Lady Gaga's New Album May Be First Loss for Apple Music After Universal's Exclusivity Changes

[MacRumors]

Apple Music may have lost a major exclusivity deal with artist Lady Gaga and her label Interscope, with rumors suggesting the company's streaming music service was in place to exclusively launch not only the upcoming single "Perfect Illusion," but the singer's entire fifth studio album. Lady Gaga began voicing support of Apple Music before the service even launched last year.

Interscope Records, which was co-founded by current Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine in 1989, is one of the many labels owned by Universal Media Group. Apple's rumored exclusivity loss of Lady Gaga's new album appears to be the first ripple generated by UMG's CEO Lucian Grainge decreeing earlier in the week that the company would no longer support exclusive music streaming on any service.

UMG's frustration with the trend appears to be a result of the launch of Frank Ocean's much-anticipated album "Blonde" last weekend. In order to fulfill his record deal with Def Jam (another UMG label), the singer released the visual album "Endless" under Def Jam Recordings. He then launched the actual, full-length album Blonde independently under his own Boys Don't Cry label, along with an Apple Music exclusivity deal of two weeks. The move is making UMG consider suing Ocean for his tactics.

It's not clear what the exclusive nature of Apple Music and Lady Gaga's deal might have been, but it's interesting to see how quickly UMG's reaction to the trend has taken effect, if the rumors turn out to be true. Although still unconfirmed, Lady Gaga's new album is predicted to debut sometime this fall, while Perfect Illusion is set for a single debut in September.

(Thanks, Thomas!)

Article Link: Lady Gaga's New Album May Be First Loss for Apple Music After Universal's Exclusivity Changes

 

[S.B.G]

I dunno, I think it’s a good thing that exclusivity is beginning to retract - not that I care for Lady Gaga's music - but that music should be made available on many platforms and media so the consumer can purchase it and enjoy it the way they like.

 

[ogun7]

I dunno, I think it’s a good thing that exclusivity is beginning to retract - not that I care for Lady Gaga's music - but that music should be made available on many platforms and media so the consumer can purchase it and enjoy it the way they like.

Don't agree at all. This gives more control over artists to the labels. Artists get better terms and way more visibility with exclusive streaming rights. Plus, what's 2 weeks?

 

[2457282]

I dunno, I think it’s a good thing that exclusivity is beginning to retract - not that I care for Lady Gaga's music - but that music should be made available on many platforms and media so the consumer can purchase it and enjoy it the way they like.

Wouldn't it be great if the same were true for movies and tv shows? I mean the current system of movie theaters first then VOD then cable then TV then streaming (if ever) is totally off. Especially when one movie/TV show follows one path through the maze and the next movie from the same house follows a different path. and things are exclusive to a specific VOD outlet or cable channel or streaming service so there is simply no way to get anything you want in this space. At least with music, at most you wait a few weeks before you can get it anywhere.

 

[JaySoul]

It is extremely frustrating within the Film/TV streaming services in terms of who the hell has what.

For me, an album should really be on all music streaming platforms and I do agree that these exclusitivity deals are bringing back torrent downloads.

The reasoning for record labels, however, is a different issue entirely.

 

[S.B.G]

Wouldn't it be great if the same were true for movies and tv shows? I mean the current system of movie theaters first then VOD then cable then TV then streaming (if ever) is totally off. Especially when one movie/TV show follows one path through the maze and the next movie from the same house follows a different path. and things are exclusive to a specific VOD outlet or cable channel or streaming service so there is simply no way to get anything you want in this space. At least with music, at most you wait a few weeks before you can get it anywhere.

Yeah the TV/movie chain is way messed up. Anytime I want to watch a certain show I check my streaming services first, Netflix, Amazon Prime, then I go to my DirecTV on demand and search, then I start looking at iTunes and decide if its worth me paying for or will rent.

At least it is easier with music by and large. But if I'm interested in a new album and have to wait 2 weeks to get it on a service because another service I don't have has exclusivity, I'm likely to forget that I wanted the album in the first place, which ultimately means a loss for the artist, albeit insignificant, but if that happens to a lot of people it can add up.

 

[Dave245]

I don't think this is good business, if Apple want to pay for exclusive music, then that's their right surely. It's about business and that's what they all are, music labels, recording artists are all about business. I dont think it will last long anyway, Apple have some big friends in the music industry which can go a long way.

 

[Avieshek]

Very soon, "Apple Music Label".. very soon.

 

[tkukoc]

Very soon, "Apple Music Label".. very soon.

As it should be! They already have the radio streams, not hard at all to tie those into legal rights to studio time and recordings. I love the fact the industry is all ticked off about "exclusives" now.. this isn't a new thing.. but because it's Apple and the way it's being presented, they are all upset. Said it before.. and I'll say it again. The Music Business is run by dinosaurs.. they are grasping at straws and blaming everyone else for their mistakes.

 

[venusboy]

Very soon, "Apple Music Label".. very soon.

