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Apple Wooing Smaller Labels
kalel666 writes "Apple has a big event planned for Thursday in Cupertino with hundreds of representatives from smaller indie music labels."
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Done properly, this kind of move by Apple could eventually kill the big record labels by removing their need to exist. Bands could get their product to market without the absurd overhead imposed upon them by the big labels. You all know the scam -- the big label "advances" the band a seductively huge blob of cash, then leeches it all back in fees and charges, to where the band become their indentured servants.
...the decision to join the iTunes store would come down to the compensation package that Apple is offering, which he has not yet seen
What else, other than a percentage of sales, can Apple offer to a music company, and whether this alone will make the more RIAAistic ones join this or any other online music distribution system
just wondering...
This is not my opinion. Actually, it's not even an opinion. And I'm nowhere to be seen near it
is it possibly conscievable that, if EVERY mac owner (on average) is going to spend some bux on the music store, that Apple can actually subsidize the price of the hardware, and create a circle of more-and-more sales?
say if they found out an iPod owner chokes up an average of 300 dollars over the life of the iPod - then they can price the iPod at maybe a 150-200 discount from where they are right now - which means MANY more people would be buying iPods, and buying more music, and probably a few extra Mac sales on the way.
One heck of a job Jobs is doing.
My life in the land of the rising sun.
The synergetic effects would be impressive for both companies, as Apple would have their products available on the biggest online retailer on earth and would benefit from amazons itunes link up. Amazon would get exposure to the big - spending Apple users.
Clever..
...which labels show up on iTMS, I'm hoping to not only see spinART and Rough Trade, but also smaller labels like Mezzotint who seem to have most of their old catalog out of print aside from vinyl and cassette. I've been saying since its debut, iTMS can be a vehicle for low budget labels to get digital media out with less cost than a run of discs.
------------ Ben Chroneos
I love this service but ach, it is going to be a nasty business to be in. Apple has entered center stage with a model based on .99 cent downloads. Way cool! But the most obvious way for someone to compete with them is to offer a download service at a lower price--so expect someone to do that shortly. Apple's margins haven't been published, but I'd guess they're razor thin to begin with. Now .99 cents is already so low that there isn't much further to fall--if a price war ensues, it won't be long before corporations are running online music services as a loss-leader. In Apple's case, it promotes their hardware; other companies will have other ideas. Eventually, these services might very well lead back to where we started--corporate sponsored music-on-demand, with free content that is used as a tool to peddle something else. Look at the way Apple chases these labels--this is brand-name association for them. Think Different, Think Nirvana, etc. It entrenches Apple deep into the popular culture. So those who want free music--it may be coming sooner than you think.
"Oh, the tragedy of math gone wrong. I can't even talk about it." -Wil Wheaton http://www.wilwheaton.net
Do you know that if you signed a contract for cell service two years ago you're probably paying out the wazoo! I'd much rather get 1 or 2 songs free with an iPod and see a monthly 2 for 1 special or 3 Indie songs for a dollar. The way that Apple will be able to expand this service and make even more money will be the Windows implementation and even better, a deal with Amazon. After all, one click is already implemented!
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
Mac fans tend to go rabid with new stuff, then slack off on the demand, at least with new hardware introductions. I wonder how much they are selling per day now...
The amusing part is that for some unknown reason we "trust" Apple more than probably any other company to make this work. Heck, I havn't owned an Apple since the 80's and for some reason I just trust that Apple will do the right thing.
"God fights on the side with the best artillery." - Napoleon, Marshal of France - speaking truth to power
Who will know the names of the indy bands to go and search for them to find them?
People need to hear it before they like it and likewise buy it. So unless apple offers some kind of deal where you can listen to it for free once or something how can people tell if these bands are good or not?
You sure wont hear them on the radio.
Word of mouth, a small caption on a website and a guitar, you're on your way to a rock and roll career.
I honestly dont think this will change 80% of the users downloading things they have heard on the radio or seen on TV. But I am glad they are opening the doors for ALL musicians to have equal rights, atleast somewhere in the music industry.
[cx]
Next thing we'll see is probably "unsigned artists" in the music store. The first step for Apple to become a record label, or?
Does Apple or anyone else post iTunes' best selling tracks and albums on a website? I'm curious to see the difference between the music industry charts and what iTunes users buy. I know you can see it from within iTunes but I am not yet an Apple owner.
I've been enjoying EMusic for more than a year now -- dozens and dozens of indie labels put up albums and songs, for a flat rate of $21 / month, as non-DRM mp3s. I *love* this service -- it's helped me find a lot of new bands because it's subscription-based (and thus there's no risk when downloading a song by somebody new).
Indie labels stand to make a lot more money off of Apple than they do EMusic -- and I imagine they'll flock to it. While I support this in principle, Apple's DRM, lack of try-before-you-buy, and (lets face it) expense really rubs me the wrong way.
Speaking of huge databases of user preferences, iTunes knows every mp3 track you have, and even knows how much you like them, if you've gone through the trouble of rating them. It's only a matter of time before Apple, the company that licensed Amazon's One Click patent, enhances iTunes to use this user data to suggest music you might like, be it indie or mainstream.
Kevin Fox
So, Apple is going to get indie labels. Good for them. Matador and SubPop are relatively large anyway, and they don't do much to help the artist financially.
emusic is fine and well, presuming you can bet they have enough music you'll like to justify a subscription. Most folks can't.
Lulu.com started by Bob Young formerly of RedHat actually empowers the artist. The artist gets to decide what distribution format to sell in, set their own price, and set their own royalty. The artist also gets to decide if they want to use the Founder's Copyright or any other license instead of traditional copyright.
It's putting the artist back in control of their work, something Apple hasn't considered. Apple just does the same thing as Sam Goody's or Tower, only over the internet. Big deal. The only nice thing they've got with it is the iTunes integration.
I don't know if it's a typo or what, but $21/ month for eMusic??? I'm paying $9.99 a month cuz I signed up for a year. Month to month is $15 or so. . . . Why $21?? Is there some pricing plan that I'm missing?
apple should make an area of the store that is just bootlegs and live exclusives.
they should make a project to relicense (or whatever the term would be) these materials if they were illegal in the first place with the artist and apple as a publisher.
most people i know that want music off the web (eg, p2p) want stuff they cannot get else (rare)
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