“Spotify represents an important piece of our music industry ecosystem, and the system is vulnerable,” Paul Wiltshire, CEO & Founder of music licensing platform Songtradr, writes for Music Business Worldwide. “Spotify is considering delaying its planned IPO pending renegotiating fairer terms with the three major record companies: Sony, Universal and Warner (‘the BIG 3’).”
“The BIG 3 are at a crossroads. If they continue to think short-term, they may face a future in which Apple will be the only streaming platform,” Wiltshire writes. “If Spotify and other independent streaming services fail, what will be left? Answer: the biggest company in the world, Apple Inc, along with their streaming platform, Apple Music.”
“Apple Music can afford to lose money while it quietly grows to be the number one – or the only one – streaming platform in the world,” Wiltshire writes. “Let’s put that in perspective. Assuming Apple has its recently reported $246bn cash in a bank account returning 2% interest per annum, Spotify’s 2015 losses of $184m represent about 2 weeks of interest earnings for Apple.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Tough shit. Having a better business model with more income streams is not illegal, nor should Apple be discriminated against and/or Apple’s failing competitors be unfairly propped up by the music labels.
MacDailyNews Note: Today is Washington’s Birthday in the U.S.A., a federal holiday and, as such, the U.S. markets are closed for the day. We will resume our normal posting schedule tomorrow.
Washington’s Farewell Address, September 19, 1796
SEE ALSO:
Apple Music appears to be the most artist-friendly streaming service – January 20, 2017
Apple Music still tails Spotify’s growth rate – December 19, 2016
Apple Music surpasses 20 million paid members 17 months after launch – December 6, 2016
One player is NEVER a good idea. Even Apple changes. Though they may be “good” now, the next iteration may not.
Walmart began to really grow when Sam Walton began promoting “Buying American” in the States many years ago. What happened after he died? That model was gone so quick.
They killed the cowboy.
I walked into a little house in the Hollywood Hills the other day. It is for sale, I was curious. It was beautifully set up in that old Los Angeles style. Nice hardwood floors, lots of open space, but over in one corner of a beautifully lit room was a small Electrohome Phonograph, with built in speaker and it was playing a Miles Davis album. Kind of Blue, the track was the classic So What.
I can’t explain it. After pursuing the best digital stereo sound for most of my adult life, this little turntable sounded like music from heaven. It filled the room and seemed to have so much class that if the charm of the little house didn’t sell it on its own, the phonograph had to push it over.
No wonder people are going back to vinyl.
Digital (especially ‘bad’ digital’ like most improperly converted and poorly dithered) is like razor blades on the ears.
I have a few LPs that I ripped from vinyl to digital. Clicks, scratches and all. Still like listening to those.
My turntable, amp and speakers are in storage, plus my old albums. I may get a USB turntable just for the fun of it.
As an East Coaster, I have traveled to your neck of the woods many times. I too, enjoyed the old neighborhoods and magnificent architecture harking back to the beginning of film. Good memories.
Regarding an MDN approved monopoly, guess that is fine if they do the right thing. May sound a tad naive or parochial, so be it … 🏡
Never mind pesky little things like the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. MDN has granted absolution.
Right, never mind.
It’s not illegal to HAVE a monopoly. It’s illegal to ABUSE a monopoly position.
Section 1: “Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal.”
Section 2: “Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony.
Under Section 1, they would have to “allow” other parties to compete. “Allow” is vague, but prevention is abusive.
Section 2 is unambiguous.
Yes, applecynic, Apple would have to allow fair competition. No one is saying that Apple is attempting to monopolize the music market or conspiring to do that. This is simply FUD attempting to put thst thought into the mind of the public.
Let’s do a thought experiment.
Google decides to do a streaming application using a non-approved programming language and Apple either
A) Forbids the app or
B) Allows the app for fear of anti-competitive bias
Such fun!
Your post confirmed @Well… is correct, IMHO.
How so?
Simple. Read your own post.
Okay, that was futile…
Vinyl’s quality is inferior, especially stereo records. That’s a fact, Jack.
That’s an opinion.
For it to be a fact, you would have to name what it is being compared to, especially the resolution.
All things being equal, compared to CD recording, vinyl is inferior.
Why?
1) Too much low frequency bass or harsh sibilance (from a vocalist’s “s” sounds) and the needle jumps right off the record. That means that the very low freq. bass has to be left off.
2) As the needle gets closer to the label where the circle diameter is smaller and smaller, the sound quality suffers.
3) I can’t find the source at the moment, but encoding stereo audio on to a record compromises sound quality for *both* tracks.
From the engineers who know vinyl record cutting:
http://www.laweekly.com/music/why-cds-may-actually-sound-better-than-vinyl-5352162
1) Poor isolation
2) have you ever personally noticed this?
3) because that was before needles were adopted for stereo.
I won’t argue anyone’s preference, and I won’t argue either’s format’s crown. I will say I have been an audiophile since my junior high years, jumped on CDs as soon as possible and slowly noticed the inferior sound. If you don’t hear this, there can be many reasons. I also prefer reel-to-reel over ALL other formats. MQA has really caught my ‘ear’ and seems to offer almost as good of a range as 24/96. DSD has to closest feel to air movement that vinyl (analog) offers.
