Apple has refused to offer the re-recorded Band Aid single Do They Know It"s Christmas? because the charity won"t let it sell the track at its standard price. While the song is available from other digital music suppliers for £1.49, Apple told the Band Aid Trust that it was unwilling to offer the song for more than the 79p it usually charges for all other singles, reports on the UK press claimed last week.
The Band Aid 20 CD goes on sale in shops today. Since the vast majority of copies of the song are likely to be purchased this way, rather than as a download, Apple"s apparent refusal to up asking price for this one single seems unlikely to hinder the record"s charitable aims. Reports last week suggested 100,000 copies of the song had been downloaded - just one per cent of the number of Band Aid 20 CDs said to be shipping into the UK retail channel today.