iTunes, Band Aid battle over Xmas song price

CD sales will be huge in any case

Apple has refused to offer the re-recorded Band Aid single Do They Know It's Christmas? because the charity won't let it sell the track at its standard price.

While the song is available from other digital music suppliers for £1.49, Apple told the Band Aid Trust that it was unwilling to offer the song for more than the 79p it usually charges for all other singles, reports on the UK press claimed last week.

The Band Aid 20 CD goes on sale in shops today. Since the vast majority of copies of the song are likely to be purchased this way, rather than as a download, Apple's apparent refusal to up asking price for this one single seems unlikely to hinder the record's charitable aims.

Reports last week suggested 10,000 copies of the song had been downloaded - just one per cent of the number of Band Aid 20 CDs said to be shipping into the UK retail channel today.

As of last Wednesday, the track had failed to enter the UK official download music chart above fifth place.

For punters who do want to download a copy of the song, it's available through most other online services, such as Napster, MyCokeMusic, Sony Connect and so on, not to mention the Trust's own download site, bandaid20.com.

Apple has yet to formally comment on the matter, though a UK spokeswoman did tell one paper that the company's US HQ was aware of the controversial move. ®

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