Variable Pricing

Digital Music Retailer Amie Street Gets $3.9 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 8, 2009 - 8:50am.
New York - Amie Street, a digital music retailer that offers a variable pricing scheme based on demand for individual songs, has raised $3.9 million in a new round of venture capital financing, PaidContent reported, citing a regulatory filing. The round was led by Deep Fork Capital, with participation from three unnamed investors.

Sony Music Posts Entire Catalog for Sale on AmieStreet.com

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 22, 2009 - 10:42am.
New York - Major record label Sony (NYSE: SNE) Music on Tuesday announced that it has placed its entire catalog for sale on AmieStreet.com, a site where song pricing is variable and based on demand.

Sony's RED Debuts 15-Cent Songs at AmieStreet.com

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 18, 2009 - 11:43am.
New York - Major record label Sony Music's (NYSE: SNE) RED distribution arm has become the first major-affiliated entity to offer songs for sale starting at just 15 cents at AmieStreet, an online music store that bases pricing on consumer demand, Wired.com reported. Tracks from RED-distributed artists including My Morning Jacket and Third Eye Blind will start at 15 cents on AmieStreet, but could fetch as much as 98 cents each as demand for those tracks increases.

The Orchard Taps Digonex to Offer Dynamic Download Pricing

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 28, 2009 - 11:34am.
Indianapolis, Ind. - The Orchard (NASD: ORCD), a digital distributor of independent music and video content, announced that it has partnered with Digonex Technologies to test a dynamic pricing platform for its catalog. The Digonex platform will "systematically change prices based on econometric and behavioral principles to dynamically price digital downloads for The Orchard."

Apple Sued Over iTunes Gift Cards, Price Hike to $1.29 Songs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 26, 2009 - 8:39am.
San Francisco - Apple (NASD: AAPL) has been sued for breach of contract and consumer fraud by two Illinois residents, who claim the company misled them by marketing its gift cards for the iTunes Store as redeemable for 99-cent songs, when in fact some songs now cost $1.29 each, CNET News.com reported.

Along With Apple, Amazon MP3, Others Hike Digital Song Prices

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 8, 2009 - 8:39am.
Seattle - While Apple (NASD: AAPL) got the most coverage for launching variable pricing yesterday at the iTunes Store, where top songs may now be priced at $1.29 and catalog tracks at 69 cents, the change affected much of the rest of the digital music retail market, with similar price hikes seen at Amazon MP3 (NASD: AMZN), RealNetworks' (NASD: RNWK) Rhapsody, Walmart.com (NYSE: WMT) ($1.24) and Lala.

Apple Debuts Tiered Song Pricing on iTunes; Removes All DRM

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 7, 2009 - 10:20am.
Cupertino, Calif. - Apple (NASD: AAPL) on Tuesday introduced its new tiered pricing structure at the iTunes Store, where new release and popular songs may now be priced at $1.29, while older, catalog tracks may be sold for 69 cents each -- although the majority of songs are expected to remain at the current 99 cents price point. The major record labels have long pressed Apple to institute variable pricing at the iTunes Store; the new pricing also coincided with the removal of digital rights management (DRM) restrictions from all songs sold at the store.

LA Times: Apple to Debut Variable Pricing at iTunes on April 7

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 27, 2009 - 11:51am.
Los Angeles - Apple (NASD: AAPL) plans to introduce its previously announced variable pricing structure for music at the iTunes Store on April 7, when new singles and popular tracks have the option to be priced at $1.29, instead of the current industry standard 99 cents per song, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Times cited music industry executives who said Apple has notified labels that is the date for the launch.

Apple to Debut Variable Pricing, DRM-Free Library on iTunes

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 6, 2009 - 8:25am.

San Francisco - Capitulating to insistent demands from the major labels, Apple (NASD: AAPL) on Tuesday introduced a three-tiered variable pricing scheme for songs sold from its iTunes Store, and further announced that its entire library will be available for purchase free of digital rights management (DRM) restrictions by the spring. Beginning in April, labels may choose to sell older tracks for 69 cents and newer, popular tracks for $1.29, or continue with the standard 99 cent price tag.

Variably-Priced Song Store AmieStreet Gets The Orchard Catalog

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 25, 2008 - 7:01am.

New York - The Orchard (NASD: ORCD), a digital distributor of independent label music, announced on Wednesday a partnership with digital music retailer AmieStreet.com, that will bring The Orchard's catalog of over 1.1 million songs to the Web store, where song pricing varies based on consumer demand.

NBCU and iTunes Make Nice, in U.K. at Least

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 13, 2008 - 7:27am.

London - In a sign that the companies may be resolving their dispute over TV show pricing at Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store that led NBC (NYSE: GE) to remove its programs late last year, five NBC shows are now available for purchase from the U.K. version of the iTunes Store, Macworld.com reported. The series -- "Heroes," "House," "The Incredible Hulk," "Eureka" and "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" -- are all produced by Universal Media Studios, and notably feature variable pricing -- one of the sticking points in failed negotiations in the U.S.

Warner Music to Test Digonex Variable Pricing on Digital Albums

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 5, 2008 - 10:26am.

Indianapolis, Ind. - Digonex Technologies announced on Monday that major label Warner Music Group will use its technology to test variable pricing on select digital album downloads.

Amie Street Signs Top Indie Labels for Variable Song Pricing

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 26, 2008 - 1:34pm.

New York - AmieStreet.com, an online music retailer that offers variable song pricing, announced on Tuesday that top independent labels Beggars Group, Matador Records and Polyvinyl Recording have signed on to use its service. The Amazon.com-backed company offers "fan-driven" pricing, where songs are initially free and then rise in price based on popularity, up to 98 cents. With the new deals, AmieStreet.com will now offer songs from artists including Cat Power, Sigur Ros, Pavement, Yo La Tengo and Interpol.

NBCU's Zucker: iTunes Revenues Small; Apple Stiff on Pricing

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 30, 2007 - 7:50am.
NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker

New York - NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) CEO Jeff Zucker said on Monday that the company made just $15 million in revenue during the last year of its deal with Apple's (NSDQ: AAPL) iTunes, and provided some details on the dispute that led to the pending severance of its ties with the service, Variety reported.

Amie Street, Turbolinux Team on Japanese Music Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 26, 2007 - 12:50pm.

Tokyo - Turbolinux, a distributor of Linux-based software, said this week that its Japanese unit has partnered with digital music distributor Amie Street to launch a music download service in Japan for independent music, Billboard reported. New York-based Amie Street, where user demand is used to determine song pricing, will also take an undisclosed stake in the new Tokyo-based venture, to be called Amie Street Japan.

PassAlong, Digonex Test MP3 Store With Variable Pricing

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 17, 2007 - 1:51pm.
PassAlong logo

Franklin, Tenn. - PassAlong Networks, an operator and provider of digital music services, announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with e-commerce firm Digonex Technologies and independent label Nettwerk Music Group to test a digital music store that will offer variably-priced MP3s.

Javien, Digonex Team on Variable Pricing for Song Downloads

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 4, 2007 - 11:16am.

McLean, Va. - Javien Digital Payment Solutions, a provider of e-commerce technology, announced on Thursday that it has integrated its service with Digonex Technologies, a provider of price optimization technology for digital media. As a result, Javien customers who are selling digital music can price each MP3 according to market demand, such as selling library titles for 25 cents and new releases for 50 cents