Read up on psychological pricing sometime. Good start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_pricing
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Apple Music May Cost Just $2 to $3 Per Month in India and Russia
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I wonder if some countries are being "rewarded" for rampant piracy... $2-3 is about the cost of an album in a street stall there, just like $9.99 is about the price of an album in the US. Did the licensing authorities realize that recurring revenue of $2 a head is better than the $0 they were getting before?
The Russian price is actually a lot higher to a Russian-- their exchange rate collapsed when they went into Ukraine so while their salaries are still the same in rubles, they're making significantly less in dollars-- by a factor of 2 or 3 depending. So it may be priced low to keep it affordable, or it may be priced low because the bulk of the cost is licensing and Russian licenses are paid in rubles.
The Russian price is actually a lot higher to a Russian-- their exchange rate collapsed when they went into Ukraine so while their salaries are still the same in rubles, they're making significantly less in dollars-- by a factor of 2 or 3 depending. So it may be priced low to keep it affordable, or it may be priced low because the bulk of the cost is licensing and Russian licenses are paid in rubles.
I've been so frustrated by this over the years. When music went online, I got so excited to start browsing world music-- but can't. We need Lawyers Without Borders to sort out the licensing mess...
It's pretty annoying to have some countries only paying $2 for exactly the same content... That's what we have exchange rates for isn't it? How can Apple afford this if they have to pay $5 to the music labels?
No. It's priced for what the market can bear. Purchasing power varies in extremes that can't be covered by exchange rate alone.
All those thinking a VPN will get you the indian pricing... it will be tied to your country of iTunes origin.. so unless you also want limited app availability to go along with your music you're SOL.
And DKK 99 in Denmark (USD 14.90 if we use the high USD currency at the moment)
I like Touch ID, Apple Pay, Siri (somewhat) and the iPhone hardware. Actually all of the hardware they make looks great.
That's an odd thing to say. I don't like those things either, but they make really nice iMacs and OS's. Does one need to like all of Apple's products to be a member here?
No, certainly not. I was just wondering because the commenter posted a terse, critical comment while also having a terse, critical signature. Discussions online in general and specifically here on MacRumors are not benefited from critical statements free from supporting context.
For example, here's the comment.
"I'm not interested in Apple Music. Not after I subscribed to iTunes Match. I cancelled it after 1 day. That's how terrible it was."
That's a start but what specifically was "terrible" about iTunes Match? What does his/her iTunes Match experience have to do with Apple Music - they are different services? Indicating the connection as to why he/she believes Apple Music will be terrible because of a poor experience with iTunes Match is important but it's not said. Without that the comment comes across as trolling when viewed in conjunction with the commenters signature.
I wouldn't have written anything but here is his/her signature: "Apple Maps is soooo bad". Again, take a comment about "terrible" and a signature (posted under every MacRumors comment he/she makes) about "soooo bad" Apple Maps, and the logical conclusion is trolling behavior. I'm not calling the commenter a troll, he/she isn't (based on a review of other comments he/she made here), I'm simply encouraging more meaningful and positive online commentary. That doesn't mean we can't be critical of Apple products - we should - but criticism can be destructive or constructive. Simply stating negativity without substantiating isn't particularly helpful.
It's a forum, not a review website.
I'm quite happy with almost all Apple products, but if someone doesn't like them then there's no need for them to justify it.
I said positive things about Apple then, without an essay explaining why.
I can say negative things too. I don't need to be constructive.
I realise it may be better for you to have the constructive criticism but the conversation isn't ended because there isn't any.