London – The new Band Aid charity single will be sold on Apple’s popular iTunes online music service, with the company subsidizing the retail cost of the track.
Apple had initially turned down the idea of charging more than its standard 99-cents-per-song cost for the new version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”
The single features artists including Coldplay’s Chris Martin, former Beatle Paul McCartney, U2’s Bono, and Dido, and will raise money for victims of the ongoing strife in the Sudan, where fighting has killed thousands of people and created 1.8 million refugees.
But the Cupertino, Calif.-based company reversed course and will make a donation to the Band Aid Trust for each song download, the BBC reported.
The original single was released 20 years ago and was a smash success, raising millions of dollars for victims of starvation in Ethiopia. It featured artists including Boy George, Duran Duran, and Phil Collins. Bono is the only artist to appear on both versions of the song.
The new track also includes Robbie Williams, Jamelia, Ms. Dynamite, Will Young and members of the bands Busted, the Darkness and Sugababes.
