apple rumour Apple says no price hike for iTunes By Rex Crum,...

apple rumour Apple says no price hike for iTunes
By Rex Crum, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 4:38 PM ET May 7, 2004

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Apple Computer denied published reports Friday that it plans to raise the prices of select songs on its iTunes music service due to new deals negotiated with several large recording companies.

Natalie Sequeira, an Apple spokeswoman, said the rumors, originally published in the New York Post, "aren't true. We have multiyear agreements with the labels and our prices remain 99 cents a track."

The reports had said Apple might have to raise the prices of certain tracks to $1.25 as part of its deals with music companies Universal, Sony, BMG EMI and Warner Music.

The fact that Apple (AAPL: news, chart, profile) took the unusual step of commenting on a rumor shows how seriously it takes the success and public perception of iTunes. In late April, Apple said it had sold 70 million songs through iTunes in the first year of the service. The company launched a new version of iTunes and said it sold 3.3 million songs in its first week.