The verdict is out - Apple Computer will continue to sell songs through its iTunes Music Store at 99 cents apiece. The company has confirmed renewing of contracts with four big record companies to arrive at this decision.

The agreements have come after months of bargaining, and are being seen as a defeat of sorts for music companies that have been so far pushing for a variable pricing model.

The "big four" comprising Universal, Warner Music, Sony BMG, and EMI North America tried to convince Apple to change the price and adopt a variable pricing scheme but in vain. Moreover, during the last few months, the officials of the four companies made a lot of statements to the effect that old records should be priced at 60 to 80 cents while new tunes should be around $1.20 per song.

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