“Michal Ephraim, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, spoke with Australia’s The Age about the impending launch of its Music Unlimited service in that country,” Katie Marsal reports for AppleInsider. “Music Unlimited debuted in late 2010, and Sony hopes the streaming subscription product will take on Apple’s iTunes by offering a different approach to digital music sales.”
“But in the future, Ephraim hopes that iTunes isn’t even part of the equation. He questioned whether Sony would need to partner with Apple and sell music through iTunes if its new service gains enough traction,” Marsal reports. “‘If we do [get mass take-up], then does Sony Music need to provide content to iTunes?’ he said. ‘Currently we do. We have to provide it to iTunes as that’s the format right now.’ He continued: ‘Publishers are being held ransom by Apple and they are looking for other delivery systems, and we are waiting to see what the next three to five years will hold.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Whatever they’re dispensing to Sony execs, it has to be some really strong stuff.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Jax44” for the heads up.]
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By saying “held for ransom by Apple” he means “we don’t like not having control we once had”.
No, he means they dont like paying the fees to sell music thorugh itunes and are looking for a new delivery method.
I think Apple better watch out here, what is the use of an iPod if I cant load music on it?
I’m sure Apple is worried..
Joe you do realize what an iPod is correct? Any music can be loading on an iPod via their computer..many other vendors (Amazon, etc.) have a way to get that music on your iTunes app…knob
They? It’s not *their* music. Sony, and other labels, better watch out because there is a new delivery method (actually it’s old enough to be the #1 delivery method), and the method doesn’t require the labels to be part of the system.
In an all out war, the labels can’t win, at best they could only survive. If Sony wants to pull out of iTunes and open their own store, the impact on Apple would be minor as the songs would have to be DRM free in order to sell, thus importable into the iTunes software and syncable to iOS devices.
However, pulling out of iTunes means losing a significant amount of reach, and subsequently sales. Sure, they could possibly increase their margins, but net profit would drop.
Worse, Sony would find it hard to sign and keep their artists on their labels. You’d get a lot who would jump ship, and possibly even go directly through Apple. That’s really not a door that Sony wants to open.
So Joe, I guess you’re MDN’s new pet troll. Good for you, it was getting lonely here without one.
——RM
Not a troll, a serious Apple fan that is stating the obvious. iTunes store is successful due to vast supply of music. You pull the labels and its not as useful. I’m seeing chinks in the armor and i dont like it. I think Apple should be giving these suppliers reason to pull product. Same with subscriptions.
iTunes was successful even before there was a huge chunk of music for sale on it. If people can’t get their music they way they want it, they will just go back to ripping it as they did before (and other less legal means). Either way Sony would be mad to open that door.
Any music group that is under contract to Sony will be losing money. Mismanagement ? Breach of contract ? Goodwill effort ? Sony, you want to lose those music groups, doncha.
Remember the people who buy music…
Music is first and foremost the only universal language, people will get it however they choose and if Sony think they own it, they are mistaken. The backlash from this arrogant ignorant and dismissing attitude, will be a true real death wish for Sony and any labels that follow this brainless power play.
Apple and Jobs saved this dying industry once – they shouldn’t bank on another bail out.
It’s all moving toward a record-label-free world. Artists will submit their music directly to Apple just as developers submit their programs to the App stores. Buh-bye Sony et al.
It’s disintermediation as Negroponte wrote about back in 98 or 99 in Being Digital.
You would think after Betamax, MiniDisc, UMD and every other failed format, Sony would stop trying to impose its will on the market, but because they had one success with Blu-Ray they’ve gone back to being asshats.
How are the artists going to distribute their music without recording it? And how are they going to record it without the record labels? Few aspiring artists can afford the production costs of a commercial recording studio, and even fewer have the know-how to make decent recordings themselves. A world free of record companies sounds great, but I dunno…
@omalansky,
Actually it is getting much easier to record and market your music. I believe AEROSMITH indicated that they did on the road recordings and used Garageband to prep them. Then cleaned it up back in the music shop.
There are many places that specialize in recording, mixing, etc of the music. And the equipment is getting cheaper all the time.
Just a thought,
en
The costs of a recording studio are a *small* fraction of what they once were. In fact, anyone with a Mac and a decent set up pickups/mics can record a “song”.
There will always be pro production on the very *high* end, I hope, but the facts are: labels no longer handle distribution or packaging, and they spend far less on recoding..so all that’s left is really marketing…and, personally, I’ve NEVER liked the shit that the big labels spend most of the marketing $$…So…**GOOD RIDDANCE!** Evolve or get out of the way!
Tthe quality of recordings on cheap equipment will never in a million years match the real thing. Neither will present “know how” of recording and production ever match the skilled professional engineering and production expertise of the past …
Check out Bon Iver’s last album. He recorded it in his cabin in the woods.
And Neil Young records in his barn as does JJCale, but they have the expertise.
“But in the future, Ephraim hopes that iTunes isn’t even part of the equation.”
