I was interviewed by JR Davis of Fox 24/51 Wednesday about the iTunes “emergency” that could have happened on Thursday. 

The Copyright Royalty Board wanted to raise the fee from $.09 per song to $.15 per song sold in the iTunes Store.  Apple said the increase could cut into profitability, and iTunes is meant to be a profitable part of Apple, so… they might be forced to quit selling music online.  Apple is the number one music retailer in the world, responsible for 70% of all music sold online.

Well, of course, they gave into Apple, and did not raise the royalty rate.

So, if Apple is selling songs for at least $.99 each, what is $.15?  Well, besides the fee Apple pays to the Copyright Royalty Board, they also pay a staggering $.70 per song to the record labels.  Do the math, and you can see that would be a big chunk of change to eat.