苹果否认计划调高iTunes歌曲售价

　　苹果公司已经断然否认了有关其正在计划调高iTunes在线音乐零售店歌曲售价的报道。苹果发言人纳塔利-塞奎拉表示：“这些传言都不是真实的。我们与唱片公司签有多年的合约，我们的歌曲售价将保持在每首99美分。” 　　此前，美国一家媒体援引一位没有透露姓名的消息人士的话报道称，音乐迷们可能将不得不为苹果的在线歌曲支付更高的费用，因为苹果在iTunes面市一周年之际与唱片公司续约的条款中涉及了抬高价格的问题。

　　自从去年4月面市以来，iTunes已经售出了7000多万首歌曲，目前iTunes上有70万首歌曲可供乐迷购买。因为与一些唱片公司最初签署的协议都是一年期，因此苹果的确需要续签新的合同。塞奎拉称，其中一些合同的条款是发生了改变，例如，iTunes用户可以将相同的曲目复制到一张CD光盘上的次数已经由10次减少到了7次。

　　Apple Computer has flatly denied a report that the computer maker was planning to raise prices for songs bought on its popular iTunes online music store.

　　"These rumours aren't true," said Apple spokeswoman Natalie Sequeira. "We have multiyear agreements with the labels and our prices remain 99 cents a track."

　　Apple's statement came after the New York Post reported on Friday, citing one unnamed source, that music fans may have to start paying more for some songs on Apple's music store following contract renegotiations with the record labels ahead of the one-year anniversary of the store.

　　Since the launch of the music store last April, which works with Apple's popular iPod digital music player, the company has sold more than 70 million songs. That figure was less than Apple's goal of 100 million, but more than anyone else.

　　The store now has more than 700,000 tracks for sale.

　　Apple needed to renegotiate the contracts with the five major record labels, because they were initially one-year contracts and were signed ahead of the launch of the online music store last April.

　　Some of the terms of the contracts did change. The number of times an iTunes user can create a CD with the same playlist has been cut to seven from 10, Sequeira said.

　　That change was announced last week when Apple released iTunes 4.5 with new features such as "iMix," which lets customers publish their playlists on the music store for other customers to purchase.

　　Japan's Sony Corp. Tuesday became the latest entry into the increasingly crowded online music market.

　　The new service, Sony Connect, a unit of Sony Corp. of America, offers more than 500,000 tracks in a pricing arrangement virtually identical to Apple's: 99 cents for each track and $9.95 for most albums.

　　Wal-Mart Stores Inc. sells songs for download on its Web site for 88 cents each.