As of today, HBO content is available for download at the iTunes store. Of course, the addition of the mighty HBO to iTunes is news in and of itself, but what’s more interesting here is that HBO is the first network to charge $2.99 per episode for an iTunes TV download (it should be noted, that only some, but not all of the HBO shows are priced at $2.99). In the short term, people might be happy about the addition of this high quality content to the iTunes library, but as the The Hollywood Reporter article points out, it seems like it will only be a matter of time before other networks renegotiate their pricing structure with Apple, which will invariably to higher prices across the board.

HBO will become the first TV network to charge more than the standard $1.99 per episode on Apple’s iTunes.

The network announced Tuesday that a wide range of programs would be made available on iTunes, with “The Sopranos,” “Deadwood” and “Rome” going for $2.99 per episode. “Sex and the City,” “Flight of the Conchords” and “The Wire” go for $1.99.

Forthcoming episodes of currently running series will go day-and-date with their DVD releases.

Still unknown is whether the network is getting a higher revenue split than other iTunes partners. [THR.com]

Photo: thomasexciting

Apple today announced that the iTunes Store surpassed Wal-Mart to become the number one music retailer in the US, based on the latest data from the NPD Group*. With over 50 million customers, iTunes has sold over four billion songs and features the world’s largest music catalog of over six million songs.

Photo: Vermin Inc.

A report by the Financial Times (registration required) cites unnamed executives who say that Apple is in talks with record labels to offer access to the entire iTunes music library for a lump sum price. The fee would be added as a premium option on an iPod or iPhone, or it could come as a monthly charge. It would allow downloading of any song at any time so long as the purchaser still owns the device, and the songs would be yours to keep.
…
Apple’s plan is different in several respects. Since the average iPod owner buys about 20 tracks from the iTunes, Apple wants to make the premium about $20, arguing that it should cover the average consumer’s downloads. Then the owner can make unlimited music downloads from the iTunes Store for the life of the device. Once downloaded, the tracks are yours to keep, even if you get rid of the original iPod or iPhone. And since iPod and phone owners tend to replace devices fairly regularly, the record labels would be getting the fee whether or not the consumer makes any further downloads. Silicon Alley Insider did the math and thinks it’s a good deal all around. But according to the Financial Times’ sources, the labels are looking for numbers closer to the $80 Nokia is reported to be paying. [ars technica]

Unlimited iTunes downloads for $20, where do I sign up? I think anyone reading this article will notice the flawed logic they are using in reference to the $20 estimate of the average consumer’s downloads. Sure, maybe this makes sense when your paying 99 cents a shot, but when you’ve got unlimited free downloads surely you’d spend more, in fact, you’d be silly not to.

Look out Wal-Mart, Stevie’s breathing down your neck.

iTunes is now the second-largest overall music retailer — online or offline — in the United States, behind only Wal-Mart, according to research the NPD Group released yesterday.

After Wal-Mart and iTunes, the top music retailers in 2007 were Best Buy, Target and Amazon, in descending order.

As popular as iTunes has become, NPD reported that legal music downloads accounted for just 10 percent of all music acquired in 2007. In addition, 29 million consumers used legal pay-per-download sites last year, up from 24 million the previous year. [Internet.com]