Apple has elected to abandon a previous promise to lower UK iTunes prices, citing changes in currency exchange rates as its escape clause.
In January, the company had agreed to lower UK iTunes prices to match the already standardised pricing on iTunes across Europe in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and Spain.
In response to an EU investigation, Apple was supposed lower the price it charges UK users to bring it in line with the rest of Europe. This meant that the price of an iTunes track would fall from 79p to approximately 66p, and the price change was due to take effect this month.
“This is an important step towards a pan-European marketplace for music,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, speaking at the time. “We hope every major record label will take a pan-European view of pricing.”
Fluctuations in the currency market now mean both prices come in at around the same, meaning no price cut is necessary, Apple claims.
"The announcement was that we would match the UK price to that of other lower priced European countries," an Apple spokesman said. "This is no longer necessary as exchange rates have effectively done it for us."
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