So...anyone taking bets on how long before Universal puts DRM free music on Apple? My guess is by November when the holiday buying season is in full swing.
I'm going to say that they are doing this to put pressure on Apple to either take more of the $ pie, of which Apple barely makes any profit after operating costs are taken out, or try to get Apple to price the tracks even higher than $1.39. After all, if you can get $3 for a friggin 30 second ringtone clip, why can't you get $3 for the whole song right?
Apple has a ton of clout in the music retail world, the big labels are very worried about the power wielded by Apple and is doing what it can to stop it. The other issue is that with the internet, it is easier to find music, even for those with obscure tastes.
They're also afraid Apple is too big and will be increasingly difficult to handle.
The music labels are scared they will lose their cash cows to etailers like Apple's iTunes Music Store if one of these etailers grow too big. Why go sign up with a label if most of your music is sold on iTunes? Why not just sign up with Apple and let Apple promote you? After all, it's been shown that when your music is spotlighted on the iTunes store, it gets a huge jump in sales.
Because it would be illegal for Apple to become a "label", which is essentially what you are describing in your last paragraph. This goes back to the original court decision made between Apple (Computer) and Apple Corps (owner of Apple Records).
@joe: He said nothing about DRM-free music being something "bad" that only Apple can save us from. What he is saying is that the big labels do not like the fact that Apple (through iTunes) has become such a major player in the digital download market. Apple, in fact, is the largest player in this market. As such, they have tremendous clout when it comes down to pricing for each download. The labels want to charge significantly more per download than what Apple is willing to allow.
I think that they can actually become a record label now. As a result of the most recent lawsuit, Apple now owns everything and the Beatles lease some of the rights back.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
T.H. @ Aug 9th 2007 11:03PM
So...anyone taking bets on how long before Universal puts DRM free music on Apple? My guess is by November when the holiday buying season is in full swing.
I'm going to say that they are doing this to put pressure on Apple to either take more of the $ pie, of which Apple barely makes any profit after operating costs are taken out, or try to get Apple to price the tracks even higher than $1.39. After all, if you can get $3 for a friggin 30 second ringtone clip, why can't you get $3 for the whole song right?
Apple has a ton of clout in the music retail world, the big labels are very worried about the power wielded by Apple and is doing what it can to stop it. The other issue is that with the internet, it is easier to find music, even for those with obscure tastes.
They're also afraid Apple is too big and will be increasingly difficult to handle.
The music labels are scared they will lose their cash cows to etailers like Apple's iTunes Music Store if one of these etailers grow too big. Why go sign up with a label if most of your music is sold on iTunes? Why not just sign up with Apple and let Apple promote you? After all, it's been shown that when your music is spotlighted on the iTunes store, it gets a huge jump in sales.
joe @ Aug 9th 2007 11:43PM
So DRM free music is a bad thing that only Apple can save us from?
Bloobie @ Aug 10th 2007 2:20AM
Because it would be illegal for Apple to become a "label", which is essentially what you are describing in your last paragraph. This goes back to the original court decision made between Apple (Computer) and Apple Corps (owner of Apple Records).
Bloobie @ Aug 10th 2007 2:25AM
@joe:
He said nothing about DRM-free music being something "bad" that only Apple can save us from. What he is saying is that the big labels do not like the fact that Apple (through iTunes) has become such a major player in the digital download market. Apple, in fact, is the largest player in this market. As such, they have tremendous clout when it comes down to pricing for each download. The labels want to charge significantly more per download than what Apple is willing to allow.
Eric @ Aug 10th 2007 9:09AM
I think that they can actually become a record label now. As a result of the most recent lawsuit, Apple now owns everything and the Beatles lease some of the rights back.