Apple to Start Record Label with Jay-Z and Beyonce?

[Phormic]

yup yup. That's the downside of this rumor. Talking about whether you like jay z and beyonce's music is totally missing the point. The point is that apple has already seemingly abandoned its desktop lines (all 10+ months old) and delayed its OS for a phone (which I love, don't get me wrong). More diversification is a bad thing, IMO. Focus on your core business.

I think you would have to agree that diversification is the exact thing that has sent Apple's stock price soaring into the stratosphere and left the company in a far, far healthier state than it even was three or four years ago.

When your core business is something that has essentially not changed much in a quarter of a century and whose future is by no means certain, why wouldn't you diversify? Why do you think that Microsoft is flailing around wildly to move in a direction, any direction, that doesn't leave them dependant on Office and Windows as their primary sources of revenue?

To wish for the "old" Apple, a cute but unimportant little company that does small incremental improvements in computer software and computer hardware for all eternity, is dooming the company to eventual technical irrelevance.

 

[john7jr]

I would love to see this happen.

• Apple makes new label, gets two big name artists on board to launch the thing.
• Perhaps Apple Corps and Apple, Inc create Apple Music together? Bring the Beatles in?
• Artists line up around the block waiting to sign up for the latest "iPhone" of the music world, at least, as soon as their current contracts are up. Apple Music would be a huge success. Balmer would have his doubts.
• Apple is hot... this is the time to move.
• The Mac nerds who only want computers and, as usual, think Apple's latest idea will 'certainly fail' will be proved wrong. Again.
• Apple will still make computers. Computers will continue to change. Get used to it.
• Change is inevitable. Embrace the wave, it's moving wether you sit on the board or not.

Just my $0.02. Oh, and I'm a reasonable white guy who like music for what it is, regardless of it's genre or stereotype. Like every artist, they both have their good and bad songs. I own tracks from both Beyoncé and Jay-Z. And the majority of my personal music collection is far from Rap, hell, I mostly can't stand country music for the most part, but I own tracks from some country artists too. (Little Texas, Shania Twain, just to name a few.)

Music isn't about choosing genres, it's about the music itself.

=)

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

hmmm Failsafe. I can't help but wonder if you've actually listened to a good Jay-Z song?

 

[NiteWaves77]

yea.. but theyre really popular.. so making a deal with them would be smart of apple.. because its already known that beyonce and jay z have a large fanbase that is willing to purchase their products. so just because their music isnt appealing to you, doesnt mean its a bad move on apples part.

Precisely. All that matters is if it's good business strategy for Apple, which no one in this board has the credentials to say.

 

[zwilliams07]

I just threw-up a little in my mouth.

 

[nimbuscloud]

I would love to see this happen.

• Apple makes new label, gets two big name artists on board to launch the thing.
• Perhaps Apple Corps and Apple, Inc create Apple Music together? Bring the Beatles in?
• Artists line up around the block waiting to sign up for the latest "iPhone" of the music world, at least, as soon as their current contracts are up. Apple Music would be a huge success. Balmer would have his doubts.
• Apple is hot... this is the time to move.
• The Mac nerds who only want computers and, as usual, think Apple's latest idea will 'certainly fail' will be proved wrong. Again.
• Apple will still make computers. Computers will continue to change. Get used to it.
• Change is inevitable. Embrace the wave, it's moving wether you sit on the board or not.

Just my $0.02. Oh, and I'm a reasonable white guy who like music for what it is, regardless of it's genre or stereotype. Like every artist, they both have their good and bad songs. I own tracks from both Beyoncé and Jay-Z. And the majority of my personal music collection is far from Rap, hell, I mostly can't stand country music for the most part, but I own tracks from some country artists too. (Little Texas, Shania Twain, just to name a few.)

Music isn't about choosing genres, it's about the music itself.

=)

The internet need more people like you, my friend.

Very good post, very good indeed.

 

[gwangung]

Precisely. All that matters is if it's good business strategy for Apple, which no one in this board has the credentials to say.

If I was a businessman, I'd do the EXACT OPPOSITE of what some people are saying....guarunteed to make me a fortune...

