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Apple Threatens to Close iTunes Store Over Possible Royalty Hikes
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Right most consumers don't give a damn about drm which is why itunes is the biggest music store out there, why are all the drm free music providers ain't as big as itunes, showing that drm is irrelevant to the average consumer, they probaly don't even know what it is.
Could be the best of all solutions:
Cut salaries of the upper management positions in all record-companies on all continents by at least 50%. That should compensate more than enough to keep music prices as they are, while paying the actual artists more.
And if that's not enough, there's lots of money to get from those greedy rats on Wallstreet that caused the current financial crisis and took advantage of it.
Cut salaries of the upper management positions in all record-companies on all continents by at least 50%. That should compensate more than enough to keep music prices as they are, while paying the actual artists more.
And if that's not enough, there's lots of money to get from those greedy rats on Wallstreet that caused the current financial crisis and took advantage of it.
Valid Prediction
Apple will NOT be closing iTunes Music. They may either absorb the six cents themselves, or either pass it along to the customer either partially, or in full. Their stock price is already too low, and if they lost a massive revenue string such as iTunes, which is the #1 online music store, then it would directly affect hardware sales and their stock price.
Apple will NOT be closing iTunes Music. They may either absorb the six cents themselves, or either pass it along to the customer either partially, or in full. Their stock price is already too low, and if they lost a massive revenue string such as iTunes, which is the #1 online music store, then it would directly affect hardware sales and their stock price.
Thanks for saying it for me. My hands were tired anyway. Unfortunately, people who do it for the love of music rarely sell out 500 shows to 50 million pre-pubescent girls. They just end up playing local venues and scratching out a living. It hasn't always been like this. The rock bands of yore, I have no doubt that they loved music. But, Lil' Jeezy, Miley Cyrus, I think they err on the side of loving money more than music.
Maybe it's time they got an introduction.
If Apple is going to play to game then their are numerous competitors out there that are willing to step in.
And since Apple is going to close the Apple Store they are going to have to take off all DRM and make the iPhone and iPod compatible with other vendors.
Apple is playing a big game right now as they've done for the past 2 years.
Call their Bluff. Let them shut down iTunes. I have alway been against jail breaking my phone but I'll do it in a heart beat if Apple is going play the cards on the table.
So if Itunes closes it seems like the artists would be worse off then they are today. The percentage would be higher, but there would be less sales. Not a good move in my opinion.
The point is Apple doesn't care about the artist. It's profit.
Edit.
Repost.
Apple doesn't care about it's developers as well. Steve is looking more like George Bush every day. My way, pass my bill or you will pay the ultimate price.
Not buying it from the GOP and not buying it With Steve, back off your little tantrum of the day and play like big kids.
Sounds logical. And anyone that thinks raising taxes on corporations will do ANYTHING but raise the prices of said products might want to think about that as well. Corporations don't pay taxes. And Apple won't be absorbing royalties.
Ok, OT rant over.
As someone who has been a VP of a very large independent label in the past, and currently runs my own small boutique label, (Both with iTunes distribution), none of this makes any cents. The current $.091 per track is a compulsory mechanical license that the RECORD COMPANY pays to the SONGWRITER. If that goes up to $.15, no where in that agreement does apple have to change a thing. I still get my ~$.70 or whatever per track as the label, and its my responsibility to pay what the law required. It cuts into MY Profit margin, not the retail outlet, not the distribution company, and not the artist.
As a label I'm faced with three options.
1) Raise the price of my product (Which I can't do on iTunes, but the big 3 may join forces and force it. At which point you're going to see songs increase in price more to the order of 10 or 15 cents, because itunes will want a bigger cut, credit card processing costs go up, etc.
2) Eat the loss, and budget accordingly in the future
3) Negotiate individual mechanical rates with my songwriters.
So far, I can't see what any of this has to do with apple at all????
Let me tell you, the record companies can not afford to give up iTunes right now. When Wal-Mart was the top game, we bent over and took whatever crap deals they through at us. iTunes is crazy generous compared to Wal-Mart 98% of the time. So this is how it should go down:
1) The rate may get a bump, good for the songwriters, as the record labels ALWAYS doctor the numbers to drive that number down. It won't be the full amount they're asking for, but it may go up to $.11 or so.
2) The labels will put pressure on iTunes. iTunes should HOLD STRONG. They've got them by the balls. The only issue really at play is the additional bargaining power the labels have due to the video content from their sister companies.
3) The labels eat the mechanical costs there, and hose the artists somewhere else in the deal.
as an indie label, iTunes is the most indie friendly music retailer out there. I honestly believe that iTunes could survive without major label content. It all sucks anyways.
As a label I'm faced with three options.
1) Raise the price of my product (Which I can't do on iTunes, but the big 3 may join forces and force it. At which point you're going to see songs increase in price more to the order of 10 or 15 cents, because itunes will want a bigger cut, credit card processing costs go up, etc.
2) Eat the loss, and budget accordingly in the future
3) Negotiate individual mechanical rates with my songwriters.
So far, I can't see what any of this has to do with apple at all????
Let me tell you, the record companies can not afford to give up iTunes right now. When Wal-Mart was the top game, we bent over and took whatever crap deals they through at us. iTunes is crazy generous compared to Wal-Mart 98% of the time. So this is how it should go down:
1) The rate may get a bump, good for the songwriters, as the record labels ALWAYS doctor the numbers to drive that number down. It won't be the full amount they're asking for, but it may go up to $.11 or so.
2) The labels will put pressure on iTunes. iTunes should HOLD STRONG. They've got them by the balls. The only issue really at play is the additional bargaining power the labels have due to the video content from their sister companies.
