Fully 41 percent of people with digital music players in the United States are not willing to pony up more than $10 a month for listening to their favorite tunes, Parks Associates found. With comparable pricing presented in local currencies, the researcher found the same to be true with 62 percent of people in the United Kingdom, 49 percent in France, 52 percent in Germany and 56 percent in China.

Further more, on average, a third of the people owning digital music players in the five nations said they believed that music services should be free.

Given these finding, Yahoo Inc., which offers its subscription service for as low as $60 for an annual subscription, could reshape the market, Park Associates said. Other companies, such as Napster and Real Networks, charge $14.95 a month.

"Companies like Yahoo can afford to keep the price low because they have other revenue streams to subsidize their music services," Parks Associates analyst Harry Wang said in a statement. "Pure-plays like Napster may not be able to lower their prices."

From the article "Online Music Subscriptions Too Pricey," by Antone Gonsalves

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