Another Reason For Record Labels' Interest In A Music Tax: To Screw Apple
from the don't-think-it's-not-in-their-minds... dept
Despite early resistance, in the past few years, the record labels have warmed to the idea of a "music tax" put on ISPs. There are numerous reasons why this is a terrible idea, but you can bet there's one big reason why the record labels love it that they won't talk about: it would (they think, incorrectly) harm Apple. The recording industry has been amazingly jealous of Apple's success over the past few years -- even though its own demands for DRM caused much of the problem. It locked Apple in as the dominant provider and gave it tremendous market leverage -- such that no big record label risks rocking the boat and getting thrown out of iTunes.And, despite the recent agreement to dump DRM and allow some form of variable pricing, the NY Times notes that the big record labels still have a strong hatred for Apple. While the article doesn't discuss it at all, you can bet that a big part of the desire to come up with a music tax/collective license/whatever they want to call it these days to make it sound palatable is that it will harm the iTunes lock on the market. That might be true, but the record labels may find it's more difficult to get rid of Apple than they believe. Apple's real profits are in the iPod, not the music -- so if they can suddenly offer music for "free" via iTunes as well, that would likely help sell more iPods, which would actually increase the use of iTunes as the dominant interface for interacting with the iPod.
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Filed Under: itunes, music tax, record labels
Companies: apple, riaa
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ipod all the way.
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Re: ipod all the way.
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The Record Business
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Re: The Record Business
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I am with the record labels on this one.
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Re: I am with the record labels on this one.
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Re: Re: I am with the record labels on this one.
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Re: I am with the record labels on this one.
But despite all this bile I have towards the company I find your post stupid. How can you support another company with even shadier business practices over apple AND bring in a completely unrelated device in the comment? Simple, you are either a troll or a moron.
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Re: Re: I am with the record labels on this one.
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Re: Re: I am with the record labels on this one.
Good for you. This is why we have a free market system. Hope that boycott keeps up.
>>How many companies in this world can tell a group of people "No, I don't feel like allowing you to make money this year for all your hard work" and get away with it?
I would say a better answer would be to compete. But back when music and video interests were suing Diamond Multimedia's for the RIO, Sony for the Betamax and later, the cassette tape, they didn't quite get it then, did they?
They decided to pass on the digital music revolution, suing everyone they could, and not compete until Apple showed everyone how to do it, huh? Apple earned their keep.
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Excuse me?
Proof, please, because from what I've read, Apple's making exceptional profits on both elements and one is tied to the other.
If this music tax does succeed, I can definitely see the iPod falling as other MP3 makers could quickly enter the market of selling lower cost, better performing MP3 players.
Never underestimate the consumer's ability to get more for less. That would be a serious and stupid business decision.
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Re: Excuse me?
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Re: Excuse me?
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I hope they pass the "music tax"...
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Re: I hope they pass the "music tax"...
$5 - $10 would probably be the initial price on each of these taxes but they will soon become completely insufficient and need to be raised. How much tax would be required for 500G full of music? 2T for movies? 4T for TV shows? $50-$100 per month per tax sound good?
One thing that can be said, Western Digital will be making a killing. At least from me.
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Re: Re: I hope they pass the "music tax"...
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Re: Re: Re: I hope they pass the "music tax"...
i don't want a "tax" but i would gladly pay for a "pass".
i call it "the piracy pass". copyright holders keep employing media sentry and other outfits to snoop public trackers (which is how the record labels and studios figure out whom to sue) and send cease and desists to the ISP just like always. then the ISP can check to see if my pass is paid up and if so, they refer the copyright holder to the pass authority (run just like ASCAP and the like) for royalties. the artists or labels or whomever collect royalties and hand them out just like they do now.
in review not much changes:
1) i keep downloading using bit torrent
2) they keep snooping
3) they keep complaining to the ISP's
4) the performance rights groups keep deciding who gets the money
the only things that do change:
1) i buy the pass from the performance rights groups
2) i register my pass with my ISP
3) the labels and studios quit suing consumers and start suing the performance rights groups
it's simple, effective, everyone wins. obviously it will never happen.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: I hope they pass the "music tax"...
There's a great children's picturebook called "If you give a Mouse a Cookie." I think it's lessons fit well with this tax. They will have no incentive to make new music, just sell the back catalog. After a while, they'll just raise the taxes further.
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Re: Re: I hope they pass the "music tax"...
I really think these tax purveyors are little mommas babies who have no guts to get into the digital business themselves in the long term.
Otherwise, you WOULD be able to buy music directly from the labels.
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GET A CLUE RIAA! Your on you DEATH bed!
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Create your own reality!
Not 1 cent to the Record Labels and anyone/everyone whom support them!
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Create your own reality!
Not 1 cent to the Record Labels and anyone/everyone whom support them!
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How much are the labels worth?
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Re:
you mean the 60 year olds that think computers and the internet are magic?
yeah, they'll just keep paying like good consumers.
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And then there is group #3 (like me) who will download the hell out of everything and teach everyone they can about P2P.
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I turned 60 on my last bd, I got a 1.5 TB drive from the wife & have it over 1/2 full. Over the weekend I built one new system & reworked 3 others. My generation invented this stuff, yours just learned to use it. BTW I gave one of my 500GB drives to the wife (also 60) she was running out of room, hopefully 1.3TB will hold her until her next birthday, the 2TB drives should be out by then.
A $10 or $20 tax would be doable to make honest citizens of the download community, but exceed that & folks would have to rethink the whole thing, $4 gas crashed the car companies, and folks need those to get to work.
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Re: Haywood
My mother is 75 and is on here third laptop, her second cell phone,second digital camera and uses here Sony Reader everyday, (She downloads books weekly.)
So much for the old folks myth
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Re: Re: Haywood
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More Power to Apple
One day Apple will become a "Record Company" with them signing artist directly to avoid the major labels all together.
I wonder what they will call it :) APPLE :)
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What a stupid comment, I hope you were joking.
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Re:
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Big $ off hardware?
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Apple's music service
iArtist of course, what else would it be called.... (covers music, movies, plays, paintings, you name it, they will provide it all...
And I've got a great deal on a slightly used Bridge in San Francisco while you're interested...
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Apple and iTunes
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Age and magic
I'm 60, and the only thing I find magical is how much bigotry is displayed toward people my age by people like you.
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