“Apple is reportedly pushing hard to re-launch their new and improved MobileMe service this April, but what hasn’t been mentioned is that they’re pressuring major record labels to have all of the music licenses in place for the long rumored locker service planned for launch at the same time,” Wayne Rosso reports for The Music Void.
“Informed sources say that Apple has sealed its deal with Warner and has been using that agreement to leverage the other labels to get the deals done in time for the April launch,” Rosso reports. “The locker service will reportedly have somewhere around a $20 annual price tag.”
Rosso reports, “Apple may actually get some pushback from Sony… However, considering the backbone of the typical record label executive when it comes to tampering in any way with about 70% of their digital revenue, don’t expect any profiles in courage. The reality is that, no matter what Jon Bon Jovi says, the record industry is Steve Jobs’ bitch. Jobs knows it and so does everyone else.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Sign on the dotted line bitches (you, too, Jon) and let Steve Jobs make you even more money.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
$20 is about what MobileMe is worth. Provided that iDisk is FINALLY fixed.
I already have MobileMe and all my music on convenient enough devices. Nothing to get hot & bothered about here. Free MobileMe would be nice though.
I am clearly in the minority, but I like MobileMe. iDisk is certainly slow, but I’m in no rush to transfer files. We all have our own e-mail accounts and storage, but the synch part of it is just great across all of our devices. I will miss all this if it goes.
The sync part would be even better if it didn’t duplicate all my contacts at least once a year.
I LOVE MobileMe – always have. The only improvement I would like to see added to MobileMe would be for Apple to buy Dropbox and implement it into MobileMe to replace iDisk. I have no problems with iDisk (stability or speed) but I do like the way Dropbox works and think it would be an incredible improvement to MobileMe.
Digital locker with an annual fee sounds too much like a rebranded music subscription service.
This doesn’t seem like Apple’s style.
I think this is still just record companies clinging to hope that they can soak customers in a new way, to replace the gouging “album concept” of the old days.
I am highly sceptical of the veracity of this rumour.
@NHL
You’re still buying the music, so no, it’s not a subscription. And it says nothing about excluding single track purchases from iTunes so, no, the album concept isn’t being forced on anyone.
A music locker is a great idea if it will store your photos, music and your movies. If you have an iPad or an iPhone, you don’t have to carry it all with you yet you can access it all on demand when you want to.
Makes these mobile devices even more useful. Now if that would just work with document files for secure storage based on the application, you can really leave that laptop behind.
I think MDN needs a “Think Before You Click” warning on the original article link. Looking at other articles published by this website, they love to post stories containing misinformation about Apple and all the old tired cliches like “walled garden” and “Apple WILL fail if they don’t change”.
I don’t advise anyone clicking the link. The site condones Apple trolls.
DONT FEED THE TROLL.
What is a “digital locker” and more importantly is what gives the record companies rights to where I store my data?
If Apple gives me a place to store my “purchases” why is it the record companies business?
Hmm, music locker… media locker?
Might a music locker for $20 lead us to ‘media locker’ for an additional $20?
I’m a huge Mac fan and always have been. When I got into the graphic design trade in NYC I had a mac with 16 MHz of processing speed. When I bumped up my RAM to and 2 MB I was told by the installer, that I had a Ferrari in my Apt. Times have changed, some for the better and some, well …..,
I loved what Jon Bon Jovi said. And if you never experienced that part about owning music, you either aren’t a music fan or are too young to have ever walked through 4000 sq ft of space filled with artwork on music.
Trust me, somethings are about an entire experience with heart and soul and NOT money.
And you’re referring to what exactly? The fact that some music albums really are meant to be heard in their entirety does not in any way change the fact that the music industry has cranked out thousands (perhaps millions) of mediocre albums containing a couple of hits and little more. I’ll wager that I’m older than you, friend, and I remember when most LP’s possessed a certain artistic integrity. Not anymore they don’t! The record companies got exactly what they deserved in the end, and the artists owe their livelihoods to the record companies. So there you go.
There’s plenty of artists recording great albums today. You just have to dig a little deeper and not rely on the major record companies to spoon feed it to you.
Blah blah blah. I had that experience. My parents had that experience. My children like my granparents and great grandparent before them will not have that experience. The record store was but a brief moment in time. Enjoy your nostalgia, but don’t force it upon everyone else.
Until Steve is able to twist Universal’s arm about this, the remaining three will be harder to convince. Uni is the biggest, stupidest, most stubborn player in the music industry.
“What is a “digital locker” and more importantly is what gives the record companies rights to where I store my data?”
The music you get from iTunes is NOT YOUR DATA. It remains the property of the copyright holder (record company) ; when you give money to iTunes you are paying for a LICENSE to use it in a specific way.
If the manner in which you access/use the data changes, Apple needs to negotiate new rights with the record company.
Hey Macromancer,
The Music Void are not trolls and do not condone any trolls. In fact the only trolls we seem to get on our site are pro mac trolls.
And just for the record everything we publish is evidence based.
I use a Macbook Pro as yes the UI is better than windows. However the reliability of the actual laptop is extremely poor in comparison to my previous macs.
So get a life and actually read the stories/posts before making unsubstantiated slandering comments OK?
WTF is a Bon Jovi? Sounds like a disease.
It’s bad medicine. Stay away from it.