Forbes reacts to video iPod rumors

On the heels of the Wall Street Journal article that revealed Apple's intention to sell music videos in the iTunes Music Store, and possibly produce a video-capable iPod as early as this September, Forbes magazine has posted a reaction on its website. The article asks a question that I hadn't thought of: For years, music videos have been a popular way to advertise an artist or album, but haven't been very lucrative in and of themselves. You could argue that music videos spur record and concert ticket sales (did I really just type "record?"  I'm getting old), but production costs could get very high, and aren't necessarily recovered, as with other forms of advertising. With Apple proposing a way to get consumers to pay to view these costly ads, you'd think record executives would be tripping over themselves to get this deal done.

The article goes on to mention that piracy has negatively affected the amount of money available to produce and distribute music videos. Could Apple's plans help offset these losses? Talk about executives tripping over themselves. First the iTunes Music Store, the most sucessful solution to legally selling music on the internet, and now this. It looks like Apple could be setting themselves up to be the darlings of the music industry. Who knew?