iTunes downloads: too ££?
I'm not a download person.
Stuff that I want to listen to but I don't want to own = Spotify.
Stuff that I want to listen to and own = CD.
Now and again though, there are certain albums where I fancy a SQ which is 'one up from Spotify' but I'm not *that* concerned about having 'CD-quality' SQ. That's technically got iTunes written all over it. But here's the rub: nearly every time, I can buy the CD cheaper.
Perfect example was just now: for a reason I cannot explain, I was tempted to go hunting for Spark To A Flame by Chris De Burgh. I'm not a huge fan, but this 'best of' does tempt me. So I scoured iTunes: £5.99, which is not a bad price. But still, I couldn't help checking the price of the CD on eBay: £4.50 from a trader, brand new, sealed & delivered.
Considering that the CD stands a better chance of having a superior SQ to start with, I just can't find myself handing over more money just for the sake of having a compressed version immediately.
The only thing I can see iTunes is better value for is single tracks, most of which are 99p a shot.
Am I missing the point?
I also don't understand why downloads are more expensive, other than people are willing to pay for some kind of instant enjoyment. Movies are the same, if you can wait a few days the BD movie will be better quality than iTunes HD download and will often be cheaper too.
Convenience versus (slightly lower) quality, obviously a lot of consumers prefer the former
It's the convenience you pay for. Besides, iTunes will exploit its reputation and popularity. I have seen ebooks being more expensive than paperbacks.
Bigboss you beat me by 1 minute, you made your point much more succinctly though
It's frustrating really. I won't pretend that I even begin to know the true costs of online hosting and streaming from a provider's perspective, but common sense tells me it should be cheaper than the cost of manufacturing, packaging, distributing and posting a physical item.
Indeed. And as for the price of hi-res downloads... 
I can kind of forgive that, to an extent; I would expect to pay a premium to download something with a potentially-superior SQ to physical CD, even if the cost of hosting it and streaming it is no greater than a CD-quality stream. But paying more to download a compressed version just goes against my grain.
It's the convenience you pay for. Besides, iTunes will exploit its reputation and popularity. I have seen ebooks being more expensive than paperbacks.
ebooks are liable for VAT whereas printed books are not.
Can't see the point of iTunes downloads myself ... More expensive, inferior quality, rights restricted (maybe?), can't resell or leave to your kids, lousy client software ... Oh well you do save on shelving I suppose ... 
It's frustrating really. I won't pretend that I even begin to know the true costs of online hosting and streaming from a provider's perspective, but common sense tells me it should be cheaper than the cost of manufacturing, packaging, distributing and posting a physical item.
It's not (not for music and movies anyway - not 100% about books, but I'd imagine it's the same).
Imagine the cost of creating and maintaining a large data centre (which in itself is millions of pounds), then filling this with the approriate IT infrastructure (i.e. firewalls, switches, servers, storage, etc. - all of which will need to be enterprise class and thus probably 10 times minimum the cost of consumer versions). Now secure this to ensure it can't be tampered with (both physically and via the network), plus keeping it going (air conditioning, electricity, onsite support and security personnel). Now add business continuity / disaster recovery solutions which require at least one duplicate of the entire infrastructure in a completely geographically separate location and requires an extremely fast connection between them to ensure up to date replication of data. Finally, add a massive connection to the internet to enable the number of simultaneous downloads you're likely to be dealing with. And then add in all the costs I've not thought about cos I've listed this really quickly (project management, architecture, building facilities, HR etc.) and you've got yourself a lot of money.
Plus you'd probably pay a few people like me for about 2 - 3 months of work just to design the above on paper (let alone actually implement it) 
BTW - I agree with you. I buy CDs for the same reason.
Don't see the point in buying CD's on eBay. The artist recieves no money, so no better than pirating it.
Don't see the point in buying CD's on eBay. The artist recieves no money, so no better than pirating it.
But they would have done from the original purchase.
Don't see the point in buying CD's on eBay. The artist recieves no money, so no better than pirating it.
But they would have done from the original purchase.
As they would have gotten money from the chap who uploaded the CD to the internet. Doesn't give me the right to listen to it.
Don't see the point in buying CD's on eBay. The artist recieves no money, so no better than pirating it.
Im not saying its illegal, I just personally believe its pointless to buy second hand music. I want the artist to get paid. If I buy second hand, the artist does not get paid for my listening to their work. The first guy paid for the right to listen to the music, I have not. Simple.
It's the convenience you pay for. Besides, iTunes will exploit its reputation and popularity. I have seen ebooks being more expensive than paperbacks.
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