According to a recent New York Times story, Apple and the music industry are beginning to develop some disagreements over the computer company's flat-rate pricing.

Though Apple only takes about a third of the revenue from each song sold, the music industry seems troubled by the profit generated by the company's iPod music player which are currently the only supported portable by the music store which currently owns about 75% of the digital download market.

Apparently, the industry would prefer a tiered pricing scheme where songs are priced based on "popularity" so a popular new track like Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" could sell for as much as $1.49 while a catalog song would be priced lower than the current 99¢ price.

Many have criticized a mixed price model, attributing much of Apple's success to the simplicity of a single tier of pricing. Not all the major labels wish to see a change to tiered pricing, with Universal supporting the flat-rate model, and EMI wishing to avoid problems. Interscope chairman Jimmy Iovine adds that "We need to convert a lot more people to the habit of buying music online. I don't think a way to convert more people is to raise the price."

Not surprisingly, the firms complaining most vociferously include Sony/BMG which has it's own download service which has failed to ignite the interest of consumers.

Other independent digital download services like Audio Lunchbox use a flat-rate model, while Downloadpunk.com seems committed to a tiered pricing system.