Apple persuades music labels to keep price of iTunes songs at 99c

Steve Jobs has just pulled off another major coup by persuading the worlds four leading music labels to keep the price of songs sold at the iTunes music store to 99c. This is a key milestone for Apple, consumers and the online music industry as a whole.

99c is a price at which consumers are clearly happy to keep buying digital tunes at a record pace - and that should be boosted, not curtailed through onerous new pricing mechanisms - to ensure that the inevitable hockey stick in legal online music sales continues.

The music labels wanted to introduce variable pricing and charge consumers more for the latest tunes, which could have stifled legal digital music sales. Ultimately though they made the right decision (which has not always been the case when it comes to online music) and iTunes users can breath a sigh of relief.

For now Apple holds the power in the digital music space and fortunately they felt confident enough to use it.