View this article at: http://dev.macnn.com/articles/05/08/05/itunes.prices.going.up Friday, Aug 05, 2005 11:00am Apple to raise iTunes price... Apple may be forced to raise song prices at the iTunes Music Store next year, according to a report from Japan. "Japan's Nikkei recently reported that record labels have been 'abuzz with talk about Apple's 2006 problem'. That refers to label licensing renegotiations scheduled for next year... Specifically, labels have been pushing Apple to increase its current fixed a-la-carte pricing structure in the US, Canada and Europe." Apple's two-tiered approach used in Japan may foreshadow possible increases, while at the same time bolstering the labels' case for higher pricing; however, for now, Apple's lower pricing in Japan has forced some of its main competitors in the region--Sony's Label Gate, Yahoo Japan and Excite--to lower pricing. The report says that Apple's licensing of its FairPlay DRM will also be an issue, as labels have recently begun shipping copy-protected CDs that are not compatible with the popular iPod.