3) The labels eat the mechanical costs there, and hose the artists somewhere else in the deal.
as an indie label, iTunes is the most indie friendly music retailer out there. I honestly believe that iTunes could survive without major label content. It all sucks anyways.
Apple doesn't care about the musicians. Obviously the consumers should absorb the royalties, they're the ones buying the product. But I would think Apple is worried about the volume of sales. Even if they increase the song price, the volume will drop and therefore their profit will drop. And since that's pretty minor already it's a worry for them. $1.07 (or whatever it would be, I forget) per track just sounds silly.
I don't know what GW did to developers.
WRONG. You have what you CHOSE to buy from Apple. You lose at life. Thanks for playing. You are entitled to NOTHING. Make your own choices and live with them.
The artists didn't pay their key officers $21 Million dollars in stock.
Add it up. I don't think 1 of the 600 calculators on the app store can make sense of this decision.
Maybe, I'll buy Flash Light so I can study the results a little bit later.
The App Store is full of useless apps because of Apple's decision making process.
We are going to likely lose Adobe Flash, even though they've agreed to play nice.
So take your concern for the artists and ask the Senior Apple Exec's to give it to the Artists. That's $21 Million Dollars worth of Apple concern for the artist.
Apple Step Up To the Table.
As has been said before in the thread the threat of closing iTunes is based on something Eddie Cue said to the Apple board last year.
And that was on condition that the iTunes Store was only able to operate at a loss.
The only real news is that the ruling on Thursday may hike royalty rates. On all online retail music, not just iTunes.
Fortune is a drama queen.
And that was on condition that the iTunes Store was only able to operate at a loss.
The only real news is that the ruling on Thursday may hike royalty rates. On all online retail music, not just iTunes.
Fortune is a drama queen.
The point is Apple didn't give that option. They simply said we'll shut our store.
Immature and an obvious Steve Job's quote. I didn't say the market wouldn't stand for it. I said Apple said they will close the Apple Store for iTunes and we all know that's BS.
Honestly I just don't feel much loyalty to Apple these days. I love OSX, but I don't feel like promoting Apple to friends and colleagues like I used to. There are so many great alternative products out there. I'll keep buying my Mac every 3 years, but no ipods or iphones or...
There's no way Apple is going to close the iTMS, that destroys a large part of what makes everything about Apple successful right now. Prices were probably due to go up anyway. I kind of wish they would abandon Jobs' ridiculous obsession with everything having to end in .99 anyway. It's all going on your credit card, what does it matter if something is 4.99 or 4.68 or 5.13?
Maybe songs get a little more expensive, let's say $1.20 each (and they're hopefully all at least 192kbps non-DRMed across the board). But then high-def tv shows for $2.99 per episode is a perfect example of where the .99 business is getting in the way. They had to make it more expensive than SD at $1.99 but went too far to get to that next .99. If SD tv shows were 1.50 and HD tv shows were 2.00 each, I'd be downloading tons of them. As it is, forget it, they get nothing from me. Maybe I'm the only one, but I doubt it.
Maybe songs get a little more expensive, let's say $1.20 each (and they're hopefully all at least 192kbps non-DRMed across the board). But then high-def tv shows for $2.99 per episode is a perfect example of where the .99 business is getting in the way. They had to make it more expensive than SD at $1.99 but went too far to get to that next .99. If SD tv shows were 1.50 and HD tv shows were 2.00 each, I'd be downloading tons of them. As it is, forget it, they get nothing from me. Maybe I'm the only one, but I doubt it.
I would think Amazon is actually in a better place because the music can be a loss leader for them since they're selling on their website where they can suggestive sell other items that are high profit margins. On the iTunes store, it's a wonderful ad free place where you buy what you came looking for. They might suggest other music, but if they were losing money on each download, then it's kinda pointless to suggest you purchase another song and lose them some more money.
Nothing on iTMS is suggesting you buy a mac or a macbook on anything that really makes them profit.
I highly doubt they'll close the store, however, I don't think it would be the end of the world. People would probably not go to another online store either. Bit Torrents and Limewire would be the new homes of music, and the RIAA wouldn't get a penny. Hmmm. Go ahead and close it. Even though I doubt they will close it, I really wouldn't put anything past Steve Jobs. I could see him closing it for spite. He's done things like that before. Remember when Toshiba leaked that the new iPods would have their new hard drives? Or when Sun announced that ZFS would be in Leopard? Steve yanked it. And he does have plenty of hand in this, as the iTunes Music Store is the #1 music retailer. That would seriously dent record sales. Again, I say do it. Let's get rid of the RIAA and start over! Seriously!
and Apple would take al 160 million iPods back and replace them with Zunes.
That would be scary!
Have an iPhone, had (past tense) an Nano, use it for podcast and streaming radio. Music is free and I am an artist. I see my stuff posted all the time. If you are good, you will get your money. Where the iPod family fails (yet the biggest so far (android, not now, but in the future?), is iPods ONE WAY STREET and their DRM, not being able to copy back (but you can with software), and the failure to delete podcasts/music from the device without hooking it up is terrible.
I don't know. Look at how many people will buy something for .99 cents on the app store, but not 1.99. Look at how people complain about greedy developers when they charge $5 for an app instead of $2. It's crazy. I mean, in 1982 I was playing Atari games that cost $30 a cartridge or more! If those carts were $1 I'd have bought a hundred of them. Or would I? I'ts all about perceived value. Everyone wants a deal.
But I have no problem with the artists or record companies or Apple trying to make more money. It's simple economics. At some point there's a point where they'll make more profit. Cross that point and sales will decrease enough that they lose money. Business is constantly looking for that sweet spot. I think Apple is worried that we're at the sweet spot at .99.