Music Labels Charge Too Much For Microsoft

Bret540 writes "Yahoo is reporting that Microsoft has ended license talks with four major music labels. From the article: 'The paper [the Wall Street Journal] reported negotiations broke down Friday over what Microsoft considered high royalty rates.' How much more can the music labels demand when even Microsoft won't go to market? With other recent developments, one must wonder how long the music industry can keep pushing."

Comments

Re:Where'd that price come from?

[WilliamSChips]

One would get the feeling the music labels don't really want to sell songs via the Internet...

Duh.

Re:When..

[aero2600-5]

"Steal their music?

Do you realize that most of the money a band makes comes from royalties, not merch sales? How many CD's a band sells is the major determinant of its popularity, as it is a quantifiable measure of how many people are listening to the music. Buying CDs is, by far, the best way to support an artist. It is the same difference as voting for a politician, as opposed to donating money to the politician's campaign. The latter will give the politician more money, but voting for him is the only way to elect him."

I've answered most of your post with this one.

But let's take a look at your politican analogy.

"It is the same difference as voting for a politician, as opposed to donating money to the politician's campaign. The latter will give the politician more money, but voting for him is the only way to elect him."

I'm not sure which country you live in, but here in the United States, we have the lowest voter turnout on the planet with the exception of Botswana. It's not who they vote for that's important, it's getting them to the polls. Guess who gets them to the polls? Political Action Commitees which are funded buy donations. And in case you're still unclear about this, America is not a fucking democracy. To make this sound even harsher, politicians are elected by money. It is that simple.

Aero