 

[netdoc66]

He didn't give them away, they were "worked into" the ticket prices so everyone at the shows actually bought his album. It is actually a great idea and made his albums "chart" again after a long hiatus as a big seller.

Umm, yeah what he said,..

 

[JGowan]

ARE YOU ALL NUTS

have we forgotten the trouble apple got into over selling music over iTunes...the Apple recording label in england (ala beatles) has made sure apple computer can never be a label

Ahem I think you missed the settlement in the court case between then Apple Computer Inc and Apple Corps. For an undisclosed sum Apple Computer Inc. received _all_ the Apple related trademarks from Apple Corps, with Apple Corps having the right to use the name for their business. There is nothing whatsoever that could stop Apple from doing whatever they like in the music business.

Gnasher, you are correct, sir. In fact, I'd like to add (see source link below) that Apple, Inc. now completely OWNS the name "Apple" and when the needs arrise that The Beatles needs to use the brand, they will have to license it from Steve Jobs & Company.

Irony at its absolute best.

Apple Inc. announced Monday it has settled its decades-long trademark dispute with the Beatles' record company, Apple Corps. Under this new agreement, Apple Inc. will own all Apple trademarks and will license some to Apple Corps, and will continue to use its name and logo on its iTunes music service.

This new settlement replaces the 1991 agreement between the two companies, which defined the context in which the two companies could use the Apple trademark.

"We love the Beatles, and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks," said Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs. "It feels great to resolve this in a positive manner, and in a way that should remove the potential of further disagreements in the future."

"The years ahead are going to be very exciting times for us," said Neil Aspinall, manager of Apple Corps. "We wish Apple Inc. every success and look forward to many years of peaceful co-operation with them."
It was not disclosed whether the Beatles' music catalog was part of the deal.

LINK

 

[Zillatron]

Just my uninformed ramble, but:

I think there is a real chance this could be 'real. but probally not in the way people are thinking, by that I mean, Apple would be less of a 'record company' and more of a way for artists to do what they do and get their music out there.

Once Apple 'own' the music they would almost certinaly have the right to distribute it globally, avoiding the problem they have now with some stores only having some music.
It would also alow more of the money to goto the artist, where it belongs. Apple can negotiate directly with the artist, instead of a pig-headed record company.

Apple 'Think Different', to use one of Steve Jobs favorite sayings about shaking to where the puck is going to be - Where the puck is now: Artists and consumers held to ransom by greedy, silly record companies. CD sales diving because people dont want to buy stuff at crazy prices...just becasue.

Where the puck is going: Artists free to create whatever music they like, distribute faster and more efficently though iTunes. Consumers get what they want, and at a fair price. Artists get more of what is theirs to begin with. Apple cleans house by being the first 'record company' that isnt.

Digital distribution with fixed pricing and fair (or no) DRM clearly works. You cannot dispute the success of the iTunes store, it is the where the puck is headed. And it looks like the big record companies might have missed their chance to 'get on' if Apple do go it alone. Apple isnt the kind of comapny to wallow in not being able to find a partner that will play ball, if they can't find someone do play the game, they re-invent it.

Z

 

[nostaws]

this is like page 10 so I know no one will read it.

However, I think what is more likely to happen is that JayZ and Beyonce create their own label, and contract with Apple to be their distributer/marketer. Specialization - artists know about making music - apple knows how to sell/market it to the masses.

 

[Frobozz]

Awesome

This is a great idea. Not only is it a critical demographic (young influencers) but it's a very smart choice with Jay-Z. You can't pick a more savvy urban producer IMHO.

I like how Apple has branched out to try to rule the world (in a good way.)

 

[brepublican]

Here's where you should stop talking. Just because Jay-Z's music may not appeal to you doesn't mean he's a god-awful musician. Maybe you don't like rap. Maybe his frequent cussing puts you off to the real things he has to say, but if you actually listened to some of his songs, his lyrical and artistic genius would not be questioned. Point blank, Jay-Z is incredible at what he does.