If these bother you, then you need to spend more time listening and less time reading digital stats.
Did you read the article I linked? Cutting engineers have explained the limits of vinyl. The article goes into some detail about it.
No, I didn’t. Would you like to read 20 articles that say the opposite? Of course not. I learn music with my ears, not someone’s opinions and measurements. BTW, I work with audio and video equipment and KNOW what I see on the waveform monitor does not always transform into what is on the TV. Seriously, I understand the need for measurements, but years of experience has taught me, look at the picture, NOT (just) the measurements.
To follow on from my previous comment. I’d recommend reading that whole article because it gives a detailed picture of the limitations of records.
This all is not to say that it’s not fun listening to records. I have a modest collection of some old records of Sinatra and Cuomo, as well as some classical records.
But their sound quality and dynamic range are inferior to a good CD version.
So much of what people listen to is both compressed and lossy. Neither is a formula for sonic happiness.
It is amazing to see the look on a child (or adult’s) face the first time they hear an orchestra live for the first time. The same can be said for a piano or acoustic guitar in room with good acoustics. Most of what brings that sound to life is lost when the signal is compressed or when it is sampled down to the shitty rates steaming Music use. It is the difference between a McDonald’s hamburger and a great steak of Prime Beef grilled to perfection.
What is driving this whole streaming thing is the drop off in income from digital downloads and CD sales. I truly think it is being driven from the supply side rather than the demand side. They got a one time bonanza when many re-bought their library in digital downloads and things have settled back to normal. That and the fact that most of what is being pushed is no talent bullshit- a drum machine and rap by someone incapable of singing.
There is amazing new music being made in all styles that is largely being ignored by the A&R staff that would rather sign Katy Perry or Chance the Rapper for gawd only knows what reason.
Back to the vinyl, you can make a great digital recording but it is not close miked, compressed and lossy with fake percussion. What you were listening to was live musicians in a great space with the ambience intact. A close miked track with fake percussion, compression and lossy on vinyl would sound just as bad- just with clicks and pops.
Well said.
Nope. they are just ensuring that they themselves continue to operate their industry like mafiosos. They make the rules, not Apple. This is seriously nothing new, it has always been an awful situation for both consumers and artists.
No one ever seems to take Apple seriously. They’ll always claim how Apple is too late to the party or how Apple has a walled ecosystem which limits growth. They’re obviously putting AppleMusic even below Amazon’s all the content you can eat strategy. I really don’t understand the hate for Apple. It’s not as though Apple is deliberately trying to put other companies out of business by undercutting them in pricing which I’m sure Apple could afford to do. Apple will continue to keep pricing high and let consumers decide on whether their services are worth the extra cost. I know the big Wall Street investors hate that strategy but I think Apple should do what it feels best for the company’s image.
It’s unlikely Apple will squeeze out all the other music services especially if those other continue to use ad-supported tiers. I hope Spotify survives. I think it’s a really nice service although I only use the ad-supported version.
When I got my Grace Digital Internet Radio I set up a free Pandora account for it and its really great for me.
The situation is evolving and faster than ever. Look back over the 15 years to see how music access has changed.
Seems like subscription music is doing very well and bringing in revenue for both labels and provider. Of course who will make a profit out if it is another question.
Spotify went with the combination free & subscription model with the hope to convert users to the paid model. The problem with this is that they have to pay for all the free music that is being consumed and hope to make money from advertising and subscriptions. With the delayed IPOs it looks like this model is not doing too well.
I’d hate to lose Spotify: I prefer it for searching for songs I want to learn. I use Apple Music for discovering new music through it’s “For You” selections, and Pandora when I want to play a particular genre.
Apple Music still sucks.
Oh the irony!
The music companies embraced streaming as a way of reducing the power of Apple. Of course they then got up to the same stupid tricks all the media execs i.e. TV, Movies and Music have done which is to gradually destroy the financial model of those firms i.e. Spotify.
Netflix would have met the same grisly fate except they were smart enough to get out before that happened and now rely on their own content rather than being held hostage by the media execs.
Excellent point regarding the media masters.
As we are painfully aware, Apple is impotent against the video masters of movies and TV shows. Jobs reigned in the music masters, something sorely lacking today.
Apple TV Service, hello?
Apple TV television set, hello?
Skinny bundle, hello?
Partial Netflix/Amazon competitor on iTunes.
Apple has the cash to get it done. What they don’t have is the savvy business players absent the swagger, and the will … 🚧
Cough cough – Amazon – Cough
Child think themselves lucky there are endless companies out there happy to incorporate serious loss leaders to build a business, whereas the accountants at Apple would probably have a heart attack at any such talk beyond a short initial period. Hell as we have seen even small profits (by comparison) in screens and wifi products aren’t good enough for them when attempting to get a good nights sleep.
if you read between the lines:
it seems the writer is saying Apple is the ONLY ONE that is TRANSFERRING it’s OWN money made ELSEWHERE to SUBSIDIZE:
— musicians
— music execs and labels
— consumers
and they are sort of labelled as the ‘evil one’.
