Friday, January 08, 2010

Music Week reflects readership's misunderstanding of online pricing

Music Week has launched an iPhone app, inviting you to tap into its music industry reporting wherever you happen to be. And how much does it want for this?

£9.99.

Well, that's a little heavy - a tenner for a single newspaper app, but it is working in a specialist sector, and times are hard, and I guess ten pounds is just about fair... what? What's that you're saying, Gordon Macmillan?

The £9.99 price gives readers access to the music trade title's content for 30 days. Then it is time to renew.

One hundred and twenty pounds a year?

Sure, they're writing for people working in an industry which is desperate to believe that the price of what they sell online should go up, rather than down, but even hardened music executives might spot that this is chronically overpriced.

The Spectator is pushing it, but at least they only try to shake you down for £2.39. Maybe - in the same way record companies have forgotten they don't need to charge for pressing, distribution and warehousing with online deals - Music Week has forgotten to pass the savings in newsprint and ink and vans and retail mark-up onto the consumer.

[via @simonth]


2 comments:

duckie said...

I know it's hard to believe but subscribing to the print edition actually costs nearly twice as much, at £225 p.a. So in their eyes they're offering you a veritable bargain. If only the thing was actually worth reading.

Simon Hayes Budgen said...

At least with the print edition you get something you can wrap a fish supper in.

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