Apple iTunes Raises Wholesale Royalty to Independent Artists

Derek Sivers from CD Baby has magnanimously shared some good news in a mass email to his clients and on a recent Pho post..."Apple iTunes USA just raised their wholesale payout to $.70 cents per download", even though song pricing remains at $.99 cents each...Artists signed on with CD Baby's Digital Distribution who are available on iTunes can now make $.63 cents per song - which is incredibly generous when compared to other distribution methods...Also, For the iTunes music stores that are outside the U.S., the recent payout averages are: iTunes Europe: $.88 cents, iTunes UK: $.88 cents and iTunes Canada: $.62 cents...In addition, when iTunes launches in Japan and Australia soon, CD Baby's digital catalog will reportedly be in both. (Of course, just being available "for sale" in cyberspace isn't enough...Copyright holders need to develop and refine methods to drive traffic to the sites to generate sales.)