Looks like Apple is getting tough with record labels. We've just had an email detailing price drops for tracks on iTunes; no figures are given, but the move is designed to bring the prices in line with the costs in other European countries. That's good, but the really interesting section is this one:

Apple currently must pay some record labels more to distribute their music in the UK than it pays them to distribute the same music elsewhere in Europe. Apple will reconsider its continuing relationship in the UK with any record label that does not lower its wholesale prices in the UK to the pan-European level within six months.

While some might call these the tactics of a bully, really Apple just seems to be using its clout to correct a pricing anomaly put in place by record labels. Perhaps we're not getting the full story – there may be costs in the UK that record labels have to bear that does make this a more expensive market for them – but, at least as far as the consumer is concerned in the short term, this is a welcome move by Apple.