Well Have I missed something here but aren't Apple going to turn around and say ' The bigger prices are to cover the cost of sending a song to a user at 256kbs quality instead of half the quality DRM cheaper songs are sold at'
It seems fair to me..They have to pay their server/bandwidth costs and the increase in prices seem to be logical? they are deliverying more data.

Thomas Harper, Hastings, UK

I agree, 99p is an absolute rip-off. If it's going to be approximately £10-£12 to buy a full album digitally, I'd rather buy it for a few pounds cheaper and have a copy on CD which I can play anywhere, and put onto my computer/iPod. The fact that the 99p tracks have no digital locks on is nothing spectacular at that price, considering CDs are the same - no locks and the same price, plus the fun of having a CD insert. I think the only way I would consider buying an album through iTunes come May, is if they have a discounted price if you buy a whole album.

Aliyah, London,

It is little wonder why more and more of the public are saying 'NO' to being ripped off by greedy music companies, and are instead using BitTorrent peer-to-peer file sharing technology to download for FREE!!

roz, leeds,

What about getting Apple to reimburse all the overcharges to us stupid brits (they will no doubt have the details for their nepharious marketing purposes) with the impotent govt. that let this happen. Let the market decide?, that works doesn't it?.

Jim, Bristol, UK

it will be cheaper to buy CDs from amazon, play, ASDA etc online than to download at 99p a time. At least then you can convert to whatever quality you like and be able to play your music anywhere in your house without having to buy Apple Airport or Sonic wireless systems.
itunes current music quality is rubbish, and video download quality as bad when displaying on a decent sized LCD. Why are we paying more for an inferior product? Dont get me wrong - ipod & itunes are great, but only when you can control what is on it and its quality

Adrian, Edinburgh,

So Britain is once again 'Treasure Island' for an entire industry surprise surprise, why is it that consumer rights in this country with respect to big business are usually defended by the EU and not the UK Government? DTI incompetence perhaps?

Martin, London, UK

I gave up buying records/CDs/tracks years ago. I just got sick of the status pop 'stars' achieved after one poor hit.

The money everyone seems to 'earn' is outrageous and while if I was in that league I’d have a damned good time, too often we hear of these ‘celebs’ abusing drugs and young children.

Perhaps the industry needs to clean up its act.

Jack, Edinburgh,

US companies can do what they like in Europe re: pricing. EU competition law doesn't stretch to the other side of the pond!

Dan, High Wycombe,

Why does the UK get singled out for higher pricing by so many international companies? Why not France/Germany/Australia/Iran? Is it a political statement, as I cannot believe it is purely a commercial response to exchange rates?

Mike, Kingston, Surrey

The exchange rate of £1 = $1 has gone on for so long in the electronics and entertainment industry they don't believe in the real one any more.

Jay, Woking, UK

DOUBLE, George?

I make it an extra tenner for the OEM version of Vista home premium (source: Pricerunner). Still not on, but less of a markup than iTunes (16% as opposed to 25%)

Rob, Billingshurst,

While I disagree that Apple should charge more in the UK than the rest of Europe. What about Microsoft charging DOUBLE for their new operating System Vista. I hope The EU will be sorting out that ripoff soon too.

George, Lincoln,

It would appear that Abercrombie & Fitch are up to a simular trick.

Since opening their new flagship store in central London, they have started to block Internet access to their American e-commerce website for UK residents. You are instead automatically redirected to a new UK website that charges significantly more than the US store even allowing for shipping, VAT & import duties.

People who live in the rest of the single market can still buy from the US site at the much cheaper prices (more than 50 percent less). Thus Abercrombie have effectively divided the European Single Market.

I hope the European Commission will also persue this matter.

Jon Rowles, Twickenham,