British digital music service Wippit is offering the new Band Aid 20 charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas” for 49p ($0.95) per download, instead of the official price of £1.49 ($ 2.89). Sales of the single benefit the Band Aid Charitable Trust’s famine relief in Africa.
The London-based service has pledged to donate the £1 ($1.94) difference to the charity from “its own pocket.”
“For every 49p download purchased through Wippit, Wippit will pay [Band Aid Charitable Trust] £1.49,” says the company in a statement.
Wippit’s move echoes that of Apple’s iTunes Music Store in the U.K., which is offering the track for £0.79 ($1.53), and donating the difference to the Trust.
The track is distributed by Universal Music U.K., which has accepted Wippit’s pricing scheme. “Universal Music U.K. are extremely happy to have Wippit on board as a download partner, and it’s great to see them support the Band Aid single,” says Rob Wells, divisional director, new media.
Wippit founder and CEO Paul Myers says, “Wippit is known for great value. We don’t have singles at £1.49, so we’re pleased to be going out at 49p and paying the difference out of our own pockets. If it means making a loss on every Band Aid 20 download, what better reason for doing so than this? We want to be the site that sells more than any other, no matter what the cost.”
Wippit offers more than 100,000 tracks, some for as little as 29p ($0.56).
“Do They Know It’s Christmas” has spent three weeks atop the Official Charts Co.’s U.K. singles chart, selling more than 812,000 units, to become this year’s best selling single in the territory. It has also been topped the OCC’s download listing; specific figures were not available.
