“EMI Group Plc and online music sellers including Microsoft Corp. halted talks aimed at removing copyright protection from songs because they couldn’t agree on the size of an advance payment, people briefed on the offer said,” Dina Bass and Andy Fixmer report for Bloomberg.
Bass and Fixmer report, “EMI, the third-largest music company, demanded an upfront payment to compensate for its risk in releasing the music without software that prevents copying, the people said. The retailers countered with a lower offer, which EMI rejected, and negotiations are now on hold, the people said.”
“Discussions included Microsoft, Apple Inc., RealNetworks Inc., Yahoo! Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., and a deal with some of them seemed close two weeks ago, the people said. CD sales slid last year, giving the idea traction as record companies look to reverse their fortunes. An announcement with London-based EMI had been planned for as early as Feb. 9, one of the people said,” Bass and Fixmer report.
“‘It’s a setback,’ Harold Vogel, an independent media analyst in New York, said in an interview. ‘That this industry fights every change tooth-and-nail is not helping reverse the tide.’ Talks have been further complicated by Warner Music Group Corp.’s efforts to buy EMI. Warner Chief Executive Officer Edgar Bronfman opposes offering music without the copyright software,” Bass and Fixmer report.
Full article here.
Stupidity, shortsightedness, and greed make for a dangerous cocktail. The Middlebronfman will ultimately be eliminated.
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