I'm going to quote this for other people to read again. I'm not on Morris' side, I just think this was a very good point.
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Universal Music Group's View of the Digital World
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I'm going to quote this for other people to read again. I'm not on Morris' side, I just think this was a very good point.
£5 seems like a fair price to me, if 50% rather than 5% of the sale price went to the artist.
if i can buy 4 hollywood blockbuster films from last year for 24 bucks or a 6 DVD box with a season of a TV show for 20 bucks why are music cds still costing 18 bucks for a new release and sometimes even 16 bucks years after release
i simply don't get why the film industry (who are by no means saints in the terms of greediness) is fine with retailers selling their movies for 5-6 bucks and the music industry can't get over it that people simply aren't willing to spend that much for music anymore
i bought what ? 13 dvds the last 2 week ... for 64 bucks ...
shock horror, big record label guy doesn't care about the little people and just wants your money...
No you wouldn't. You would want someone who can protect their brand and the money it can bring in.
I think the big four won't rule the music business for ever.
http://www.tunecore.com is a good start to show them what the future might bring.
http://www.tunecore.com is a good start to show them what the future might bring.
Completely OT, but this type of comment cracks me up every time I see it. "What a moran" - classic.
Sorry, but there is no requirement "by law" to maximize profits. Just about anything a director or officer did would be protected under the business judgment rule absent gross negligence or malfeasance.
Making, marketing and distributing music professionally is impossible on that model. If you think that producing, releasing and promoting an album over a period of months or years should sell for the cost of less than 2 pints, you're in cloud cuckoo-land. You can't even pick up a new paperback for that amount of money, which costs far less to produce.
I see people say this all the time and it's simply not true. I was paying $18 a CD in college. I haven't payed more than $12 in years and most of the time it's about $10. When you factor in inflation, that gets even better. I found an online inflation calculator. It says from 86 to 06, that $18 went to $32.51. The calculator didn't go to 07 yet. So in 86 dollars, I'm paying 1/3rd the price I was paying for CDs 20 years ago.
If you want to talk about value, that's probably dependent on what you listen to.
Where are you buying CDs? I haven't seen prices like that for a decade.
Hey Universal, Does it play on an iPod?
Yes? Then sell the music however you want.
No? Then it might as well not exist.
Apple sells iPods. The music store is just a convenience for iPod owners.
Yes? Then sell the music however you want.
No? Then it might as well not exist.
Apple sells iPods. The music store is just a convenience for iPod owners.
Did you read my post? I clearly remember saying something equivalent to free is a hard price to fight. Napster and Torrents are so successful because they're free and open all the time. iTunes is successful because it pretty much set the price point, $0.99 for a song, $9.99 for an album and because like Napster or a Torrent, at 3 in the morning I can still get a Bjork album if I suddenly go on a Bjork kick. But iTunes isn't going to overtake Torrent downloads unless all the major non-invite Bit Torrent sites go offline because free is a hard price to fight. So yes pricing is very significant.
The other problem for the music business, and this was brought up in an
earlier post, is the the reduced barriers to creating a digital product.
For better or worse, music has become a common commodity.
when they acted as the gatekeepers, they had more control of the quantity
and quality of works released. Promotion was coordinated at the root level.
they could turn the spigot up or down to manipulate the market. I think this
is the legacy mindset behind the variable pricing they wanted.
I love the one price model myself, more elegant in it;s simplicity, and somehow more democratic.
I think the big problem for these guys is the inability to hide the money.
There is just no way to game the system. they have become extraneous.
we can see the man behind the curtain now.
earlier post, is the the reduced barriers to creating a digital product.
For better or worse, music has become a common commodity.
when they acted as the gatekeepers, they had more control of the quantity
and quality of works released. Promotion was coordinated at the root level.
they could turn the spigot up or down to manipulate the market. I think this
is the legacy mindset behind the variable pricing they wanted.
I love the one price model myself, more elegant in it;s simplicity, and somehow more democratic.
I think the big problem for these guys is the inability to hide the money.
There is just no way to game the system. they have become extraneous.
we can see the man behind the curtain now.
its not surprising. a lot has to change to make everything work better than it currently is. with any hope other labels are trying and will become the norm.
"It's like if you were suddenly asked to operate on your dog to remove his kidney. What would you do?"
Sorry, ol yeller, but I agree. Morris did respond differently, since he wants to "put Apple down" he hired some competitive assassins:
Yea, real good business model.
Sorry, ol yeller, but I agree. Morris did respond differently, since he wants to "put Apple down" he hired some competitive assassins:
Yea, real good business model.
I swear to god, record label CEOs are the worst businessmen in the world. Nobody is going to buy this Total Music crap, people want to find a song they want, buy it, listen to it on whatever they like, and be done with it.
It's been like this since the creation of recorded sound, why? Because it WORKS, it's what we WANT. Just give us what we want and quit trying to derail Apple for the sake of it.
It's been like this since the creation of recorded sound, why? Because it WORKS, it's what we WANT. Just give us what we want and quit trying to derail Apple for the sake of it.
In the UK new CD's sell for around £8-10 ($16-$20), these are reduced promotional prices that are offered by supermarkets, Amazon, etc.
In the normal music stores you will pay more, up to £14 ($28) for a non chart recent album.
These prices have fallen over time, but not as much as they should have.
well for new releases 15,90 to 17,90 isn't something unheard of here (euro zone)
sure many cds are 9,90 or 12,90 ... but compared to DVD still more on average ... and prices drop slower
You are more insightful than the writer in wired even! I was at Universal back in 2000 when all these opportunities opened up. Understanding or caring for the user or his needs where as irrelevant in their strategy then as it is now. It is only about making the fastest buck possible.
What is unforgivable is that nothing's changed in 7 years. So if Morris's old boss (Bronfman) now sees the light and Morris doesn't, what does that tell you?
I feel like pirating all my music when I hear what money hungry morons these record company execs are. But I don't want to take money away from the artists.
Remember: Gates is behind
With the creation of Zune, the Squeezer. M$ is offering Music Labels not only better commission, but also offering to subside labels by offering a share of all of their sold players.
Bill's people has stated they don't mind loosing money for a long time. They sure will be willing to subsidize Morris
With the creation of Zune, the Squeezer. M$ is offering Music Labels not only better commission, but also offering to subside labels by offering a share of all of their sold players.
HTML:
"The plans would be subsidized by hardware vendors interested in taking a piece of the action from Apple's iPod and iTunes."Bill's people has stated they don't mind loosing money for a long time. They sure will be willing to subsidize Morris
I have yet to see any evidence that anyone at Vivdendi/Universal/NBC can tell their asses from their elbows, including the "young" execs.
I think once you start figuring in the growing cost of living, the low dollar value, stagnant wage growth (in non tech areas) you might start to wonder why they dont come down in price.... although I just realized my own counterpoint - they could argue exactly this point for having not lowering any further... damn.[/QUOTE]
Agree
Agree