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Microsoft Also Wants Universal Music?
rampant mac writes "An article over at the New York Post is reporting Microsoft has expressed interest in buying Vivendi's Universal Music Group, setting up a possible bidding war between the software maker and rival Apple Computer, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Microsoft's interest is said to be at the level of "poking around, kicking the tires," but it has indeed had conversations with Vivendi executives about buying the music division, sources said."
Here is a story from a few days ago about Apple and Universal.
It seems like everyone wants to buy Universal.
This could really give MS quite a bit of leverage if it ever needed it - "Upgrade now, get 50 free songs for Windows Media Player" or some such thing. I could possibly even be tied in to some future service like X-Box live.
It's obvious and clever at the same time.
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It doesn't surprise me at all that they want to head Apple off at the pass.
If they actually buy the company, I'm interested in seeing what stance they will take in the fight against p2p networks and media company's current fight against free sharing of media, knowing M$ can be very rough in the courts.
Wonder if this is just what Apple wanted to happen? Im not usually one for conspiracy theory but Apple may have something up their sleeve here.
Obviously, MS isn't really interrested in buying Universal, but its good buisness to make sure that your competitors have a hard time pulling their deals.
MS makes a bid, forces apple to hike up their bid. In the end, MS doesn't buy anything and apple had to spend way more to get what they wanted, wich hurts them and therefore indirectly helps MS.
Is tricky, its devious, its evil...its Microsoft at its best.
You can't take the sky from me...
Smart money shouldn't be going after dying music companies.
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One is born into aristocracy, but mediocrity can only be achieved through hard work.
In fact, I hope they buy movie companies, publishers, etc. Sony has done the same thing and I see Microsoft and Sony as being the two competitors that need to be balanced.
Sony doesn't get a lot of flack in these parts because they haven't made the political mistakes Microsoft has, but they're just as much a threat with their stranglehold on manufacturing and content.
I would love to see Microsoft start spending their money in these areas.
-- You see, there would be these conclusions that you could jump to
If you recall correctly, then Vivendi itself asked Jobs to take up a minority share in Universal. Why? Because Steve's music subscription plan hit a sweet note with Vivendi executives. Steve might be in talks to buy Universal and that is a good thing.
About Microsoft, they have about 45 billion in liquid assets and they can afford to run the competitors out of business. Note that Vivendi has put up Universal on the block. For Microsoft to buy it, it will have to calm the anti-trust flames that will be stoked on both sides of the Atlantic. Also remember that the anti-monopoly enforcers in the EU have not yet announced the punishment for MS. It will be coming in the next few months and MS's lawyers will be advising that bidding for Universal now won't make things easier for them.
But, if MS is really determined to get Universal then it might take a year to complete the deal.
One thing, I will keep my fingers crossed that this does'nt go through.
of MS buying the game division of Vivendi?
Personally (and off topic)I hope MGM picks up Universal Studios, then maybe we may see the return of Farscape on Sci-FI.
If Apple does make the buy, as rumoured, I wonder how that will play out with regards to their infamous lawsuit brought by Apple Corps (the music holding company that handles The Beatles properties). My understanding is that the settlement was only good as long as Apple Computer stayed out of the music business.
Apple and Microsoft fighting over which one gets to own Universal is truly a fight of Good vs. Evil.
Apple has their "Rip, Mix, Burn" attitude towards fair use: fair use is, well, fair. Apple wants you to buy CDs and then put that legal music onto your iPod. Apple is Good.
Microsoft is pushing DRM. To Microsoft, "fair use" is treated as piracy. If Microsoft buys Universal, you'll be able to play music CDs in your computer, but only in Windows and only with Windows Media Player 9. And you wouldn't be able to rip the CDs, either. Microsoft is Evil.
Unfortunately, Microsoft has much deeper pockets than Apple, so I can't see how Apple could ever seriously hope to purchase Universal is Microsoft is truly interested in it. But, I hope to God that Apple does purchase it, because if they don't, the whole music industry will really go to shit (if you think it's shit now, you ain't seen nothing yet).
This strikes me being one of those consolidations like what was going on during the Dot-Com bubble. To give but one example, Time Warner snarfing up AOL basically weakened both companies. I suppose if there was a company I would like to see get weakened, it would be Microsoft. However, even if the Uni deal went totally sour Microsoft would survive. Apple could go right down the tubes if this happened.
