Ever take a moment to ponder the current price of music CDs?  Back when I was in high school, perusing Music World, HMV, and Sunrise aisles for Smashing Pumpkins and Foo Fighters records, compact discs generally ran from about $13 to $25 (for older, less in-demand stuff).  It meant that each purchase, especially for a poor grocery store employee, was a careful one.  It’s also part of the reason so many young people latched onto the peer-2-peer phenomenon, and continue to use other shady networks, like Bit Torrent.

Without a doubt, the cost of music CDs, to consumers at least, has dropped.  In an inflation-mad world, that’s a rarity, and cause for pause.  Why are they so cheap?  Is it to resurrect the file sharers’ music budgets?

Maybe.  But, a recent report has indicated that Apple is a major part of the reason for the $9.99 CD.  One unnamed record executive has pointed to the the iPod maker and, more importantly, iTunes creator, as the primary reason for the plummet in CD prices.

According to the source, “The biggest thing driving prices to $9.99 is iTunes.  Physical retailers are pressuring the labels downward on price…because they don’t want to be undercut by iTunes”.

The lowering in prices is certainly a pleasant trend.  Considering the superior sound quality of CDs versus iTunes downloads (generally 320 kbp/s versus 128), retailer price matching might just make a return to the jewel case worthwhile.

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