Who Is EMI Talking To? Apple Doesn't Seem To Know
from the Apple-doesn't-think-it's-them... dept
EMI has said two things concerning their relationship with Apple in the last two days, and, based on Apple's response, you have to wonder if it's really Apple they've been talking to. The first, as has been widely reported, is that an EMI exec says they have an agreement with Apple to offer variable pricing on iTunes, getting away from the $0.99/song model. The record labels have been pushing for variable pricing for years, and it seems to filter out into the press every few months. We first heard about it in April of 2004, but it's come up again and again since then. So, forgive us for not jumping up and writing about it when we hear it being discussed yet again. Part of the problem is that it still doesn't make any sense. The labels aren't supposed to have any say in retail pricing. They got in trouble when they did that for CD sales a few years ago. They can only set the wholesale price that they charge Apple (or other resellers). Anything else sounds an awful lot like illegal price fixing. If they want to raise prices, raise prices to Apple and let Apple make the decision how to handle the retail pricing. When this came out a couple months ago, Steve Jobs famously called the recording industry "greedy," so it surprised a few folks to hear EMI say they worked out a deal with Jobs. However, another story that just came out raises even more questions. EMI is now saying their new copy protection technology (from Macrovision) will let songs play on iPods. Apple, apparently, has no clue what they're talking about: "The information EMI provided regarding iTunes and iPod compatibility with Macrovision's technology is not true and we have no idea why EMI made this statement." Combine the two stories, and it might make you wonder if someone at EMI is actually talking to anyone at Apple, or if they're just very confused?Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
meh idiots if u ask me
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The real reason to increase download price...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: The real reason to increase download price...
1)Buy Retail Priced CD
>Prices too high/Cheaper to Download : Go to 2
2)Download for $.99
>Price is gouged to $2 a song : Go to 3
3)Download for Free
>Cops knock on your door : Go to 1 & Repeat
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Get a clue!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Get a clue!
And as a bonus, let's see the RIAA try to put a "copy-protection" scheme on my turntable needles. And before you say anything about inconvience, it's a quick and easy process to get a high quality digital transfer off my vinyl with no chance of copy protection. So I've got the best of both worlds at less than 3/4 the price!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
No Subject Given
http://www.8trackheaven.com/
[ link to this | view in chronology ]