Stop the Noiz

Apple Saves Everyone Money

Frank Fox - 2010.01.21 - Tip Jar

Popularity:

Short link: http://bit.ly/8DQwIB

Talk about turning traditional wisdom on its head: Apple has done a better job than even Walmart at delivering lower prices to millions of shoppers!

Apple's approach to music, games, and applications saves consumers money every year.

Before Apple released the iPod, CD prices rose from an average of $13.04 in 1999 to $14.19 in 2001. The iPod came out in October 2001, and by 2004 the average price of a CD had dropped to $12.95. Prices were no longer increasing - how could they when you could spend less than a dollar and get the one song that you liked from the album?

Even if you wanted the whole album, at 99¢ per track you could buy an album with 10 songs or less for under $10. If an average album has 12.26 songs, you would pay $12.14 on average for an album.

That's still less than the $12.95 average in 2004.

What would have happened without Apple?

Inflation from 2001 to 2009 was 21.2%, so unchecked, the average CD price might have increased to $17.20. Compared to that, Apple saved you $5 per album by lowering the price to 99¢ per song for a 30% savings.

Sure, the price of a single has changed, and Apple now has three prices: 69¢, 99¢, and $1.29.

I checked iTunes Top Hits list, and this is what I found. The album price for the artists with the top three songs were as follows:

Taylor Swift, Fearless, $11.99
Ke$ha, Animal, $9.99
Justin Bieber, My World, $7.99

Although buying just the hit single will cost you more than it used to, the price for a new album is less than the average CD price was in 2004.

What about Walmart? Don't they match or beat these prices?

Yes, they beat prices - often by as little as 3¢. This shows that Walmart is following Apple's lead, not taking the lead. Where the prices on iTunes have gone down, Walmart has dropped to beat them by three measly cents. Not exactly what I call the price leader, and considering the cost of gas to drive to the store, not exactly savings worth chasing.

Apple is the clear consumer champion here.

What does all this translate into for total savings? According to Nielson SoundScan, in 2009 there were 373.9 million albums and 1,159 million downloads (94 million albums at 12.26 songs/album) = 468.4 million CDs. Using a $5 per album saving, that is $2.3 billion saved.

Those numbers can't include iTunes, which sold more than 2.5 billion downloads in 2009 according the Wikipedia. That's an additional 203.9 million albums, for an extra $1 billion in savings. The total effect is to save consumers $3.3 billion a year on the price of music.

Thanks Apple. You guys really know how to save us money.

Join us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

Recent Stop the Noiz Columns

Dell XPS 13 Takes on the MacBook Air, 2012.01.20. Although Apple's MacBook Air wasn't the first ultrabook, it set the standard. How does Dell's new XPS 13 compare?
10 Reasons iPhone Users Should Like Android, 2012.01.12. Android is good for Apple, because good competition creates better products and more innovation.
Will Apple Introduce Its Own TV or Just Improve Apple TV?, 2012.01.11. Steve Jobs claimed to have "finally cracked" TV, but does that mean Apple will be introducing its own TV set?
More in the Stop the Noiz index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Mac IIfx, introduced 1990.03.19. This 'wicked fast' 40 MHz Mac trumped the 33 MHz DOS world.
February 14 in LEM history: 98: A perfect compact Mac - 00: Extended computer warranties worth the cost? - Making your PC work with your Mac - 01: Customize Microsoft Word - 02: Quadra revives a passion for computing - 03: Real world performance - DIY Pismo screen replacement - Best Mac for writing - 03: Fastest browser on the Mac - 06: 15" MacBook Pro - Impressions of a newly acquired Lisa - Finding and using free WiFi - Apple should liberate OS 9 - 07: New Mac mini cheaper than upgrading a Power Mac - 08: Falling in love with OS X
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2012 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPad iPhone, iMac, iPod, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
Advice is presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Email may be published at our discretion unless marked "not for publication"; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.

Custom Search

Follow Low End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Mac on Facebook

Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler 11 is now in the Mac App Store!! -- Special Introductory Price of $59.95!! -- To Buy From The Mac App Store Click Here Now!! Or buy direct from Strider Software.

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker and Mac Casino applications in minutes.

Affiliates

Amazon.com
The Apple Store
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
GainSaver
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay