iTunes to have feature films by year-end?

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A version of Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store that will serve up feature film downloads should debut by the end of the year at the latest, sources within the film industry told Variety.com.


The report, which offers very little new information on the Apple initiative, reiterates the popular consensus that the iPod maker and major picture studios are locked in debate over pricing.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs is reported to have been involved in the talks, initially proposing to sell all films at a flat price of $9.99 -- an offer the studios flatly rejected.

"We can't be put in a position where we lose the ability to price our most popular content higher than less popular stuff," said a studio exec close to the negotiations told Variety.

Apple has historically charged a standard fee for its online downloads, such as 99 cents for music tracks and $1.99 for TV shows.

According to the report, there are signs Apple may bend and allow price points ranging from $9.99 to $19.99 in order to differentiate older titles from new releases.

I think $9.99 is a little too much for films. He needs to cut the price.

why would i pay $19.99 for a movie when i can probably buy the dvd for that and then rip it to my ipod?

Yep, I agree.. a very high price point especially if it's at the current iPod size. You can buy a DVD for the same price $9.99 with all the DVD features plus a much higher resolution.. I think it's about double what the current iPod resolution is. It is quite high indeed.

$9.99 and up for a DRM protected file with no extras, and I can only watch it on my computer or my iPod?

Screw that.

it could be cool though

eddiddiums said:

$9.99 and up for a DRM protected file with no extras, and I can only watch it on my computer or my iPod?

Screw that.

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I agree. Unless they're at standard DVD resolution, that'd just be dumb. I just bought 3 new used movies at Blockbuster for $20 (Red Eye, Harry Potter 4, and Last Holiday if you're curious); $19.99 or even $9.99 for 320x240 movie with no extras or options would be silly. Everyone I know who has a video iPod has watched one or two shows on it then lost interest - they go back to being MP3 players with a big hard drive. Who knows, maybe they'll release a TiVo Mini with movie-download capabilities at the same time as the movie announcement