GamersCircle

This coming Thursday, the Copyright Royalty Board is expected to rule on a request by the National Music Publisher’s Association to increase royalty rates paid to its members for online purchases as much as 66% (from 9 to 15 cents a track). Apple, however, stands adamantly opposed to the decision, as it neither wants to absorb the rate hike nor raise prices from 99 cents on its popular iTunes Music Store.

In a statement submitted to the board last year, iTunes vice president Eddy Cue said Apple might close its download store rather than raise its 99 cents a song price or absorb the higher royalty costs. "If the [iTunes music store] was forced to absorb any increase in the … royalty rate, the result would be to significantly increase the likelihood of the store operating at a financial loss – which is no alternative at all," Cue wrote. "Apple has repeatedly made it clear that it is in this business to make money, and most likely would not continue to operate [the iTunes music store] if it were no longer possible to do so profitably."

Source

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