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This infuriates me. Why do they have to charge us 50-60% more in the UK? Can somebody please tell me?

This entire thread is trying to tell you.

Record labels set the prices, VAT is included in the UK, and the risk of the pound crashing has to be built in.


(also it's nowhere near 50-60%)
 

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That's not going to happen for another 2 years. :eek:


True, but the debate over what the exact question should be is going to start long before that. Then there's the campaigning. It'll most likely result in a loss of confidence in the UK economy from outside traders (as they're trying to shut themselves off from the rest of the EU) and have an effect on the Pound before that.
 
True, but the debate over what the exact question should be is going to start long before that. Then there's the campaigning. It'll most likely result in a loss of confidence in the UK economy from outside traders (as they're trying to shut themselves off from the rest of the EU) and have an effect on the Pound before that.

If that happens then they could simply adjust the monthly payment to accommodate the change, anything else this far in advance would just be an excuse for profiteering.

I don't think the high UK cost has anything to do with currency fluctuations, if the £10 per month is confirmed they will just be matching the rate for Spotify Premium, as they have in the USA.
 
If that happens then they could simply adjust the monthly payment to accommodate the change, anything else this far in advance would just be an excuse for profiteering.

I don't think the high UK cost has anything to do with currency fluctuations, if the £10 per month is confirmed they will just be matching the rate for Spotify Premium, as they have in the USA.

Perhaps Apple should set prices fairly across geographic regions rather than price match against a profiteering competitor.

Has anyone got Taylor Swift's phone number?
 
If that happens then they could simply adjust the monthly payment to accommodate the change, anything else this far in advance would just be an excuse for profiteering.

A lot could happen though. (also, it's not certain that it would tank due to this, but it's an example of the many things that could affect the rate) The Pound is one of the more sensitive currencies, partly due to its relatively small market and refusal to adopt the euro. Remember 2008-2009 when the Pound fell to almost complete parity with the dollar/euro?
 
Perhaps Apple should set prices fairly across geographic regions rather than price match against a profiteering competitor.

Has anyone got Taylor Swift's phone number?

They do. Spending power is greater in the UK. (source: just moved from the UK to the US a year ago)

In India, the price for Apple Music is set to around $2
 
A lot could happen though. (also, it's not certain that it would tank due to this, but it's an example of the many things that could affect the rate) The Pound is one of the more sensitive currencies, partly due to its relatively small market and refusal to adopt the euro. Remember 2008-2009 when the Pound fell to almost complete parity with the dollar/euro?

The Euro has more chance of tanking in the near future and it doesn't look like they are going load their payment in anticipation.

It's a monthly payment, so if a currency does get a sudden fluctuation in value the maximum exposure for Apple would only be a few weeks. Like I said before, I don't think it's got anything to do with the currency but it's simply the going rate to licence streaming from the UK music industry.
 
They can charge whatever the **** they want if people are still prepared to pay it. Stop searching for equality in an area it's impossible to attain.
 
VAT is included in the UK (thanks for ignoring the entire thread).

Without VAT, we're talking £8.325, which is $13.10 today.

I didn't ignore the rest of the thread. A poster said that including tax in the USA it is $10.74. Including tax in the UK it is $15.73. That's still 46% more in the UK.
 
Apple doesn't set the tax rate though, and the tax (or VAT) goes to the government, not Apple. So prices should be compared without tax, in which case it's 31% difference.

US sales tax differs per state. Here in NY it's 8.875% off the top of my head.
 
The Euro has more chance of tanking in the near future and it doesn't look like they are going load their payment in anticipation.

It's a monthly payment, so if a currency does get a sudden fluctuation in value the maximum exposure for Apple would only be a few weeks. Like I said before, I don't think it's got anything to do with the currency but it's simply the going rate to licence streaming from the UK music industry.

It can't be due to loss of confidence in the currency because of the above. There is far greater uncertainty in the Eurozone at the moment due to the possible Grexit and lack of knowledge of what it would do to the value of the Euro.

So, it's either music labels in the UK wanting much more cash, Apple blindly matching Spotify everywhere or just imposing a very high Britain tax. Oh well.
 
Apple doesn't set the tax rate though, and the tax (or VAT) goes to the government, not Apple. So prices should be compared without tax, in which case it's 31% difference.

US sales tax differs per state. Here in NY it's 8.875% off the top of my head.

We, as consumers, should not be concerned about where our money goes. We're paying this much, we should get what we pay for. Tax is meaningless to me.
 
We, as consumers, should not be concerned about where our money goes. We're paying this much, we should get what we pay for. Tax is meaningless to me.

I think that's a tad naive. If a country has a 50% sales tax and another 5%, you wouldn't sell in each one at the same price as it makes no economic sense.

It's fine when the difference is solely down to VAT - I completely understand that. It just gets a bit irritating when the difference is so much more than any taxes imposed.
 
They do. ...

They don't.

If the price was the same in the UK as in the US, adjusted only for exchange rate and local tax, then the Individual subscription should be around GBP 7.65.

That is what I mean by fair - and that is the most I would be willing to pay in the UK.
 
Remember that there is no official pricing out. All that was shown was screenshots from some beta software. It is entirely possible that all we saw was the number 9.99 with a different symbol for the currency.

Especially if you see this: iOS 8.4 beta appears to confirm European Apple Music pricing of £9.99/€9.99 per month

There is absolutely no way that the UK price is £9.99 and the Euro price is €9.99. It is 100 times more likely that we have the same number with localised currency in beta software.

Sorry, but I'm afraid you couldn't have been more wrong if you tried. :p

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