Apple One Just Went Up in Price

[ChantyBinx]

iTunes for buying instead of "renting"

Years ago I had quite the collection bought on iTunes. Around 2013 I heard on a podcast about some father who accrued 30,000 USD of purchases on an iPod before he died and one of the items on his will was to leave his music library to his kid. Other than the usual ‘sorry you can’t merge that purchase history into your account from his’, I believe they went as far to say that the iPod itself with the purchased content to actually be ‘used’ by the family was a breach of the contract for ‘buying’ the music.

When I found that out I hit the brakes on my purchasing, not that I think I’ll be in that situation or really pinned hopes on ‘leaving it to someone’, but realising that the contract wasn’t buying at all, but ‘leasing it’ was a load of crap.

iTunes ain’t really much different than the renting / streaming model. It’s not a new issue but with the likes of Sony pulling back content away from users they ‘bought’ on its platforms lately the issue is becoming more prominent.

I for one stand with the ‘if buying isn’t owning, then pirating isn’t stealing’ mantra these days.

 

[GregoryPeckEPA]

Apparently you are not aware that Apple does not own the rights to most of the Apple TV content (other than movies produced by Apple Studios), and thus licenses the content via a fee to the movies rights holder. Thus, the rights holders determine how much Apple pays them, and Apple charges the viewer a fee.

Also, contrary to what many here believe, Apple is not immune to inflation driving increased costs of doing business, including employee salary and benefits increases, increased company overhead expenses, etc.

Tell me you are talking out of your butt without telling me you are talking out of your butt.

You have no idea what Apple legal contracts look like, even for content they do not expressly produce (hint: they actually "own" 90% of the content on aTV). There are also numerous other ways to control content creators and publishers without needing rights to ownership. Amazon does it via their buy button. If they don't like the price of anything, anywhere (not restricted to Amazon's own site), they will just remove the buy button till you either cave or go bankrupt, neither their problem. Since 70% of revenue comes from their website, they use it as an iron first to control the internet at large.

Apple has done a fair bit to restrict showing content or using their own platform to control content creators, or even leverage better deals for themselves.

You live in a world that doesn't exist my friend. And likely never has.

 

[GregoryPeckEPA]

iTunes ain’t really much different than the renting / streaming model.

TBF to Apple on this one, everything I have ever purchased through iTunes (including the free copy of Hugo they gave out in 2011) is still there after almost 20 years.

Songs disappear all the time on AM, but when you purchase something through their stores, it's in a vault. The account shenanigans not withstanding.

 

[lotones]

when does that logic end? what if they raise it again in 3 months? then again in another 6?

why are you worried about something that might happen? I'm not.

You should just pay them more. Send them another $20 a month, just because you think the service is worth it lol.

I have never seen anyone defend a price hike. Peak gas lighting or trolling, I can’t tell anymore.

I'm not as much "defending" as much at laughing at the lack of perspective of those who are getting riled up over a minor price increase.

That’s some impressive mental gymnastics.
Dividing a $2 price increase by six services doesn’t magically turn it into a 33-cent increase. Apple raised the bill by $2. Period. You can divide it by six services, 30 days, 720 hours or the number of hairs on Tim Cook’s head — the amount leaving your bank account is still $2 more every month.
And “other companies raised prices too” is not a defense. It just means the entire subscription industry has discovered how easily customers can be trained to accept endless increases as long as each one is small enough.
The Starbucks comparison is even sillier. A $10 coffee is an optional one-time purchase. A subscription is a recurring charge that keeps coming every month and can be raised again next year. Those are completely different spending decisions.
But congratulations on doing Apple’s PR work for free. They raise the price, you invent increasingly creative arithmetic to explain why paying more is actually a bargain. That’s exactly the kind of customer every corporation dreams of.

So because I'm not mad at a $2 price increase I'm "doing Apple’s PR work for free"? You are hilarious.

$2 once a month vs Starbucks, $10 everyday. It was a joke, for perspective that people so upset about $2 apparently have trouble grasping. sheesh... let it go.

But while I have you guys' attention, answer me this: should Apple never raise their prices? Should they just absorb the rising costs of doing business to make and ship products and services at prices set 10 years ago? If 2 freakin' dollars is "too much", then what is YOUR comfort level?

 

[onenorth]

TBF to Apple on this one, everything I have ever purchased through iTunes (including the free copy of Hugo they gave out in 2011) is still there after almost 20 years.

Songs disappear all the time on AM, but when you purchase something through their stores, it's in a vault. The account shenanigans not withstanding.

I have at least one album I bought on iTunes that I can’t download again. I still have the download on my iPhone and it still plays but the album was rereleased and that version is not the same as the one I bought as far as iTunes is concerned.

 

[citysnaps]

why are you worried about something that might happen? I'm not.


I'm not as much "defending" as much at laughing at the lack of perspective of those who are getting riled up over a minor price increase.


So because I'm not mad at a $2 price increase I'm "doing Apple’s PR work for free"? You are hilarious.

$2 once a month vs Starbucks, $10 everyday. It was a joke, for perspective that people so upset about $2 apparently have trouble grasping. sheesh... let it go.

