Apple Computer Inc. chief executive Steve Jobs vowed Tuesday to resist music companies' "greedy" demands for increases in the prices of music downloads and warned that any such steps would encourage piracy.

Jobs, speaking before the opening of the Apple Expo in Paris, said some record companies were pushing for higher prices on the company's iTunes Music Store Web sites.

By cutting out manufacturing and marketing costs, record companies already make more profit by selling a song through iTunes than on CD, Apple's co-founder and CEO said.

"So if they want to raise the prices it just means they're getting a little greedy," he said.

Big music companies are seeking to improve the terms of their deals with Apple as contracts come up for renewal for the U.S. iTunes site, which generally charges 99 cents per song. Prices are typically higher in Europe, Japan and other regions.

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