Apple settles EU antitrust case by lowering UK iTunes prices

Apple Inc. is all set to settle an antitrust case filed against its popular ITunes online media store by the European Commission. The Mac/iPod maker said it will cut the price of music downloads from its U.K. iTunes music store to settle the EU antitrust case.

In a statement on Wednesday, the European Commission, EU's top antitrust watchdog, said Apple has agreed to scrap its restrictive online pricing policies across Europe for its iTunes music downloads. Apple is ready to equalize prices for song downloads from its European online music store within the next six months, the commission added.

Consequently, the EU's antitrust regulator EC said it will close its proceedings against the US electronic company Apple and major record companies in an antitrust investigation over the pricing of songs on the iTunes online music store, which offers music downloads for owners of Apple’s popular MP3 player, iPods.

“This puts an end to the different treatment of UK consumers who currently have to pay higher prices for downloads,” the commission said in the statement.

Apple’s commitment to equalize prices of iTunes downloads means the music fans in Britain will pay the same for downloads from iTunes as consumers in the fifteen countries using the euro. U.K. consumers, currently, pay nearly 10 percent more for downloads from Apple's iTunes stores than downloads in the euro-zone countries.

"The Commission is very much in favor of solutions which allow consumers to benefit from a truly single market for music downloads," EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes stated.

EU’s latest move puts an end to nine-month long dispute, involving Apple, major record companies and a British consumer group. In April, the EU authorities began an antitrust investigation over the pricing of songs on Apple’s iTunes after the U.K. consumer group complained that Apple and some other well-known record companies, most likely EMI Group, Warner Music Group Corp, Sony /BMG and Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group, were unfairly restricting the choice and cost of downloads from Apple's European music stores.

iTunes Music store boasts of more than 70 percent of digital music sales in the United States. To date, Apple has sold over 3 billion songs via its online music store, of which nearly 45 percent were purchased as albums.

Apple’s music store features the world's largest catalog with more than six million songs, 350 television shows and over 400 movies. The iTunes Store has sold 100 million TV shows and over 2 million movies, making it the world's most popular online music, TV and movie store.

Movies purchased and downloaded from the iTunes Store can be viewed on a computer, fifth generation iPod and, soon on Apple TV. Most of them are priced at US$9.99 each. Movies downloaded from the iTunes Store are downloaded in near-DVD quality at a resolution of 640x480.