Hello all. Here's a puzzle: Most music downloads are priced the same — around $0.99. That doesn't make much sense. Different songs are . . . different, not least in terms of popularity. So if consumer demand for Song A is much greater than for Song B, why are both priced at $0.99? Why are the hits priced the same as the dross?
(Yes, I know about subscription services, and the limited number of both lower-priced and “premium” downloads. But for the most part, downloads are consumed a la carte and are uniformly priced around a $0.99 standard. And the explanation can't just be because Apple wants it that way, because variable pricing, by more closely tracking demand, would benefit Apple as well as the record labels).
I have a paper coming out — The 99-cent Question — that offers an explanation. But before the paper hits the street I'd be interested in hearing yours. Why do we see hits and non-hits priced at the same $0.99 standard?