the Forty-Second Parallel

According to the Financial Times:

Apple Computer on Monday revealed it had renewed contracts with the four largest record companies to sell songs through its iTunes digital store at 99 cents each. The agreements came after months of bargaining, and were a defeat for music companies that had been pushing for a variable pricing model.

Privately, several music executives acknowledged that they have little leverage over Mr. Jobs, whose iTunes Music Store accounts for an astounding 80 percent of the U.S. digital music market.