News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.

April 24, 2006

music

The fight for music pricing continues

Posted Apr. 24, ’06, 4:52 PM PT by Scott Silverman
Category | Music

universal music logoWithin the next two months, four major record label contracts with Apple’s iTunes Music Store will expire—leaving Universal, Warner Music, and SonyBMG the option to re-negotiate terms with Steve Jobs. As you may have known, the big record giants constantly push for variable pricing, charing more for some tracks than others. Stevie, however, is very firm on his stance of $.99 pricing.

The New York Post is running an article on the current status of Music Industry versus Steve Jobs (disclaimer: not a real court case). Currently, the record giants and Apple are in various stages of negotiating a new contract. Whether that contract will include terms for variable pricing or static pricing remains to be determined. If the two parties cannot reach some sort of a deal before the contract expires, it is likely that music from a respective label will remain in the store under no contract. This is detrimental to Apple because a label under no contract can pull their music from the iTMS at any time they please. Here’s to hoping, for the sake of all consumers, that Mr. Jobs proves victorious.


2 Comments

exnihilo said:

I hope the current pricing structure stays, but if I had to choose between not having a record label on iTMS and having it on there under the record labels terms, I think I'd rather have it on there than not.

April 24, 2006 6:49 PM
Scott Silverman Author Profile Page said:

Agreed there ^

Sadly, I think it's like a big game of chicken, where each one thinks the other's bluffing until it actually happens. If the record companies are actually out to get variable pricing, no matter what the cost, we may see our first loss of a major label from iTMS, at least for a time.

April 24, 2006 6:56 PM

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