“The record industry may be on the verge of waving the white flag in front of Apple boss Steve Jobs, and abandoning its demand for iTunes to charge different prices for different songs,” Tim Arango reports for The New York Post. “Negotiations between Apple and the four major music companies – with which iTunes deals all expire in the next two months – have reached a crucial point as several record executives now say they are unlikely to convince Jobs to allow variable pricing, sources said. This marks a change of tune for the record industry as late last year several executives said they believed variable pricing – something the music companies have been pushing for – was imminent.”
“But Jobs has dug in his heels on the issue, creating the potential for a showdown between the mercurial Apple boss and the record industry should the labels continue to push for variable pricing. Some executives even mentioned to The Post the possibility that some labels may end up pulling their music from the service, which is by far the most popular of the digital download services. While sources say this is a remote possibility, the fact that it is even mentioned indicates the talks have been anything but amicable,” Arango reports. “One high-level music industry executive, who believes the record industry will ultimately abandon its push for variable pricing, blamed the labels for not standing up to Jobs. ‘Where in life does the retailer set the price of the content?’ said this person.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The option of pulling music from iTunes Music Store came and went long ago. Steve Jobs has the power now and, if the past is any indication, he’ll wield it accordingly to “negotiate” a favorable outcome for Apple.
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Yep – just saw the post. This is terrific. Now if only the movie studios would follow (and allow persistent downloads of flicks.)
(fingers crossed)
That’s cool, create an advesarial relationship. Guaranteed the 1st opportunity everyone gets to ditch Apple, they will.
‘Where in life does the retailer set the price of the content?’
@ Apple…get ready to Think Different beeotches
money talks, its obvious this is what people want, the one thing i hope itunes never does though is subscription, nothing puts people off more than feeling forced into spending money. – that said an option for this on tv sshows is ok – but nothing else
“Where in life does the retailer set the price of the content?”
Ummmm . . . Wal-Mart. Home Depot. Lowe’s. Any big box store.
Hello?
again, and this time it will probably be worse than last quarter’s miss.
Which can drag apple down with it. as it did last time.
if anyone recalls, apple was near $80, then google posted bad results.
At the rate ITMS is selling their product, I doubt they’re too upset with Jobs. I’m sure at least a few of the marketing execs at the labels realize that consistent pricing is part of what brings customers to ITMS in the first place.
Yeh-heh-hehessssss . . . leave it to de record labels to cave faster than a $5 alley-dwelling crack whore.
Or Paris Hilton.
I can never keep them straight.
Money that iTunes Music Store generates for the record companies is why Steve Jobs can get away with this. Do you think if iTMS sells were like napster he could do this, not a chance.
Besides we should support Steve in this decision, why should we have to pay more for a song because this week it in the top 10 and next week someone get the same song cheeper because it fell out of the top 10.
All songs same price no matter of age and popularity.
“Favorable outcome” for Apple hopefully = favorable outcome for music lovers…
$.99 is the way it was…
$.99 is the way it should always be…
If they want variable pricing capped at 99¢ then fine. But don’t think I’m going to pay $1.49 for a single simply because they’ve paid radio stations to overplay the song.
Uhhh…ditch Apple to go where exactly? Napster? Rhapsody? Please. iTunes is the ONLY online music store that is making the record companies any money, and the only one consumers are purchasing from (80+% market share for online downloads).
If they pull their music because iTunes wont allow variable pricing and it gets out to the public, the record companies will look like greedy asses, and they know it. People identify with iTunes, and if the music they are looking for is pulled because iTunes was trying to keep their music at 99 cents, who do you think they will be behind?
I smell fear in the labels. Fear that one day Apple will one day cut the middle man and just go straight to the artist.
Apple: hey, wanna split it 50-50.
Artist: Hell yea!
“”Where in life does the retailer set the price of the content?””
Walmart regularly dictates to its suppliers what the price of the products they buy from them will be. For a company to defy them is suicide. Walmart has put plenty of companies out of business and done massive harm by their dictatorial powers based on their sheer size.
Where in life does the retailer set the price of the content?
WalMart.
When you’re big enough, you can do it.
In principal, there is nothing wrong with variable pricing. No one questions the idea of paying more for BMW than a Ford. And, God knows not all music is created equal. There are gems and a lot of crap. So, in principal, I can see that some music is worth paying more and a lot is worth paying less.
The problem, of course, is that the record companies have totally lost our trust in fairly pricing a variable priced model. Their idea variable pricing is a $1.50 for a moldy oldy, $3.00 for a new release and $20 for an album. Their past greed has negated their negotiation position.
I’d pay $1.29 for Apple Lossless compression, and considering all the iTunes in my Library I’d have to repurchase that would be a lot of cabbage. But I’d rather pay the $0.30 upgrade fee! Either way, I’d like higher-quality downloads. I really can tell the difference.
Hey, Walmart keeps Trailer Park Trash fed and clothed.
Don’t go dissing Walmart.
Jobs is speaking for all of us not just Apple. Thanks to him we probably won’t have to pay higher prices, which are high enough as it is for our music. Of course it’s good for Apple to and Jobs is protecting Apple’s part naturally. But he is right in the fact that if they raised the prices for downloads people would go back to piracy. And yes there still are a lot who still pirate music but then there are a lot who now buy from iTunes because it is so darn easy and really not that expensive. The best part is that Mac users and Windows users can use the same software and buy what they want. Try that on any other service which are all IE6 only.
theyre playing by steves rule now. how do ya like dem apples, music labels??
makes a refreshing change.
You want to lose 70+% of your paid digital sales? You want to get locked out of tens of millions of iPods in the hands of those most likely to buy digital music legally? You want to piss off these very customers? You want to start the next round of music file sharing?
These greedy people do not understand that the basics of the market have changed. People are not going to spend CD prices for 128 AAC with DRM when they can get it any number of ways.
If you take away iTMS they can buy a used CD for 1/2 price or less, rip it and resell it– getting the whole CD without DRM encoded in the format of their choice for a couple of bucks. Since no internet is involved and billions of CDs are out in the used CD market they can do NOTHING about it and it can’t be tracked by the RIAA and their cohorts. Others will just swap CDs or use online file sharing.
There is no virginity restorer at the pharmacy and no way to close Pandora’s Box. The RIAA members need to wake up and realize that the sun has set on their business model and a new Sheriff is in town.
Hey RIAA. You don’t like Steve Jobs? iTunes has too much control? Fine, cut out the demand for DRM. Now, you’ve just leveled the playing field. And maybe then you can get variable pricing.
‘Where in life does the retailer set the price of the content?’
Hihi,
“Come gather around people wherever you roam,
and admit that the waters around you have grown,
And accept it that soon you’ll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’.”
Bob Dylan ©1963
These guys still don’t get it. The digital age is here. Retailer, schmetailer!
MW: “long” as in, how long does it take for them to wake up?
Variable pricing will result in an increase in illegal downloads at this infancy stage of digital music.
Steve Jobs is also representing the people.
The Record Labels once again are the hardcore thieves.