(subsidize ‘music execs’ , y’know the guys who live in mansions and are carted around in limos… )
( Apple did not start the streaming wars, they only reluctantly jumped on it because the industry was so gung-ho on it to weaken Apple’s iTunes digital sales. The streaming industry model was set up by OTHERS not Apple. streaming might be GOOD for CONSUMERS but don’t blame Apple for Music Inc’s woes )
“and they are sort of labelled as the ‘evil one’.”
this line is missing a ‘YET’
“and YET they are sort of labelled as the ‘evil one’.
I always get confused about the independence of Spotify isnt it part owned by the major record comapanies, ie Sony/Universal/EMI et al?
Fuck Rental Rap.
Maybe rental of someone running their mouth over a drum track is preferred, but Music is worth paying for. The stream is also low quality.
Not exactly sure what great purpose labels serve these days. Apple could always allow artists to directly market their wares with an agency fee like apps and books. If Apple wants to increase revenue, offer an upgrade of existing tracks to Apple lossless similar to the old iTunes Plus program. The same could be offered to upgrade SD video to HD.
I harbor no romantic illusions about vinyl. Even back in the day I longed for a playback system without pop, clicks, wow ‘n flutter, surface noise and warped records. I had an 8-track analog multitrack studio back in the 80’s and heard wonderful analog sound from half track stereo masters & original analog tracks.
If sound is properly mixed for digital in my estimation there’s no problems. Most of the bad rap from digital occurred with early D/A and bad CD transfers. Those days are long gone. Most of the damage these days is horrible distortion done intentionally from over-normalized recordings robbing us of transients, dynamic range and cleaner sound. It’s such a ridiculous, moronic application of “making it louder” at the expense of all else.
Pay the musicians and artists!
P A R A N O I A
Silly article.
Meanwhile, the media oligarchy remains deliberately intrenched in doing things the bad old 20th century way. The future is here and eating them alive for their foolishness as well as their bad attitude toward their customers. If only the old guard would drop dead and wiser, younger, modern minds prevailed.
Waiting…
Oh and: I NEVER rent music. I OWN music. So with respect to these tuneage rental systems, they’re your choice, not mine. IMHO tune rental is one of the silly notions of the 21st century. But if it’s what you want, go for it. Just don’t whine when your rental ends and your tuneage vanishes. Own that.
If I was more serious about music, I could see buying everything. The reality is that I only listen occasionally. The best part about streaming is having the enormous catalog available when I want to hear something new. Spotify’ suggestions were excellent when I was trying it. Apple Music does a pretty good job at it, too.
Another other big selling point is the family plan that covers my whole family for $15 / mo.
That said, I certainly understand the counter arguments to streaming music.
The sooner Apple becomes a monopoly the sooner it can be broken up. It’s called creative destruction. Apple will be much better off. How many people have dreamed of the Mac line being spun off as a separate company? It’ll never happen of Apple’s own free will. Bust up the monopoly.
“The sooner Apple becomes a monopoly the sooner it can be broken up.”
They are NOT a monopoly and as long as hundreds of companies sell computers, smartphones, tablets, et al. — not going to happen. Bottom line, get real.
“It’s called creative destruction.”
It’s called creative 🐂💩.
“Apple will be much better off. How many people have dreamed of the Mac line being spun off as a separate company? It’ll never happen of Apple’s own free will.”
Semi-interesting speculation but at the end of the day wishful thinking. Wherever Apple Produces Macs is fine with me. And they know better than you and I how to get it done.
The major record labels did that to themselves thru poor decisions, bad deal and greed. There was a time when Atlantic records had no interest in manufacturing more Led Zeppelin CD’s and Apple was like, sure we’ll take their catalog and sell it. Thus, WHY the majors killed themselves. They work to negotiate unfair record deals with so many artists, that they forgot their assets is the catalog itself. IF they would have distributed their catalog thru their own websites right away (after retail was useless), then they would be a much better situation today. Steve Jobs knew content is king.
Streaming only helps the company (Apple) the artist is screwed with pointless royalty payments and no sales due to the all you can eat for $9.99 model. Apple is the music now The killer chopping albums into ‘quotes’ rather than the whole LP story and paying micro pence for streaming instead of selling the whole albums as the Artist intended. Streaming is all about monthly income for the streaming company the artist is totally abused and ignored.
Streaming services like Apple have shown recent trends of bad royalty payments and no sales going direct to artists.
Interesting perspective!
Streaming services like Apple have shown recent trends of poor royalty payments and no sales going directly to artists. I find it very sad that Apple Music is capitalizing on this and signing major music deals with artists like Taylor Swift and Chance the Rapper who publicly and openly have shamed streaming services (Ex: Spotify) that do almost the same exact thing that Apple Music is.
I understand that Apple Music is paying artists to get the same authority to use an artists music however they choose; however, is that really the best solution the music industry can come up with? Artists and fans need to find a middle ground where they can connect as a community and neither end (especially the artists) is going to get the short end of the stick.