Been there in 1968

 

[Kaibelf]

I wish that instead of worrying about someone being featured on iTunes for 2 weeks, they stopped the practice of certain retailers having special editions of an album with tracks that you can't get through other retailers. Target does that a lot, and I don't WANT to buy the albums from them, so I just skip them altogether because I don't want 5/7 of the album that's available everywhere else.

 

[MacBAir]

Lol this is hilarious. Now the media managed to spin this in such way that having the music release on all major streaming services is a "major loss" for APPLE music.

 

[b0nd18t]

Good. This exclusive crap needs to end.

 

[2010mini]

I hope the record labels are going to compensate the artists when the revenue from exclusives goes away.

It's not like exclusives are something new. Labels have been doing the same thing for decades.

 

[MacBAir]

Good. This exclusive crap needs to end.

How do you watch game of thrones? House of cards? In any channel or any service you want? No. iTunes was the best thing that happened to music in the beginning of the millenium. Having 1 major streaming service be the default will bring more people to streaming and it will be better for music, like having everything on iTunes was.

I don't care if that Service is Spotify or Apple music. Exclusives are part of the battle. Having a flawed business strategy is all on Spotify.

Of course, if they don't have the deepest pockets, they must compete by having the best service for all parties involved. Clearly they don't. So they will face a lot of trouble.

This is how it works.

 

[69Mustang]

Don't agree at all. This gives more control over artists to the labels. Artists get better terms and way more visibility with exclusive streaming rights. Plus, what's 2 weeks?

What's two weeks? Wasted effort as far as I'm concerned. Some Apple Music users uploaded the entire album to Youtube within minutes of it's release. I guess one good consequence for Ocean was getting that exclusivity money all to himself and his label.

 

[Westside guy]

Given the timing, it's quite possible this is an anti-Apple move. I'm not an Apple Music fan, but it's gained a lot of traction very quickly - and I can't imagine some of the guys running these music cartels have already forgotten how Apple up-ended their cash cow before.

 

[rctlr]

Very soon, "Apple Music Label".. very soon.

And why not? For new artists and for old ones once they get out of their contracts. as long as the deal is beneficial to the artists, like 70-30 to the artist. Just like software.

 

[BvizioN]

I won't subscribe to Apple Music if it does not have exclusivity to Gagagas new album....!!

 

[toph2toast]

I just don't get why Universal cares so much. As previous posters mentioned, retailers like target have CD's from artists with exclusive songs. On the movie/tv side, stores such as best buy or walmart have exclusive content only available buy purchasing the disc's at that store. Same for video games too. It's just part of the business.

 

[Defthand]

I don't see the benefit of exclusive content or releases for consumers. It's a gimmick that was conceived to preserve movie theaters, CDs and DVDs. I think it ultimately deflates the roll out of an anticipated album when the roll out is fragmented. It's akin to celebrating Independence Day one firework per day.

Look no further than Tidal if you want proof of the appeal of exclusivity.

 

[tnypxl]

Wouldn't it be great if the same were true for movies and tv shows? I mean the current system of movie theaters first then VOD then cable then TV then streaming (if ever) is totally off. Especially when one movie/TV show follows one path through the maze and the next movie from the same house follows a different path. and things are exclusive to a specific VOD outlet or cable channel or streaming service so there is simply no way to get anything you want in this space. At least with music, at most you wait a few weeks before you can get it anywhere.

But that is largely the model that TV and Film has always carried since embracing digital. Other than the impatient, its not really been an issue worth being upset about or launching anti-compete investigations over.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

Lady Gaga is so 2010...

(but seriously, she has a great voice, and yes, I have one of her albums... Can't get 'Bad Romance' out of my head. The video is mesmerizing too.)

 

[Tinmania]

How do you watch game of thrones? House of cards? In any channel or any service you want? No.

That is a flawed analogy. Know how I can listen to Lady GaGa's latest music immediately? On the radio. For free. How can I do that for Game of Thrones?



Mike

 

[rdlink]

It is extremely frustrating within the Film/TV streaming services in terms of who the hell has what.

For me, an album should really be on all music streaming platforms and I do agree that these exclusitivity deals are bringing back torrent downloads.

The reasoning for record labels, however, is a different issue entirely.

Yes, exclusivity deals are causing torrent downloads to spike. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the world is full of selfish, instant gratification demanding thieves.
[doublepost=1472227324][/doublepost]

That is a flawed analogy. Know how I can listen to Lady GaGa's latest music immediately? On the radio. For free. How can I do that for Game of Thrones?



Mike

You're not listening to it for free. You're listening to it under a business model whereby you agree to listen to commercials to help defray the cost of the radio playing Lady GaGa's song on air when they want to (versus when you want to listen to it).
[doublepost=1472227430][/doublepost]

I won't subscribe to Apple Music if it does not have exclusivity to Gagagas new album....!!

I will cancel my Apple Music Subscription if any of her music shows up in my "For You" section. LOL