“Tim Cook brought Jimmy Iovine, Dr. Dre and Ian Rogers into the fold for a reason,” Rocco Pendola writes for Seeking Alpha. “I reckon Apple is about to do something big, something like start, even if informally, a modern day record label.”
“Ahead of the U2 appearance, I speculated Apple might be keen on creating a record label for the 21st Century. It appears – at least with U2 – they’re headed in something like that direction. Bono said it himself – he, his band, his people and Apple have plans,” Pendola writes. “By taking over – or at least promoting and facilitating – all parts of the process for (select) recording artists, Apple has a multi-billion dollar business on its hands, one it can integrate with its existing businesses to drive additional revenue there.”
“We know Ian Rogers runs and will run iTunes Radio and whatever becomes of Beats Music for Apple,” Pendola writes. “But where do Iovine and Dre fit in? Without big plans to upend the music industrial complex they really don’t have a meaningful place. At least not one worth the $3 billion it cost to acquire them and their headphones company.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Apple to shut down Beats Music, sources say – September 22, 2014
U2’s Bono talks 885 million iTunes accounts, new music format, and ‘haters’ – September 22, 2014
Apple Records.
Hey,
Didn’t the Beetle group had music label called Apple? Didn’t Apple Inc settled out of court for using the name Apple?
Does any one know?
My understanding of that case is YES, Apple,Inc. settled all the legal issues with Apple Corp regarding using the name “Apple” with anything musical. Apple, Inc. owns all the rights to the use of “Apple” for music since the Beatles are now longer recording or using the “Apple Corps apple logo” on any of their current music which is also not being recorded in Abbey Road Studios. I’m guessing that the huge Beatles Catalog & ex-Beatles recordings on iTunes with heavy promotion was part of that settlement & maybe Apple, Inc. does not receive any portion of any of the sales from iTunes for The Beatles / ex-Beatles record sales. Steve Jobs LOVED The Beatles, so I am merely assuming that was part of the settlement as having the new digital entire catalog of The Beatles on iTunes first was a major deal with him personally.
At some point, we will begin hearing mounting anti-trust noise. It doesn’t help that Apple is now the biggest corporation in the world (by market cap), and if they end up taking a competing position in so many industries (music, book publishing, TV, mobile…), the American justice department will begin looking.
While it is entirely legal in America to have a monopoly position in a market segment, it is illegal to abuse that position to prevent competition. Unfortunately, this abuse becomes a rather relative concept, as it requires a great deal of interpretation as to how competition was prevented. Also, in many ways, the action of the justice department usually depends on who is in the white house. Microsoft was actively pursued during Clinton’s presidency. The final verdict came down in 1999, and the initial sentence was the break-up of company in two. However, when the administration changed hands in 2001, the new Bush Jr. justice department settled with Microsoft with no meaningful remedy for consumers (or punishment for MS).
If American presidency remains in the hands of the Democratic party (and as it looks now, the chances are high that it will), Apple may be at risk of anti-trust investigation(s).
I’m not convinced record companies are even needed in this day and age.
Artists have so many ways to cultivate their own brand online.
Myth.
lol hey its possible. I’m not in the industry I readily admit.
Given U2’s statement that they’ve been working on a new, interactive music format with Apple for 3 years, then Dre and Iovine’s connections in the industry, plus the huge sales in recent years of musical artists who have released their albums as apps, and you’ve got yourself a Boom in the making.
It’s what comes next, clearly.
Think: Apple Passbook… but for music.
Name any industry in which Apple is even a majority player? They sell a minority of computers, phones, digital music and books, etc. How can you be a monopoly when your competitors are selling more in every field? They are not even close to being a monopoly. They are very profitable, but they are not any kind of monopoly anywhere.
In my house they are. 🙂
Monopoly in my house too. 🙂
Oh Rocco is back, and improved, he’s only made an article mentioning himself only nine times. Quite the drop from the thirties. Too bad it just reveals how clueless he is.
“The next billion dollar business is to create the equivalent of a modern day record label”
Gee how profound, uh probable, I mean whatever that sorta kinda possibly, clearly nebulously means.
Duh, Apple has been in the equivalent of the music business since the late seventies. Just follow the Apple/Apple lawsuits Rocco (oh gosh he’s going to have a brain freeze if he reads this).
So for the moron Rocco who can’t ical or do research or anything but spew like the so called modern day equivalent of a jouranalist let’s go over Apple’s music history.
-Apple Computers founded in 1976, a name took very close to a record label Rocking Rocco.
– Apple added MIDI and audio-recording capabilities to its computers (1986), just like a Recording Rocco.
– In 1991 Apple Computer agreed that it would not package, sell or distribute physical music materials, so they could not be the ancient day equivalent of a record label.
– 2003- iTunes stores, the equivalent of a record label here. You story Rocco is only about a decade too late. So the bad news is that your brain is moving about 10 years behind the pace of others, the good news is that it’s moving and is well suited for a career in jouranalism.
You can relax now, there would still be a position if your brain wasn’t moving at all, syriasly.
Now On 5 February 2007, Apple Inc. (2007) bought all the trademarks related to “Apple” and licensed them back to “Apple Corps.” a music business.
It’s all deja vu Rocco, that is for those who don’t have their nose glued to their navel and can’t see beyond it.
“The modern day equivalent of a record label” = uhhhh, a record label.
If Apple is intending to create their own ‘record label’, expect them to take their time and Do It Right. iTunes Schooled the rest of the music business on how to distribute digital music and get people to pay for it, thus saving it from implosion.