Apple sure knows how to sneak one through: just as Universal Music Group refused to sign a long-term contract with it over iTunes sales (with disagreement on, among other things, album and song pricing), Apple has quietly launched lower prices for full indie-music albums. These albums, what it calls “Next Big Thing”, retail for $5.99 and $6.99, lower than the flat-rate $9.99 that Apple has insisted on since the beginning. The 40-odd albums are from indie artists such as Peter, Bjorn, & John, The Kooks and others.

Also read this related story on the UMG-Apple dust-up: “Universal Refutes Apple’s iTunes Negotiations Claim”