Sony-BMG on iTMS Australia?

SMH.com.au reports that Sony-BMG and Apple may be coming to an agreement to supply Sony-BMG's music on the new Australian iTunes Music Store.

The iTunes Music Store for Australia was launched on Tuesday, October 25th. But notably absent was the music from Sony-BMG. According to previous reports, pricing disputes had led to the long delays in the launch of the Australian music store.

According to this new article, negotiations are coming to a close:

"There's a couple of points left to finalise, the negotiations are going really well and we hope that they will be all settled soon and we'll be on track too"

Pricing remains a contentious issue between Apple and the Music Industry. Previous reports have noted the ongoing difference of opinion. The music industry has been pushing for a tiered pricing system while Apple has insisted on a single price point for all songs. This will be an ongoing issue as Apple's current agreements with the US music labels ends in early 2006.