Is Apple or EMI gouging Canadians on the cost of DRM free upgrades for iTunes Plus?

I just received an email from iTunes telling me that the new iTunes Plus DRM free version of music from EMI is available in Canada. The email concludes with the sentence that, “Even better yet, you can also upgrade existing EMI songs in your iTunes collection for just $.40 per song.”

$.40 per song? Where’d that come from? $.40 per song is a 33% premium over the the $.30 per song that upgrades cost U.S. iTunes subscribers. That’s a big, big difference.

How can this be justified? Not on the basis of the exchange rate. When I checked the Bank of Canada currency converter just now, it showed that $.30 U.S. is worth $.32 Canadian. So, that means that either Apple or EMI is pocketing a windfall $.08 for every iTunes track upgraded to the DRM free iTUnes Plus version.

I applauded Steve Jobs’ announcement that iTunes would take some initial steps forward into the world of DRM free music. That’s a good thing.

But charging one person an extra $.08 on exactly the same purchase another gets for $.08 less? That doesn’t make sense to me.

Seems like a marketing faux pas to me. I wonder if it will bounce back on either Apple or EMI.

What do you think?

  • http://www.bobgoyetche.com Bob Goyetche

    More disturbing to me than the misguided exchange rate is the fact that the DRM-less tracks have personal information embedded in them. So we’re really paying more $$ to give Apple (and anyone else) more information about us..

    This isn’t DRM-free, it’s just a more hidden method of DRM.

    Didn’t see Mr Jobs tell anyone about that part…. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6711215.stm

  • http://trafcomnews.com Donna Papacosta

    Joe, thanks for bringing this to light. Methinks someone is a little SLOW in checking current exchange rates. Of course our friend Bob raises a very important issue. Sigh. Why is this stuff never simple?

  • http://www.wooby.tk Francis Wooby

    Could this possibly be another instance of the entertainment industry punishing Canada for being a “safe haven” for pirates not of the Johnny Depp variety? They’ve already stopped screening movies for critics north of the border, so perhaps there’s a “prices are higher because of shoplifting” rationale behind this move from Apple? Seems sort of far-fetched; but then again, so does the idea of Apple not being able to do simple math.

  • http://conniecrosby.blogspot.com Connie Crosby

    The other thing I was not clear on is whether this is a “new and improved” version of the service, or if this is a whole new service. It is being branded as “iTunes Plus”.

    Bob, thanks for the additional heads up.

  • Grant Klassen

    Bob:
    1. ALL tracks purchased from iTunes have always had your personal info in them.
    2. You gave Apple your personal info when you signed up to iTunes.
    3. Apple has always kept track of which tracks you’ve purchased, that’s how they can upgrade them. That’s how you can download them again if you loose them.
    4. Nobody else is getting your personal info unless YOU share your tracks with them.

    Take the foil off of your windows. Sunlight is warm and comfortable.