and voiced their concerns, which in turn prompted an investigation into the prices from the European Union. Apple then committed to lowering the price of songs on iTunes to match what the rest of Europe was paying, with these cuts coming into effect in mid-July.
Well, here we are in mid-July, so where are those price cuts? Well, as it stands today, the value of the Euro has risen and the British pound is worth 79 pence to the Euro.. An Apple spokesperson told BBC News that they were no long cutting the price as exchange rates had eliminated any differences.
"The announcement was that we would match the UK price to that of other lower priced European countries. This is no longer necessary as exchange rates have effectively done it for us."
Apple may be into standardized prices for Europe, however, both Europe and the UK pay more per track than residents in the US. According to the BBC, Apple had no comment as to what action the company would take the next time the exchange rates shift around.
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I'm surprised Europeans are willing to tolerate this absurd overpricing in technology and media "stuff" for so long. I would've imagined an underground movement to ship illegal technology equipment and price it according to US prices would've happened naturally at an impossible rate for regulators to crack down.
They do pay higher prices in Europe. However, to be fair isn't a lot of that price due to VAT and other taxes. I'd think rather that Europeans would be up in arms about all the taxes they have to pay. Most people in the US hate the level of taxes we pay and it is a drop in the bucket compared to most Europeans.