“Japan’s Nikkei recently reported that record labels have been “abuzz with talk about Apple’s 2006 problem”. That refers to label licensing renegotiations scheduled for next year, with pricing expected to be a big area of discussion. Specifically, labels have been pushing Apple to increase its current fixed a-la-carte pricing structure in the US, Canada and Europe. And a two-tiered pricing model in Japan will add fuel to that effort, with Apple unexpectedly breaking its uniform pricing approach. Negotiations over the closed FairPlay DRM system will also be important, with tracks on new copy-protected CDs from both Sony BMG and EMI incompatible with iTunes and the iPod,” Walter Hough reports for Digital Music News.

Hough reports, “Embarrassed by the success of the iPod on its home turf, Sony is hoping to derail a repeat success with the iTunes Music Store in Japan. Whether or not the Sony BMG catalog will remain absent within the Japanese iTunes Music Store forever remains to be seen, but Sony is clearly making things difficult for Apple.”

Full article here.
Apple has a lot more clout than they did at the beginning. It will be interesting to see what the new label licensing negotiations will produce.

Related article:
New copy-protected CDs are Apple iPod incompatible – August 04, 2005
Apple’s Japan iTunes Music Store debut more bad news for Sony – August 04, 2005
Apple launches iTunes Music Store in Japan – August 03, 2005