Rock On! (at 99¢ per song)

Not happy to at least still be in business, the music industry is trying to jack Apple for an increase in the amount paid to musicians for each track sold through the iTunes Music Store. Under the proposal by the Copyright Royalty Board as requested by the Music Publisher's Association, royalty payments for each track would increase from 9 cents per track to 15 cents per track. This works out to a 66% increase in the royalty rate. The increased cost would be shouldered by the music consumer not the record companies.

Apples' official position is that this increase in the per track royalty rate would force the iTunes Music Store into a loss position and they would rather shut down the iTunes Music Store rather than go above the 99 center per track price point. Apple has fought hard over the years to maintain this price point for their customers and they should be applauded for hanging tough again – for you, the music consumer.

UPDATE: Threatened with the potential loss of huge amounts of music sales, the music industry has agreed to keep the paid per track royalty rate at the iTunes Music Store at the present 9.1 cents per song. The Copyright Royalty Board agreed to the rate freeze late yesterday and the Recording Industry Association of American is pleased with this decision as well as music retailers and consumers. To earn a higher royalty rate in the future, the record companies might actually have to improve upon their products. Definitely a huge win for the music consumer! Rock on (at 99¢ per song)!