But while I have you guys' attention, answer me this: should Apple never raise their prices? Should they just absorb the rising costs of doing business to make and ship products and services at prices set 10 years ago? If 2 freakin' dollars is "too much", then what is YOUR comfort level?

Sadly, any response you get will likely be wrapped in a personal insult.

BTW... Message me if you're looking for a tech/Apple forum that doesn't engage in that.

 

[dukebound85]

why are you worried about something that might happen? I'm not.


I'm not as much "defending" as much at laughing at the lack of perspective of those who are getting riled up over a minor price increase.


So because I'm not mad at a $2 price increase I'm "doing Apple’s PR work for free"? You are hilarious.

$2 once a month vs Starbucks, $10 everyday. It was a joke, for perspective that people so upset about $2 apparently have trouble grasping. sheesh... let it go.

But while I have you guys' attention, answer me this: should Apple never raise their prices? Should they just absorb the rising costs of doing business to make and ship products and services at prices set 10 years ago? If 2 freakin' dollars is "too much", then what is YOUR comfort level?

because it has happened....multiple times already and will continue to do so...and it will always be a handful of dollars more than the previous price.

They can raise prices all they want. They have lost me as customer for these services however.

If you continue to find value, then great.

 

[onenorth]

why are you worried about something that might happen? I'm not.


I'm not as much "defending" as much at laughing at the lack of perspective of those who are getting riled up over a minor price increase.


So because I'm not mad at a $2 price increase I'm "doing Apple’s PR work for free"? You are hilarious.

$2 once a month vs Starbucks, $10 everyday. It was a joke, for perspective that people so upset about $2 apparently have trouble grasping. sheesh... let it go.

But while I have you guys' attention, answer me this: should Apple never raise their prices? Should they just absorb the rising costs of doing business to make and ship products and services at prices set 10 years ago? If 2 freakin' dollars is "too much", then what is YOUR comfort level?

Nearly everyone who is complaining about the price also says they have or will cancel their subscription. So if true then I suppose the comfort level has been exceeded already.

 

[GregoryPeckEPA]

I have at least one album I bought on iTunes that I can’t download again. I still have the download on my iPhone and it still plays but the album was rereleased and that version is not the same as the one I bought as far as iTunes is concerned.

The only irregularity I've seen is some of my songs cannot be previewed from my purchase history. Any song without a time stamp needs to take me to the store page to play. All still there tho. In its original state. I think the oldest song I have is 2011-12.

The entire iTunes UI has crumbled over the years sadly, but all content still there.

I think once a month I lose songs from AM. Some return but often lots don't. I don't care about publishers squabbles and whatnot. All I care about is losing a banger that I presumably already paid for being ripped from me. It's to the point now I make routine backups because all trust is gone.

 

[GregoryPeckEPA]

Nearly everyone who is complaining about the price also says they have or will cancel their subscription. So if true then I suppose the comfort level has been exceeded already.

Yeah but some do. I had 9 subscriptions going into 2024. Saw what was coming and now I am down to 2 (AM and iCloud+). Been preparing to dump them too if Apple continue down this path. I have friends that haven't abandoned as many, but they did take another look and ditch some. In fact, I don't think I know anyone that either added more to their monthly bill or hasn't at cut one at least (amusingly many left Netflix).

And speaking of, they shot themselves in the foot with the whole account sharing thing back couple of years ago. They were prepared for the exodus and simply looked at it as "good, they weren't paying customers anyway" but that is such a typical meathead POV, you find in short-term money bros. Now they are scrambling as their platform erodes, realizing that those "freeloaders" were actually keeping the paying customers around. It's like a party. Sometimes, just a handful of people being there makes the event worth attending. Life is far more complex than "you pay or you are worthless to us."

Some of us aren't making idle threats. And honestly, you now what? I haven't missed any of them really. In fact, I kind of totally forgot about binge watching endless shows. Or worse, having to "power watch" season after season before realizing you aren't even enjoying what you're watching!

 

[edubfromktown]

I've never had any Apple subscriptions. Wife uses free iCloud to backup contacts and minor things; we both use Google free cloud tier and I also use Samsung free tier for my S25 Ultra. We do have an Amazon Prime sub and can watch and listen to oodles of things. I also pay $10/yr subscription for my fitness app (Cyclemeter).

 

[webkit]

Fair, but the subscription part of the revenue is growing like a weed within there.

All of the Services revenue is, but the sub part in particular.

It's undeniable that they want to be big on Services, which at it's core is about recurring revenue streams.

Nobody here is actually denying that, I would assume/hope? 🫣

Despite all of the growth being talked about, subscriptions still only account for around 10% of Apple revenue by my estimation. Way too low to consider Apple "a subscription company now."

 

[webkit]

That still doesn’t explain a 200% price increase.
Apple TV launched at 4.99 and is now 14.99. US inflation since late 2019 has been roughly 30%, not 200%.

