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Warner Music Group executive joins Apple
Apple has hired Elliott Peters, a senior vice president and head of digital legal affairs at Warner Music Group, as the "...corporate attorney director for iTunes Europe and Internet services, based in Luxembourg, where he will manage the European legal team for iTunes and MobileMe services," according to a WMG internal memo obtained by Billboard. The memo, sent by Paul Robinson, WMG General Counsel, states that "...Elliott [Peters] has had a hand in almost every major WMG digital deal" since becoming the company's "first digital lawyer" in 2003, though Peters has been with WMG since 2000. With Peters' reported experience, and we can only assume, strong connections and relations with the major music label players, it's not too far a stretch of the imagination to suggest that he will be a key asset to Apple in the love-hate relationship that seems to exists between Apple and the major record companies and labels. One of the first things that comes to mind is the supposed cloud-based iTunes, which has been steadily rumored for quite some time now. Could Peters be set to play a key role in helping Apple get a subscription-based, music streaming service off the ground? Regardless, Peters is due to start working for Apple next month. For the full memo, click here. [via MacDailyNews]
Apple evaluating "all you can eat" iTunes option?
The subscription-based iTunes rumor has been around for what feels like eons, and apparently, it's rearing its always intriguing head once more. According to a report over at Financial Times, the suits in Cupertino are currently "in discussions" with major music outfits about a new model that could essentially "give customers free access to the entire iTunes music library in exchange for paying a premium for its iPod and iPhone devices." Reportedly, a distribution model similar to Nokia's "Comes with Music" could be used on both iPhones and iPods, while traditional subscriptions would be reserved for the iPhone -- a device which has a monthly billing relationship already attached to it. As it stands, we're hearing that the major holdup is Apple's hesitation to pay big bucks in order to access the labels' libraries, but here's to hoping the iTunes buffet opens for business sooner rather than later. [Warning: Read link requires subscription]