And looking forward to a record-label-free world, we can revise the statement above to read: “But in the future, everyone on Earth hopes that Sony isn’t even part of the equation.”
Ha Ha!
You do realize there was a time before iTunes was ubiquitos
Steve muses, if Sony wants to start a war we’ll buy them, keep the patents and other IP and sell off the pieces.
Wait, what is this? 2004?
I agree with MacMusic. Now let’s see if this posts.
Artist -> Label -> iTunes -> Consumer
One of the above is clearly not needed anymore.
Hint: It’s the one getting the biggest percentage of $$$.
unfortunately it’s also the one who has the biggest percentage of $$$ to promote with too. but thankfully the internet has made it a lot easier.
Yes, but that is also part of the problem the industry has. People are tired of being told what to like and listen to. People are tired of a cd with 2 good songs.
It would not be hard to tie a formula based on factors like web traffic/downloads/concert revenue to how much is spent on marketing. Apple could take the artists on and give them 60% which is way more than Sony is paying and then use the other 40% to cover marketing and distribution costs.
didn’t sony try to have a music store before?
Not just once.
Sony exec hints it might pull music from iTune…and Apple solves that problem by purchasing Sony for chump changes after Sony’s sales fall after pulling iTunes distribution. Apple can purchase Sony in a blink, so what’s the problem again?
seppuku isn’t much of a strategy
A firm yank is about all Sony does nowadays
If they’re being held ransom by Apple, then what the hell do you call what Amazon is doing? You know, where there is no variable pricing, no iTunes LP, or anything like that.
And yes, I know Amazon is doing nothing to the labels, they’re allowed to sell music how they do because of collusion between the labels.
Disintermediation is a bitch. Ask any travel agent.
So… Sony would rather people go back to stealing music? Pulling out of iTunes does more harm to Sony than to Apple. These guys just don’t think. Wait. Yes they do. Maybe Sony can do Rootkit!! 😛
Things change.
Sony used to build excellent electronics, now they build crap.
Record companies used to be the all-powerful middlemen, now they are dying.
Things change.
Ransom: making money off distributing your product, and making you a ton of money as well with a new distribution model. Ransom means SONY doesn’t get 110% of everything. The music business just doesn’t get it.
‘Publishers are being held ransom by Apple’
This is a patettly illogical argument. It implies unfair, blackmail/kidnapping type costs associated with putting music on iTunes. If such were the costs of doing business on iTunes, then I seriously doubt ANYONE would have their content on iTunes.
But somehow EVERYONE seems to be MAKING MONEY with iTunes…
Ok so now Sony: Making money = “kidnapped” ??? really?
I think it is more like: Sony–> not making ALL the profits. Greedy bastiches!
The joke here is that this exec thinks that a site delivering music from one label is going to get enough traction to merit pulling their music from the world’s biggest music retailer. People don’t care what record label a band is on, and they don’t want to care. If Sony moves to their own little island, most consumers will simply stop listening to Sony music. (Or pirate it, if they think it’s worth the trouble.)
But I really, I think this is just bluster. Record execs are stupid, but they’re not that stupid.
——RM
Having had a lifetime of dealings with TV, Film and Music execs I say NEVER underestimate their stupidity.
I don’t understand why Sony thinks its subscription model will work, when EVERY SINGLE previous attempt by any other company or group of companies to make a subscription service has failed.
The people have spoken, and they do not want to ‘rent’ music.
‘Publishers are being held ransom by Apple’
Well we can’t have that – can we! Much better to go back to the original model where the artists were being held ransom by the publishers.
Dickheads!
Hey, Sony, that approach didn’t work too well for NBC. If you go that way, you had better get your kneepads ready for when you come crawling back to Apple.
Sony, your approach is doomed from the start. Why bite the hand that feeds you? If you sign more good artists, treat them right, and help them create more good music, then the profits will come.
OMG. LMFAO. The funny thing is, these record labels change execs so often that the new ones have no idea what the old ones tried.
So, Mr. new Sony exec, let me refer you to this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressplay
I love this part, “The Pressplay music service initially received a lot of criticism…. This earned Pressplay and rival MusicNet the 9th place in PC World’s list of the “25 Worst Tech Products of All Time”, stating that “the services’ stunningly brain-dead features showed that the record companies still didn’t get it”
Sony makes beautiful hardware but can’t write software for shit. Period. Try their eReader: Interface is clumsy, confusing. I agree with MDN. Whatever distribution scheme they come up with, it will fail. Apple has Schooled the music industry with iTunes after Napster et all practically caused a meltdown in the music business; and Sony is too stupid to accept this lesson. I too hope Apple will buy Sony for a song, so to speak.
In 10 years the big labels will be but a memory. And good, bloody, riddance. They have been parasites on the arts for several generations and need to disappear.
The “big label” model is dead (or dying). I have heard brilliant recordings from small studios or even home-based studios and many of my friends are successfully marketing their own product and keeping the profits.