AC/DC Bypasses iTunes: Should Apple Care?
Is iTunes headed down the "Highway to Hell" as Aussie rock band AC/DC puts it? Recently recording artists and music services are giving iTunes some push back and a run for its money.
Today the band AC/DC says it's bypassing Apple's iTunes and has brokered an exclusive deal with Verizon to sell its music through Verizon's online music store.
Anyone can visit Verizon and buy AC/DC music, but there is a catch. Verizon is not allowing you to buy individual AC/DC songs, rather forcing people to buy entire albums. That means if you want to download the song and bang your head to the AC/DC song Shoot To Thrill you'll have to buy the entire Back In Black album. Back In Black the album through Verizon will run you $11.99 compared to the CD on Amazon that is $9.97. The only track available as a single download is "You Shook Me All Night Long." That is also the only song Verizon Wireless subscribers will be able to buy and download using their mobile phones.
It's a sign of the times. Record labels and artists are starting to stand up to Steve Jobs and iTunes. If this is a growing trend things could get ugly for consumers.
Yesterday music publisher representing rapper Eminem filed suit against Apple for what it claims is the unauthorized sale of the artist's music on the iTunes store. The lawsuit claims that Universal, Eminem's record label, and Apple have been selling Eminem's songs without the publisher's who represent Eminem permission.
This isn't the first time Apple has heard "Hells Bells" in the distance when it comes to anti-iTunes sentiments.
Grumblings from music publishers and artists are getting louder as they become more public about their dissatisfaction with as what they see as Apple's low $.99 price point for tracks. Universal is said to be wavering at renewing its deal with Apple, primarily due to Steve Jobs' refusal to raise song prices and his fervent push for more DRM-free tracks.
That dissatisfaction is only likely to grow as Apple touts accomplishments like it did yesterday when it announced iTunes surpassed 3 billion cumulative downloads.
Where is this all headed?
My opinion is that if music labels and artist get greedy and force higher prices for music, make it hard for fans to find and download just the music they want, and make it hard to manage competing DRM restrictions music piracy will grow.
That's too bad for the industry. Latest report (PDF) from UK-based Entertainment Media Research say here in the US music piracy is down. You can thank the ease, price, and flexibility of finding and buying music on iTunes part for that.
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I wouldn't say a sign of the times. That sounds like the music industry. It's business.
The Music Industry and some artists will never be satisified. Whenever they get a good thing going, they ruin it with greed.
I'm a musician/songwriter that depends on my CD sales to put food on my family's table–it’s my job. But the public, and Steve Jobs, don’t care. Okay, how would you like to do your jobs everyday and have the public upset that you earn too much and want you to work for pennies? You wouldn’t tolerate that, so why should I? Is it because making music is not a “job”? Well it is and it’s how I pay my bills, and I barely make enough to pay my bills. Plus my music is my INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY and I deserve to be paid for it and to keep my rights to it. Okay Mr. Jobs, give up your patents that protect your creations and earn you lots of money. “No” you say. So why should I? Funny thing coming from a wealthy man who never worries about paying bills; well, Mr. Jobs, I don't have your wealth. And I worry day-to-day how to pay my bills. So, go ahead and take away what money I do earn. I have an idea, why don’t you all pay my bills and buy my family food and I’ll give you my music for free?
What's the point of buying digital downloads if they won't let you buy individual songs? As the article pointed out, it's a much better deal to just buy the CD. But since I was only interested in a handful of AC/DC songs, they won't even get those 5 bucks from me for those songs. I will NEVER, EVER again buy a whole CD just for a couple of songs.
If the recording artist got even half of the money revenues received by record sales, I would be more concerned about buying music. However, it is the rich executives who own the labels who "earn" the majority of that revenue.
In my opinion, artists should be more concerned with record label's contract they sign than the price of the song. From what I hear, most labels own the rights to the music not the artist....
What you have to understand is that 99c is all people are willing to pay for music, that is basic supply and demand. A huge slice of revenues goes to the record company with only a miniature slice going to Apple and the artist. iTunes is a loss-leader for Apple. It barely breaks even and is simply there to sell more iPods as part of the whole iTunes + iPod/iPhone experience.
Artists and record labels should be happy with iTunes. The distribution costs must be next to nothing and there is no need to make physical CDs and there is no chance of overstocking. With the internet and services such as iTunes, artists can become a success without a record label on a relatively small budget. MySpace has helped a lot of acts. Artists just need the know-how to make the internet work for them and not against them. Eminem is lucky, he got rich with the record company, most artists are screwed time and time again, surely iTunes can help end this?
ACDC is GREEDY and after reading this article.....I am no longer a fan.
Jerks is all I can say.
Don't they understand that most of their fans aren't rich like they are. And if they aren't rich.....then they are plain stupid.
bye bye to ACDC .......Angus can kiss my ......
ACDC is GREEDY and after reading this article.....I am no longer a fan.
Jerks is all I can say.
Don't they understand that most of their fans aren't rich like they are. And if they aren't rich.....then they are plain stupid.
bye bye to ACDC .......Angus can kiss my ......
This is all very well but have you been to the Verizon site...its pathetic......the listings are minute and it took forever to play a sample...even then it was broken up. I love ACDC but they are fools who are losing out big time.......if they released everything to iTunes they would only add to their millions.....who the hell is Verizon anyway.......you can rest peacefully Mr Jobs you are years ahead of them....