Apple Inc. will scrap online pricing policies across Europe for iTunes music downloads and soon charge consumers in Britain and the rest of Europe the same amount, the company and the European Union said Wednesday.

Apple charges about 9 cents more per song in Britain compared with prices in nations that use the euro. The company said it has to pay more to record companies in Britain for distribution rights.

The maker of the popular iPod media players had been

under review since April by EU authorities after a British consumer group complained that Apple and major record companies were unfairly restricting choice and ramping up the cost of downloads.

The European Commission said it had closed an antitrust probe into Apple’s iTunes operation after finding no evidence that EU laws were broken. However, the EU said some copyright issues involving Apple remain.

EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes welcomed the agreement, saying […]

Orginal post by Top Tech News