Nay, contrary to what you may think, I like hip hop/rap. Scratch that: Love hip hop/rap. One of my fav artists is Common. Another is Nas. Now he has something to say. Unlike Jay-Z. He is truly god-awful. True that he's good at whatever it is that he does, but that doesnt change anything. But also, as a caveat, this is ofcourse just my opinion

And I still think Apple starting a music label, or whatever with Jay-Z and Beyoncé is a bad idea. But then again, I'm not Steve Jobs. He's the guy who might know a thing or two about business, and I'm sure he has a lot of very knowlegeable people at his disposal who can analyse such things.

But then again, this is just a rumor. A wild one at that

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

Nas and Common? Both very good. I don't know how you can say Jay-Z is awful if you like both those two. That doesn't really make any sense unless you once sided with Nas in their whole beef and never got over that...
Maybe Jay-Z isn't your favorite, but to deny him that he's even average? He's in the top 5 of almost every hip hop list ever assembled. Along with NaS of course.

 

[brepublican]

People who just disregard hip-hop are uninformed in my opinion. I only wish they could see that behind the facade that gets all the plays on the radio station, it's an art form that relies on skillfull flows and powerful lyrics. Of course, you can always just dismiss rap as "drivel" if you are ignorant and close-minded enough...

I think you're equating Hip Hop to Jay-Z and maybe you should look in the mirror, cos you're the one who may just be -- just maybe -- uninformed. If you know as much about Hip Hop as you're leading us to believe, you should know that its people like Jay-Z (main stream "rap" "artists") who give Hip Hip a bad name with all their commercialised bullsh*t.

 

[princealfie]

Wow, good one if it really happened. I prefer underground rap myself but it's awesome to see where this goes. Of course, then I would want a black mac mini

 

[brepublican]

Nas and Common? Both very good. I don't know how you can say Jay-Z is awful if you like both those two. That doesn't really make any sense unless you once sided with Nas in their whole beef and never got over that...
Maybe Jay-Z isn't your favorite, but to deny him that he's even average? He's in the top 5 of almost every hip hop list ever assembled. Along with NaS of course.

I'll confess that I have a problem with Jay-Z's particular brand of souped up garbage. But not because of some beef with Nas. Since Reasonable Doubt, the man has really had nothing to say, really nothing to offer the youth of America, no message whatsoever. Listen to Nas' Illmatic, and the difference is remarkable. Them two havent changed a bit since.

He's [Jay-Z] good at what he does, I'll give him that. But Hip Hop isnt Jay-Z. It couldnt be further from it IMO.

EDIT: Hip Hop still lives on. Thru the like of Immortal Technique (who 'cusses' a lot), Talib Kweli, Mighty Mos 'Black Dante', Common Market, etc

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

Immortal Technique is an absolute idiot who subscribes to whatever conspiracy theories indict the most government officials...

Besides that, I'm a fan of Common and Nas, but did you listen to the Blueprint or The Black Album? Those are both classics, of course along with Reasonable Doubt, which in my opinion is as good as Illmatic. Jay-Z is so good because he's successful at still being an amazing lyricist (forget his singles like Show Me Whatcha Got and Big Pimpin') while still being a commercial success. You're saying he lyrically is not that good? I don't like pop rap, almost any rap on the radio I hate, but Jay-Z is a different story...

 

[Cleverboy]

And I still think Apple starting a music label, or whatever with Jay-Z and Beyoncé is a bad idea. But then again, I'm not Steve Jobs. He's the guy who might know a thing or two about business, and I'm sure he has a lot of very knowlegeable people at his disposal who can analyse such things.

I'll only say it this once, but even though its JUST a rumor, I think people are being naive, who think this would be about Apple launching a label USING Jay-Z and Beyonce's actual music. It's like hearing that Robert Deniro was seeking to start a movie studio with Apple, and assuming that every movie that Robert Deniro has appeared in would come over, and/or every NEW movie that Deniro does will be at Apple... or even that all Deniro has to offer is his acting. I wish people would wise-up a bit on this point.

There is a purely BUSINESS aspect to this that has NOTHING to do with the status of these players as simply performance artists, but business people who know how to produce. Whether you like their music is irrelevant. It's wether you think they have any ability with reguards to getting something like this moving. I believe Jay-Z is more than qualified. Beyonce, I've no idea, but she has made a number of solid decisions in her career.

