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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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This is great news, one problem with online music services always seems to be that they have only records of the big ones.
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.
Instead of paying EMI et al for the right to listen to a song I get to pay Apple.
;-)
Indie companies are still going to get ripped off they just get ripped of by an electronic distributor instead of an offline one.
Bands will still get very little cash for their effort.
Every band (or at least every indie label) should have their own website and take micropayments from customers direct. If you only had to pay a few pence for the rights to listen to a track you could share with your friends and if they like it they can go a pay for it as well.
One of the big reasons for piracy is the cost of tracks and how the cash is distributed. Micropayments with the vast majority going to the artists would eleviate these problems.
If any bands are willing to give this a try, get in touch I can help you get up and running for minimal cost
blog and junk
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
As a non-apple user not living in the US, it will take a long time for me to get my grubby paws on the iTMS. If it was available in my neck of the woods, I wouldn't even think twice about buying a powerbook just to get at the music store.
The concept of small payments for songs will change the way people buy music. P2P apps have conditioned users to search for one song at a time for several years now, and paying a reasonable fee for a song isn't such an alien thought anymore at all. When Apple releases their x86-compatible client, together with a global release, the labels will have to face the music.
Online distribution will make distribution a non-issue, putting the indie labels on equal footing with the major players. The only advantage for signing on a major label will be the marketing machinery, and if iTMS would incorporate a net radio, even that would be a questionable advantage. Think about it: hearing indie songs on the net and actually being able to buy the single on the spot with one click will bring independents to the forefront.
Microsoft and AOL/Time Warner are running fast to get their own online Apple-like music store up and running, now that Apple's has been the success it has been -- doubly so since Apple's planning a Windows version of iTunes and the music store by the end of the year. Microsoft could probably beat them to market with a shoddy music store without even sweating.
So Apple needs to get ahead and stay ahead. To do that, ease-of-use isn't enough (or Apple would have the 95% user share, not Microsoft) -- they need to have the biggest, most comprehensive, most searchable library of online music anywhere. Consumers won't get iTunes if Microsoft's store is already installed, but they will get it if iTunes offers three times more songs.
I think that once Apple gets a large number of indie labels in the store, the rest will eventually come on their own. That, plus a $100 iPod of any size, will be all they'll need to stay ahead of the competition for some time to come.
According to this article from The Register, Apple is giving 65 cents out of the 99 cents to the music industry so effectively they look already thin on margin.
The Apple spokesman said it right with there is no timetable yet for when the songs could be added. "It's quality over quantity at this point,"
How many times have we seen Microsoft scramble to put up just ANY product that mimicks Apple or any other company, no matter how shoddy it was, and then use their deep pockets and name to further advance it. Windows 3.1 was hideous but they had to put SOMETHING out there against Apple and then keep revising it until it got better and people thought it was actually a good, innovative product. Same with the WinCE-powered handhelds. Palm was doing fine (ok, it was a portable OS going against Palm's organizing OS, but stick with me here) and then MS introduced WinCE which wasn't that hot either but after a few revisions it's turning out to be ok. Microsoft simply doesn't want to be left out and they're racing ahead with AOL/Time Warner now to ensure that doesn't happen.
Including indie labels is a brilliant move on Apple's part. Just think of the demographic of most Mac buyers anyway. Slightly creative, free-thinking, willing to pay a bit more for quality. It's the Mac owner that knows who is on these indie labels already.
And let's not forget Jobs and his pull in the entertainment industry. People there WANT to do business with him, from the artist level all the way up to managment. I just hope enough strategic alliances can be made so that a solid foundation can be built and not be torn away by a shoddy imitation with lots of money.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts...for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang
One of the reasons Apple (I think) is doing so well is that the DEM isnt draconian. With MS/AOLTW/whoever, they have no vertical integration. How do I take a DRM'd WMP or Real Media clip and put it on a portable device like an iPod. Any iTMS competitor needs the following..
1. The ability to get the same DRM terms as Apple (own the song, burn to CD, etc).
2. Have a way to listen to it away from the computer (burn to CD, iPod like device, etc).
3. Same $1/track price.
4. Large selection.
Leaving out any of these items will doom the company to failure.
The Doormat
If you're not outraged, then you're not paying attention.
Umm... If you looked into how the music distribution system REALLY works you'd see that there are LOTS of things that typically are offered. Walk into any store that sells music. You see the display on the end caps? (the end of the aisles). The record labels typically PAY to have space on the end cap - many times they pay with free merchandise. i.e. We'll give you, Mr. Retailer, 1000 free CDs of each artist you feature on the end cap for x period of time. Or, we'll provide you, Mr. Retailer, with X dollars for "marketing" if you'll feature artist X prominently in your weekly circular. The same thing applies online. "Review my artist, feature my artist on the home page, feature my artinst on the "what's new" page, your newsletter, etc...." in return we'll give you reduced commission for X number days/downloads, etc. :-)
This fits the classic pattern of Apple prophesy: "Sure, the Apple product is great, but we know that sooner or later Microsoft (or someone else) will come out with something that's 75% as good. So why bother with the Apple version? Besides, how could Apple possibly make money on this. Poor Apple, they're doomed!"
Every time Apple has tried something new, the prevailing sentiment has been, "that's wonderful, but it'll never keep Apple alive." Somehow they've managed to stay alive for quite a long time, and they've got a pretty loyal customer base. Maybe Apple management isn't so stupid after all.
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