iTunes Album Credit for Singles

[MacRumors]

A CNet blog claims that Apple is working with labels to provide more incentive for customers to purchase full albums -- or at least not penalize them for buying singles ahead of time.

At present, if you purchase an iTunes single ($.99), and then later purchase the full album ($9.99), you are double paying for that single ($10.98). According to their sources, CNet states that in the future iTunes customers may get credit for any singles previously purchased when buying a full album.

"In the interest of more consumer-friendly transactions, that makes some sense," McGuire said. "In the end that's dependent on whether I see value in those other eight songs."

 

[Warbrain]

I read this over the weekend and I can't wait for it to happen. It'll be great. So many times have I bought the single and then the album.

 

[SpaceMagic]

I've often thought this and eventually just ended up downloading each of the album's songs individually. Sometimes however this means you don't get the Album only tracks!

 

[paddy]

What, record companies doing something nice for consumers?!?!

 

[Belly-laughs]

Looks like Apple have tons of negotiation muscle despite of MS´ attempt of bribing the music biz. Must have something to do with market share…

 

[Squonk]

Great idea!!! That would make me more likely to purchase songs online!

 

[fixyourthinking]

I hope they also get rid of ANY album only purchases. The only way to get a song off of the Chicken Little soundtrack was to buy the whole album through iTunes.

It was a great cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "All I Know" by Five For Fighting - I paid the $9.99 for it because I happened to have won a few iTunes gift cards.

 

[DTphonehome]

This is already being done if you "pre-order" certain whole albums (such as Tenacious D "Pick of Destiny")...you get the single now, and the rest of the album when it's released.

EDIT: Oh, now I see the difference...in this new scheme you won't actually have to buy the whole album to get the single...you can just get the single now for 99 cents, then the rest of the album for the remainder if you want it at a later time. Cool.

 

[boringName]

Everybody wins

This will make me far less hesitant to buy singles, and more likely to buy the full album (which I admit to not doing just to be spitefull).

So, the record companies make more money, and I require less therapy

 

[spicyapple]

Perhaps now they can do away with Album-only pricing, considering it was a measure against people only buying one song but instead prevented people from buying any song at all!

 

[~Shard~]

This makes sense and it is also good customer service. I'm surprised Apple hasn't implemented a policy like this already, so here's hoping they do so in the very near future.

 

[CallmeKenneth]

A great idea

Makes sense to me. There's gotta be a catch, though. Seems too altruisitic a move by big corporate companies..


_________________
Alternative Mac History Mactimewarp

 

[reallynotnick]

Perhaps now they can do away with Album-only pricing, considering it was a measure against people only buying one song but instead prevented people from buying any song at all!

Do you mean album-only songs? Not pricing.

Even if they do do this I don't think album only songs will go away. I do hope this happens though even if I may not use it very much or at all.

 

[Rojo]

I have done this so many times, it's sad.
If they could retroactively offer back-credit for customers who have bought singles and then full albums, I'd probably get $40-50 worth of credit.

I was very happy when they started to not penalize singles-buyers if they pre-bought the whole album. But then again, sometimes I'm not sure if I WANT the whole album before sampling it, so this new method will be a LOT cooler.

 

[The Monkey]

Sounds like a way to ward off some potential antitrust problems to me.

 

[spicyapple]

Sounds like a way to ward off some potential antitrust problems to me.

Can't see it as such since the consumer isn't strong-armed into buying singles or full albums. Apple probably got a lot of input from customers and saw that it probably made more sense to offer album pricing minus single song purchases.

 

[dobbin]

Makes sense to me. There's gotta be a catch, though. Seems too altruisitic a move by big corporate companies..

I'm sure it is designed to sell more singles and albums rather than just to be altruistic!

This is aimed at getting people who do not currently buy singles and albums to do so, rather than to give a discount to people who already buy both.

I have often bought 1 or 2 songs from an album, but I rarely buy a whole album (and if I do, I often go out and buy the CD). If I could get £2-3 discount off the album download price, then I might be temtped I suppose.

 

[The Monkey]

Can't see it as such since the consumer isn't strong-armed into buying singles or full albums. Apple probably got a lot of input from customers and saw that it probably made more sense to offer album pricing minus single song purchases.

Probably right, but it arguably is a tying problem and best avoided.

 

[ASP272]

This is already happening

I bought the Evanescence single for "Call Me When You're Sober" a few days before I pre-ordered the album. When I pre-ordered the album the charge for the single came off (I was never charged for it). Plus, maybe a glitch, they allowed me to download the single AGAIN as part of the pre-order of the album. So in the end I got the single for "Call Me . . ." and the album and another copy of "Call Me . . ." (the album version) again all for $9.99. This being a new album I think they are already setting this in place. That's my 2 cents.

 

[Ashapalan]

Thanks to buying singles and then going on to buy the album, i have lost around £5. That's almost another full album. So this news is music to my ears.

 

[iSee]

I hope this is really true.
I also hope they do the same thing for TV shows.

I do think this will help overall sales. I would already have bought the Lost season pass but I couldn't stomach paying again for four episodes I already bought.

 

[Parky]

I made this suggestion to Apple over a year ago directly to a friend who works in the iTunes Store development team.

He said they had been trying to get this sorted for a while, even back then.

So it could be 100% true, I hope it is.

Ian

 

[settledown]

I'm Down.

That just sounds fair. I'm sure Apple needs to tweak the buying protocols of the iTunes Store, but I bet they can do it.

Wonder if it will be retroactive.

 

[dernhelm]

'Bout time! Wonder if this applies to past-purchased songs, or only future purchased songs...

 

[twoodcc]

What, record companies doing something nice for consumers?!?!

yeah i know, it's unbelievable