Falling pound brings iTunes UK into line with Europe
Apple UK escapes price cuts
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Apple no longer needs to lower the price of songs on iTunes UK in order to achieve pricing parity with the rest of Europe - fluctuating exchange rates have done the job for it.
Back in January, Apple pledged to unify the cost of dowloads across Europe in order to head of the possibility that it might be forced to do so by European Commission single-market regulators.
At the time, the Mac maker said it would put such a scheme in place within six months.
Half a year on, and Apple admitted today the change has already been made - but by the currency markets, not by Apple.
"The announcement was that we would match the UK price to that of other lower priced European countries," an Apple spokesman told the Beeb.
"This is no longer necessary as exchange rates have effectively done it for us."
In January, 1€ was equivalent to £0.75, though Apple was charging Brits 79p to download a song that would cost other Europeans €0.99.
Now, 1€ equals £0.798, so there's effective price parity.
Shazam.
Well, until the exchange rates shift again... and Brits - or continental Europeans - get the bum deal.
COMMENTS
@ Kwac
Ahh, good old dual pricing... just wait till that year is over.
@All we need to do now
"is get the A Rabs to sell us oil in euros rather than dollars and we'll be able to afford to travel to work again."
Didn't Sadam Hussain try that? Look what it did for him!
@bad beaver
As a resident of a country that recently adopted the euro I can tell you that things have got expensive here - my income is in pounds sterling.
Dual pricing (old & euro) for the first year to ensure that there's no rip-offs in the change-over, which means that prices have increased at the same rate as the rest of the world due to increased fuel & food costs.
I recall sexy Cecil Parkinson (Thatcher's hatchet man) explaining why Britain should not join the euro - it would mean all those people who make a living buying and selling money would be out of work. I would like to admit that my first thoughts were of these poor people undergoing hardship, sadly I have to confess it was "fuck them".
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