APPLE - APPLE ITUNES REFUSES TO SELL BAND AID SONG

Online music store APPLE iTUNES has refused to sell BAND AID 20's DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS? because the charity song would threaten its dominance of the download market.

Other major online sites have agreed to donate their profits to the BAND AID TRUST for refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan, but Apple iTunes sells all tracks for $1.4 (79p) and refuses to raise its price to $2.7 (GBP1.49) for the re-recording of the 1984 hit.

Band Aid sources complain, "It is very disappointing they would not agree to bend its sales policy when artists, retailers and the Treasury have done all they could to maximise the money raised."