OCTOBER 28, 2008, 9:38 A.M. ET Wal-Mart Cuts Download Prices
By DONNA KARDOS Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122519990305675931.html Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it is cutting prices for some MP3 downloads by 22%, racheting up competition among online music retailers. Some tracks will still be offered at 94 cents each through on Wal-Mart's Web site, but "Top 25" songs will be sold at 74 cents, the company said. Wal-Mart's drop in prices may portend price cuts from other digital music retailers as they try to stay competitive. Last year, after Wal-Mart began pricing songs through its Web site without anti-copying software at 94 cents a track, Apple Inc. followed with a cut to its prices for tracks without the anti-copying software to 99 cents each from $1.29. Tuesday, Wal-Mart said its relaunched site and new, lower prices are "to give customers greater value and an even bigger selection in digital music." The company has exclusively sold MP3s through its online store since February 2008, and now offers more than three million tracks. Wal-Mart is also offering a free download with every CD bought in its stores or online. The world's largest retailer has been on a push to become a bigger player in the music business. It reached an exclusive deal with The Eagles under which the band's latest album was sold only at Wal-Mart's stores. The record went on to be one of the biggest sellers in the U.S. last year. Fellow rock legends AC/DC released its latest album last Monday, also just at Wal-Mart, and estimates are that some 800,000 copies were sold in the week ended Sunday, by far the band's best-ever performance. ================================================= George Antunes Voice (713) 743-3923 Associate Professor Fax (713) 743-3927 Political Science Internet: antunes at uh dot edu University of Houston Houston, TX 77204-3011 *********************************** * POST TO [email protected] * *********************************** Medianews mailing list [email protected] http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