I'll just sit that out there conspicuously in the middle of the room. Best I can do.

~ CB

 

[buddhagoth]

Apple promised the labels when they started the iTMS that "we don't want to be a record label...that's not our business." That's a quote from Steve Jobs.

I'd hope this was a rumor. Apple has already started to slowly welch on its earlier promises that iTMS would "be all about the music." If they decide to become content gateway managers & artist "developers" they won't end up being much different from the major labels, which is to say increasingly irrelevant to the music world.

Apple: Make the gadgets to make the music, make the gizmos to play it on, set up the store to buy it all in but please don't start making the music itself.

--BG

 

[ajhill]

This is just far fetched enough to be true. With the internet and social networking sites as a proxy for Big record companies PR machines it just might work. I'm sure the iTunes music store would accidentally feature the Apple Music artists on their homepage when the 250 million of so users log in each time. With numbers like that who needs to spend money on PR. And Apple can offer their artists a bigger cut of the profits. What artist wouldn't like that?

It's just crazy enough to be true. Think different and all that! Here's to the crazy ones:

Here's to the crazy ones.

The misfits.

The rebels.

The troublemakers.

The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently.

They're not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status quo.

You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.

Because they change things.

They push the human race forward.

And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

It is the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.



GO STEVE GO!

 

[mahonmeister]

I cant believe some of the stuff i'm reading in this thread.

QFT!

Instead of going from artist -> record label -> iTunes, they go directly to iTunes. How is this not good for both the artists and Apple? Digital distribution is already in place and just needs to be used in this manner.

You fan-boys/gals are so blind and ignorant. Just once would you please open your eyes beyond Apple and look at the bigger picture right in front of your face?

 

[puuukeey]

Do your part well. Don't do it all poorly.

I would love to see this happen.

• Apple makes new label, gets two big name artists on board to launch the thing.
• Perhaps Apple Corps and Apple, Inc create Apple Music together? Bring the Beatles in?
• Artists line up around the block waiting to sign up for the latest "iPhone" of the music world, at least, as soon as their current contracts are up. Apple Music would be a huge success. Balmer would have his doubts.
• Apple is hot... this is the time to move.
• The Mac nerds who only want computers and, as usual, think Apple's latest idea will 'certainly fail' will be proved wrong. Again.
• Apple will still make computers. Computers will continue to change. Get used to it.
• Change is inevitable. Embrace the wave, it's moving wether you sit on the board or not.

Just my $0.02. Oh, and I'm a reasonable white guy who like music for what it is, regardless of it's genre or stereotype. Like every artist, they both have their good and bad songs. I own tracks from both Beyoncé and Jay-Z. And the majority of my personal music collection is far from Rap, hell, I mostly can't stand country music for the most part, but I own tracks from some country artists too. (Little Texas, Shania Twain, just to name a few.)

Music isn't about choosing genres, it's about the music itself.

=)

this appears to be a parody of my post so I'll respond.

I have little doubt that if apple takes a plunge it will succeed. and I'm aware that computers will continue to change. I'm also down for putting computers in new form factors like the iPod, iPhone. or appleTV. These products are nice. That's obviously where things are going.

What I'm not down for is apple using its closed-off system to make strong arm business decisions. I feel that building your own music distribution business just to support your mp3 player is the wrong decision. And building your own music factory (record label) takes the idea of a "proprietary ecosystem" to absurdity. A company which prides itself on closed systems can not maintain a vertical monopoly. Especially with an art form which is quickly becoming something anyone can create, distribute, and listen to.

Thats like starting a business to manufacture, distribute and deliver paper,pencils, and tic-tac-toe rules. Even if you start with a monopoly on tic-tac-toe, you wont keep it for long. Being ahead of the curve is not enough.

 

[synth3tik]

Totally the stupidest thing I have heard. If it becomes fact that will be all the respect I had for Apple.

 

[nimbuscloud]

Totally the stupidest thing I have heard. If it becomes fact that will be all the respect I had for Apple.

Who cares, you'll still buy their products.

Please get off your high horse, the weather's finer down here.