Apple TV+ launched with around 9 shows/movies and no live sports at that $4.99/month price. It now has around 315 shows/movies plus live sports. Today's TV+ has around 3,400% more titles than that $4.99/month service did, plus live sports. You really can't directly compare the two. I also think Apple, and other streaming services, used penetration pricing to try to attract/hook customers. Apple is still losing money on TV+.

Whether or not today's TV+ with all of the extra content is worth $14.99/month or $119/year is a matter of personal preference. TV+ clearly has a smaller catalog than other major streaming services.

 

[Abazigal]

I am very puzzled as to what people were expecting.

All signs point to lengthening product upgrade cycles. It's not uncommon for users here to hold on to their phones, tablets and smartwatches for an average of 4 years. My MBA is close to 6 years old at this point. Some even brag about it, as though they were somehow "sticking it to Apple", not realising that it's all already been factored in.

It makes sense that Apple would pivot from selling iPhones to selling to people with iPhones. When Apple offers the option to have your smartphone battery replaced at their Apple Store, or supports your iPhone with 6 years of software updates, it's all part of the plan. Even if you hold on to your iPhone for 4-5 years, you are still making Apple money by way of app purchases, subscriptions, services (eg: Apple Pay), ads (possibly to make up for declining App Store revenue due to the DMA), accessories and higher prices (when you do eventually upgrade) to make up for the shortfall.

Times change, and Apple changes in keeping with the times. And that is why I say - you bet against Apple to your own detriment.

 

[GregoryPeckEPA]

Apple TV+ launched with around 9 shows/movies and no live sports at that $4.99/month price. It now has around 315 shows/movies plus live sports. Today's TV+ has around 3,400% more titles than that $4.99/month service did, plus live sports. You really can't directly compare the two. I also think Apple, and other streaming services, used penetration pricing to try to attract/hook customers. Apple is still losing money on TV+.

Whether or not today's TV+ with all of the extra content is worth $14.99/month or $119/year is a matter of personal preference. TV+ clearly has a smaller catalog than other major streaming services.

Apple isn’t running aTV to make money from movies and shows. They treat it as a marketing cost. It’s fundamentally there to sell more devices. Naturally they make money off telemetry and other shenanigans, but the aim is to cross pollenate across their hardware divisions. Same deal as the App Store. The business model is different but the aim is the same. You can’t dissect aTV as a singular enterprise. Its more like gravity across the multiverse (if you buy into string theory): it runs thru all of them like a line thru a string of beads.

Jobs did the same marketing the iPod. He put almost the entirety of Apple’s marketing budget into the device because the iPod had its hooks into other Apple devices. He talked about it in his official biography. Every $1 he used to market the little device, gave him back 3 fold of marketing to the Mac or iTunes as they are all linked. Cook has woven services far deeper than you realize.

Incidentally, if you subscribe to AM with a student subscription, you get aTV for free. That’s how important simply using aTV is to Cook.

 

[webkit]

Apple isn’t running aTV to make money from movies and shows. They treat it as a marketing cost. It’s fundamentally there to sell more devices. Naturally they make money off telemetry and other shenanigans, but the aim is to cross pollenate across their hardware divisions. Same deal as the App Store. The business model is different but the aim is the same. You can’t dissect aTV as a singular enterprise. Its more like gravity across the multiverse (if you buy into string theory): it runs thru all of them like a line thru a string of beads.

Jobs did the same marketing the iPod. He put almost the entirety of Apple’s marketing budget into the device because the iPod had its hooks into other Apple devices. He talked about it in his official biography. Every $1 he used to market the little device, gave him back 3 fold of marketing to the Mac or iTunes as they are all linked. Cook has woven services far deeper than you realize.

Yes, that's definitely part of it too. It's not just about being another streaming service like Netflix, HBO Max, etc.

 

[mk313]

On the positive side, these price increases seem to have made people more cognizant of all of the subscriptions they have. Hopefully many will cull the herd and only keep the ones they use. When everything was $5/month, it was easy to just buy them all & not worry about it. Now that they are getting much more expensive, hopefully people will vote with their wallets, which will cause the streaming services to become more responsive to actual consumer wants.

 

[Dex762]

When everything was $5/month, it was easy to just buy them all & not worry about it. Now that they are getting much more expensive,

I agree with u, today it too much and expensive which is unaffordable now

 

[CookeeTim]

Other than the usual ‘sorry you can’t merge that purchase history into your account from his’, I believe they went as far to say that the iPod itself with the purchased content to actually be ‘used’ by the family was a breach of the contract for ‘buying’ the music.

Label Music companies sure love to behave like in-human entities a lot of the time.

Maybe those deals with the Devil rumors around them arent as fake as we would like to

 

[CookeeTim]

Generally agree. But what other features is Apple Music lacking?

For starters, being its own thing and not mixed-in with the actual Music Player on Mac/iOS.

Spotify is never pretending to be your local MP3 player.

 

[iDento]

For starters, being its own thing and not mixed-in with the actual Music Player on Mac/iOS.

Spotify is never pretending to be your local MP3 player.

That’s exactly why I chose Apple Music. I want to build a music library, be it my own tracks or added from the streaming service. And why exactly I don’t use other services.