Counting the cost

I am somewhat amazed at how we Apple users in the UK appear to suffer with a unique currency conversion rate with the US. In the USA, the cost of an Apple Music subscription is just $9.99/month, but over here it’s £9.99/ month. Given that the current rate of exchange is around US $1.57 to the pound, we are being charged over a third more! Does this mean we are giving a higher percentage to the musicians than those across the pond?

I asked at our local Apple Store if they had any insight to this and the reply I received was “that’s a great question – perhaps it’s the tax” and another simply gave me the response “well it’s still a great deal”. When it comes to buying hardware I can understand it, but when it’s simply a service using the same servers how can this be justified? John Deane Paul Blachford says: Apple’s not unique in this practice by any means. There’s a long-held perception that, compared with our transatlantic cousins, we pay a premium for various goods in the UK. Electronics are often the worst offenders by a long way. Part of the reason is indeed that we pay more base tax in the UK than the US.

When it comes to software sevices, you’d think there might be a difference but it can be the same story. For example, Adobe’s Creative Cloud costs around 30% more annually in the UK. Apple Music is following the same pattern adopted by others – in fact, it costs exactly the same as Spotify. It’s not great, but isn’t going to be changing any time soon. Also, bear in mind that royalty agreements with labels might differ between regions.