“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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