Apple Threatens to Shut Down iTunes

[steveseguin]

This Thursday, an upcoming ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board will decide the fate of iTunes as artists demand greater royalties.

Apple Threatens to Shut Down iTunes : Read more

 

[ravenware]

Would you buy Katy Perry’s album, when the popular hit ’I kissed a girl’ is all that you want?

Sure, it should make a perfectly good coaster, as long as the artwork is face down.

 

[Mr_Man]

I still buy CDs. No DRM and I can convert it to ANY format I want at as high a bitrate as my heart desires.

 

[chromaone]

The NMPA represents songwriters and the royalty discussed is for the songwriters, not the performing artists.

 

[JonathanDeane]

If Apple really wanted to do something cool... They could cut out the middle man so to speak. Just offer the artists something like 20% to sign a deal with them and sell exclusively on iTunes. Apples gets a massive 80% and the artist gets nearly double what they where getting before. But to be honest the percentages should probably be reversed in a perfect world... Hmmm me thinks there is much room in this industry for some competition.
I think this model would work best for already known artists, and Apple would need to work out some way to get air time for bands on radio stations hmmm or Apple could create iTunes iNternet rAdio and promote new bands that way

 

[Guest]

JonathanDeane - the problem is the contracts record companies already have with the artists. I actually admire Apple for holding firm on this one. They are defending their business, but at the same time defending us consumers. The hit needs to come out of the freaking bloated record industry. They make the largest chunk of profit, more than Apple - who works to sell it - and the artist, whose talent makes it all possible to begin with.

 

[Kami3k]

[citation][nom]Mr_Man[/nom]I still buy CDs. No DRM and I can convert it to ANY format I want at as high a bitrate as my heart desires.[/citation]

Ahh the joys of having my Zune. Go ahead shut down Itunes, make the Zune replace the Ipod. It's a better player anyway.

 

[wahdangun]

i think apple should create their own record companies, so apple can gain more profit while increasing the royalty rates for artists

 

[V8VENOM]

Zune, hahahahah ha ha ha -- that's a good one. Took me a long time to get up off the ground.

Does Zune still have any titles?

Better player -- do you like bad spanish TV also?

 

[the_one111]

[citation][nom]V8VENOM[/nom]Zune, hahahahah ha ha ha -- that's a good one. Took me a long time to get up off the ground.Does Zune still have any titles?Better player -- do you like bad spanish TV also?[/citation]
Before you make yourself look stupid i suggest you get off this HARDWARE AND TECH GUIDE website before you start making even more flambait and fanboyish comments...

Zune owns, Ipod owns. Itunes sucks. Period.

I'll admit that was hard to say, since i do indeed also hate apple.. but still it's the truth.

 

[katmandude]

reading the article and the responses i'm surprised nobody mentioned the ratio's that everybody gets :

The problem is that no one wants to be the one who pays for it. Currently iTunes charges 99-cents a song, with 61-cents of that going to the record industry, 9-cents of it going to the artists

61cents to the 'record industry' and only 9 to the artists. why doesn't the rec. industry take the brunt of the cost increase? yes they promote, yes the take risks...?? no they don't , if they promote content they bloody well know why they are doing it! because they know as professionals that it has a decent chance to work and sell. so it's not that a big risk is it? and we are talking bit's of info. not hundreds and thousand of cds that need to be printed, shipped and sold. which means cost returns on a itunes song sold is way better than a CD.

As for threatening to shut down itunes... well , thats ol' diva applian tactics again, u get used to it ^^ but they are a good bunch (just a bit over zealous at times) so they know that closing it won't help them, most likely it threathens the cash income of the rec. industry more than it does theirs, since the rec comp's have more to lose out of this ^^ And music is just one of many parts of itunes! u also get video, films, tvs etc etc.... so u can't close down itunes....
I disagree with linking ipod sales with itunes, itunes may help getting content, except when u're like me and buy tons of cds (for the object as well as the content). I buy ipods because they work damn well, as much as most high end mp3 players on the market... never bought anything on itunes. 😛

 

[captaincharisma]

Before you make yourself look stupid i suggest you get off this HARDWARE AND TECH GUIDE website before you start making even more flambait and fanboyish comments...

Zune owns, Ipod owns. Itunes sucks. Period.

I'll admit that was hard to say, since i do indeed also hate apple.. but still it's the truth.

Well im sure there is one website on the net that praises the Zune. too bad every other website think it sucks LOL

 

[Guest]

Apple would never let iTunes die. iTunes and iPod are one in the same. If they kill iTunes they'd stab themselves in the heart since the iPod would loose popularity. I can't see apple letting iTunes go while still trying to promote the iPod.

 

[wavebossa]

[citation][nom]gwolfman1[/nom]Apple would never let iTunes die. iTunes and iPod are one in the same. If they kill iTunes they'd stab themselves in the heart since the iPod would loose popularity. I can't see apple letting iTunes go while still trying to promote the iPod.[/citation]

QFT. What will most likely happen is....... NOTHING.

Kinda sucks to be a songwritter right about now. You ask for a higher minimum wage and your record company just says, "if you want more money, sell more records."

 

[nekatreven]

I hate Apple as a company more and more each day but not even I expect them to run an operation like itunes and not make any money at it.

Yes, I'm sure its all made up in sales of other items...but unless the profits overall are pretty freaking huge...its only good business to just keep the portions of your business that make money.

The exceptions being cases like AT&T (at least in my area)...they'll give you DSL for almost nothing so they can keep raking it in on the landline charges.

I could only agree Apple was being greedy if they weren't really going to lose that much on itunes after the change, or if it would barely put a dent in their profits. I don't know the answer on that one, and don't care enough about the issue at hand to look...but thats my 2cents anyway.