Apples chief executive Steve Jobs spoke out ahead of the Apple showcase in Paris stating that record companies are becoming "greedy", pushing for higher prices on music downloads from iTunes music store. Jobs is determined to resist the record companies, although it seems that many of them are in a comfortable position as many contracts are due to expire with Apple and need to be renegotiated.
According to Mr Jobs record companies are already making a bigger profit through iTunes than through CD sales, due to no manufacturing and shipping costs. "So if they want to raise the prices it just means they"re getting a little greedy," he said. It is the big companies that are looking to alter their contracts which are due for renewal in the US.
Although in the US prices are considerably cheaper than in Europe 99cents (55p), compared to 79p in the UK Mr Jobs insists "Customers think the price is really good where it is". Speaking about the iTunes service he added ""We"re trying to compete with piracy, we"re trying to pull people away from piracy and say "you can buy these songs legally for a fair price", but if the price goes up a lot, they"ll go back to piracy. Then everybody loses."