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Universal Refuses To Renew On iTunes
UnknowingFool writes "It appears for the moment that Universal will not renew its long term contract with Apple for content on the iTunes store. While the details are not known about the exact nature of the dispute, many speculate that it has to do with Apple's stance on fixed pricing and Apple's refusal to license their DRM. The worse case scenario may include Universal pulling its entire catalog from iTunes. Both sides stand to lose out with 1/3 of of new releases coming from Universal and an estimated 15% of Universal's sales coming from digital downloads. Apple's market share is about 75% of digital downloads, and digital downloads are growing while CD sales are shrinking."
The problem with music DRM, from the music distributor perspective, is that it's too closely tied to player vendors. There's the iPod and the Zume, and in both cases the player manufacturer takes a cut of the revenue. UMG, reasonably enough, wants to cut the player manufacturer out of the revenue stream.
Microsoft has orphaned "PlaysForSure", which, for a while, looked like an option. Or at least Microsoft tried. WalMart went with PlaysForSure, and they might insist that Microsoft keep supporting it.
What really matters is what WalMart does. If the music industry doesn't come up with a good solution, Bentonville may dictate one. Their site currently says The Apple iPod and Microsoft Zune digital media players do not currently support protected WMA-format files, and will not play Wal-Mart Music Downloads. Walmart.com has a large selection of WMA-/DRM-compatible digital music players available at great prices.
WalMart, remember, sells online music at $0.88/song, below Apple and Microsoft. And they're not going to raise their prices.
Wiki says HD-DVD is exclusively backed by The Weinstein Company/Dimension Films (through Genius Products), and First Look Studios. A number of Warner's releases have been HD-DVD only. And then there are the non-content companies who are exclusively backing HD-DVD: Toshiba, NEC, Sanyo, Microsoft, RCA, Kenwood, Intel, and Memory-Tech Corporation.
Personally, I think it's a bit early to be deciding who is doomed and who isn't. I think it's just as likely that both formats are doomed and there will be a "winner" only in the same way that laserdisc "won" the battle to be the next video medium after VHS. It was the format to use, there were just a low percentage of people interested in it.
Oh, if only Apple would license their cross-platform DRM! I know this will be modded as off-topic BUT I wish Apple would license its DRM to the BBC! That way, the BEEB would have an easy way of distributing their content in a non-Windows environment and still satisfy their perceived DRM need. It still would not make a native Linux method of playing BBC content, but it is pretty easy to get iTunes (for example) to run under wine. So, though it is not a perfect solution, at least it would be better than what the BEEB is doing now
So, go ahead, mod me off-topic, but I am hoping to at least also get to be modded as interesting as well.
Or buys a radio station, or two... seriously, there's enough local stations out there that Apple could pick up a few, then, use their radio network to leverage iTunes. Sure, Universal might bail, but, within a few years, top Universal Artists would wind up on the bottom of the hit parade. In the very least, Apple could sponsor up and coming talent out there with better deals, like more money for the artist, or at least, more creative control. I'd be willing to bet that more acts would sign with Apple who has the market of the future, versus Universal, who has a bunch of CD stores on their way to going belly up.
What Apple has done is create the Windows of Music. You either play on that platform, or die.
This is my sig.
> 90% of CD content blows I'm guessing that a typical CD store contains something like 20,000 CDs. (That's a very rough guess.) That means you think 90% of those CDs blow. That means you think 2,000 CDs in a typical music store don't blow. Which is kinda interesting. If you put me in a typical music store I could imagine finding, say, 50 CDs I like. Like many other people, I can spend an hour in a CD store and not find any CDs I'd like to listen to, even when I'm in a mood to spend, spend, spend. If you think 10% of music doesn't blow then you're very lucky - you're easily pleased. And yet you say "90% of most CD content blows" as if that was a bad thing. Weird.
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
The third possibility of course is that Universal could do an EMI & go down the DRM free path - selling iPod compatible mp4s/mp4s on amazon / whatever.
I think that's a reasonable bargaining chip to bring to the table - imagine the launch of ipod compatible, variable priced music on Amazon - launched with a live concert by universal artists such as U2 & Elton John....
There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
maximise profits?
No. Companies, whether corporations, proprietorships, or partnerships, have the responsibility to do what the owners want as long as it doesn't break the law. In the case of partnerships and proprietorships it's usually the owner(s) who run the business. Corporations on the other hand have the responsibility to fulfill the requirements of the charter the corporation has been given as well. And since the first corporate charters were granted, to amoung others the Dutch East India Company and the British East India companies one of thise requirements for that the corporation had to serve the common or public good.
FalconShould there be a Law?
or
2) Oh, Universal's music is no longer available on iTunes. I'll have to <strike>pirate it like there's no tommorrow</strike> rip it from CD onto my iPod or
3) Oh, Universal's music is no longer available on iTunes. Hey, here's a cool song on iTunes, from some other label, I was thinking about getting this one too, I guess I'll just buy it instead. I don't really need that other song I wanted.
or
4) Universal conspires with two or three other big labels to also drop iTunes if their collective demands aren't met. Apple accuses the labels of forming a dangerous anti-consumer cartel, while the labels accuse Apple of being a dangerous anti-consumer monopoly, and because the labels have deeper pockets and are much more experienced at spreading ridiculous lies and deceit, few people hear Apple's side.
or, as another poster pointed out,
5) Universal sets up an iTMS competitor selling DRM-free tracks; they offer an introductory price of $0.89/track for the first three months, then jack it up to $1.99 per track for the tracks more than a handful of people want, while still offering crap nobody likes for $0.89/track (which is the price they'll advertise, of course). Throw billions of dollars at promoting it, and they'll convince some people to switch away from iTMS.
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