When I first heard about this, I thought that Apple was angling to buy Universal PICTURES on Pixar's behalf. That would make total sense, considering that Disney has not been an especially fair partner in their deal with Pixar, and Pixar has been one of the few bright spots on Disney's otherwise lackluster balance sheet. Even a threat of Jobs leveraging Apple to give Pixar its own friendly distribution path would be enough to scare Michael Eisner into giving Jobs whatever he wanted.
In any event, this deal makes zero business sense, and seems to be turning into a pissing match between Ballmer and Jobs. Jobs should know better...Ballmer is the one who drinks the most beer. He'll win. ~_^ (grinning, ducking and running)
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
Microsoft is definitely interested in dominating the content business. However, unlike cable they already have this entire industry in the palms of their hands.
By holding out hope of DRM and locking down content, media companies are very favorably disposed towards Microsoft. Buying a competitor and competing directly is too large a risk for Microsoft to seriously consider.
Then again, they want to get into recurring revenue streams of different types so eventually they need to successfully leverage their desktop dominance directly into the content business. To date, those attempts have mostly failed.
Wasn't Microsoft in trouble with the DOJ because they have been using their monopoly in one market (desktop OS) to build monopolies in other markets? If they are serious about this, and not just trying to hurt Apple, it sounds like more of the same, and I hope the government does something this time.
you see short term thinking always does'nt pay off. Apple will start its music subscription with songs from 4 out of 5 major labels.
If MS got hold of Universal, then MS would start its own service and effectively lock Apple out from some of the best musicians. Do we want that to happen? NO. There are other music subscription services but most of them are a half-assed effort.
Quite a few people believe Apple will do a lot better in this field. Do you want to subscribe to 2 seperate subscriptions just because Apple and MS don't see eye to eye?
The music industry needs some innovation. It does'nt matter where it comes from. It will give many people who use Kazaa a better piracy-free alternative.
On the day that Slashdot ran the story about Apple buying Universal Music, there were also stories about Microsoft authorizing a port of Windows Media technology for embedded Linux [slashdot.org] and high-definition DVD [slashdot.org] at standard DVD bitrates using Microsoft-proprietary technology.
It's all part of the same story. The world is moving toward all-digital media formats. Microsoft wants all those formats to be Microsoft-owned. They sign up media producers with promises of copy control, pay-per-view and other DRM features. Already, some CDs have been released crippled for use on non-Windows computers (and some CD players).
I'm guessing someone at Apple sees a possible future in which new music won't play on any computer not running Windows. If all the major music companies sign on to lock down their content with MS technology, consumers may believe they have no choice but to stay "inside the lines." If Universal Music doesn't sign on to locked-down content, consumers probably won't tolerate severe restrictions from other content providers.
Microsoft makes some good stuff. But I'm hoping that we don't wind up in an all-Microsoft world.
When all you have is an axe, everything looks like a grindstone.
The point is that while everybody was scared that the MPAA/RIAA were going to take over everybody's machine and dictate how the technology sector does business through lobbying and bought politicians, this demonstrates the inevitable result of such an attempt.
The tech industry is MUCH bigger than both the music/film industrys, and will simply neutralise anybody who even thinks about interfering.
The fun game will be to predict who IBM will buy...
How long have you lived in Seattle (or maybe how old are you)
>>Blatently ripped from somewhere else
On April 1, 1971, real estate agents Bob McDonald and Jim Youngren put the words, "Will the last person leaving SEATTLE - Turn out the lights" on a billboard at S. 167th St. and Pacific Highway S. near Sea-Tac airport. The two realtors, who work for Henry Broderick, Inc., put up the billboard as a humorous response to pessimism generated by the national aerospace industry's nosedive, known locally as the Boeing Bust.
The recession was caused as The Boeing Company, the region's largest employer, went from a peak of 100,800 employees in 1967 to a low of 38,690 in April 1971. McDonald said their out-of-town clients, "were amazed that Seattle wasn't a ghost town with weeds growing in the streets. We wanted to counteract that attitude with a little humor" (Duncan). They chose a billboard site that they inevitably passed after picking up their clients at the airport. The men rented the billboard for $160.
The Boeing recovery began slowly: by October 1971 the firm employed 53,300 workers.