iPodDailyNews - Where iPod news comes first

Look up "big, sweaty conglomeration of interest conflicts" in the dictionary and you'll see Sony's logo.

My dictionary shows Steve Ballmer's backside...!

And because of their behavior, when I go to drop $3000-3500 on a new HD TV in the next few months, Sony isn't even going to be a consideration.

iTunes is going to win here, especially is artists are willing to defect.

I keep thinking back a few years and am amazed at Apple's newfound strength. Our little Apple has grown up!

A cartel is a group of producers whose goal it is to fix prices, to limit supply and to limit competition. .

From Wikipedia

If the shoe fits, call it what it is.

Apple turf? Apple has no turf we loaned them the side walk, and we can take it back. We own the music and we own what people listen too. Just cause you bought a book at the book store does not mean WHO wrote the damn book! So what right do you have on saying how much the book should cost? If you like to buy it at our price then just listen to the radio.

You call me a greedy pig.. and yet you sit there and listen to songs and tunes that my studios cranked out. We search for the best talents and musicians we bring them together because we think it will make the world a little nicer if we can make good music. If that means that we need more money to help us serve you better why is your pants on fire?.. Shouldn't you be happy that we can use this money to make better songs for you...

Gosh aren't you all mac heads brainless... You tell us to stop looking at the now and focus on long term profits.. WE are.. we are trying to make better products for you.. just like how apple charges 300 bucks for a mp3 player that cost almost 100 bucks to make! ARENT you the greedy one apple???????

have a brain mac guys.. please just cause u lost the OS war does not mean you should still walk around all bitter like wounded animals.

MW : OWES as in APPLE OWES THE MUSIC INDUSTRY A PIE OF THAT SWEET IPOD PIE

Music Label Executive - ANON!

No music executive would write such bad English as you do.

Dear Music Label Exec.
If you claim to want a piece, just buy Apple stock and you can. It is called diversification of your corporate investment portfolio, and you should be able to find how well your investment income is doing as it is found on your income statement towards the bottom.

Second, there are many arguements recently about the labels wanting a direct portion of iPod profits. Do you also seek to gain profits from cd player manufacturers? That is where most of your music is played, correct? Your arguement is seriously flawed. I do not buy an iPod to just listen to music. I have it to transfer files, calendar items, phone numbers, etc. I listen to podcasts, audiobooks, and music.

If you really want to ensure the profitability of your business, you need to examine your inventory -- and I don't mean the stacks of cd's in the warehouse. Your inventory is the artist. Make the process more efficient to maximize the cost/benefit ratio as well as improving the creativity of the artist. You will see greater profit with lower costs.

Remove layers of unnecessary services and unprofitable business. Large organizations tend to increase bureucratic levels as time goes by, and then they believe that they cannot go without. Increasing communications between artists and executives will also improve the output of the quality of the inventory.

Improvement is up to you. Just like any business, the only way to do better is to get it done. Don't blame outside forces because they seem unfair. Modify your mindset and your company in order to succeed. Those who don't end up exiting, and I suspect that more and more music companies will begin to do this.

Charko,

Unless ANON is an executive at Death Row Records...

...Just kidding, Suge Knight, don't kill me!!!!

Music exec (not!):

Ha Ha! Are you always this funny when drunk at a karaoke bar?

Just another jokester who has no command of English spelling and grammar.

A real music exec would have had his lawyer write such a reply, and the result would have turgin, inpenetrable prose.

I'm looking forward to seeing you in the museum, in the "20th Century Artifiacts" display.

If you are making more per downloaded track than you do per track on a CD, and yet think that's a bad deal, then you ARE a Greedy Pig.

If you think you deserve some sort of royalty from a device that you had no hand in making, have no proprietary technology invested in, and which is in fact spurring the download market (from which you do deserve a cut), then you ARE a Greedy Pig.

And if you think killing this golden goose, simply because you don't 'control' it, is actually a better corporate strategy then just adapting your business plan to the unalterable realities that the digital world has foisted on all of us, then you are a STUPID Greedy Pig.

Go sit under a bridge and watch the world go by, you Troll. You don't need a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows ... but you do need a brain.

a record label exec would have to be reading a long time to use terms like "M/W" which only regular readers of MDN know.

MW: possible

Help!
I'm ready to sign up with Sony Japan if this forum does not get more interesting

For anyone interested in the growing war between artists, labels and technology, feel free to visit Channel 4 (UK)'s article today.

http://edge.channel4.com/news/2005/10/week_1/06_download.wmv

Sadly, Windows Mediocre Player required, although it does work in QuickTime if you have Flip4Mac installed (strangely, it looks better - go figure).

Actually I do have a say in how much the book costs in the bookstore. If no one buys a book because they think it is overpriced, then the price will go down or else the manufacturing costs will be money down the drain.

I was listening to a strange little tune by Hoagy Carmichael the other day and thinking that in today's music market, songs like that wouldn't have a chance of being recorded - not because there isn't a market for them (I'm sure there are lots of wierdos like me out there), but because these big conglomerates dictate what the market should look like.

I would, more than anything else, like to see ITMS become a label and let musicians communicate more directly with the listening public. I just don't think there are that many people who truly like to listen to Jessica Simpson sing...

While your comments are at most a slight pinch, I will take them because you have given me enough fuel to use on Steve Jobs himself. So thank you, I appreciate it!

As for business sense Macman you obviously are a first semester business major.. I can see the green of your words. If you want to stay alive you have to defend your profits.

Don’t tell me about profits when I spend 10 million for a R n B video. We do not need another MTV on our hands. We are protecting our inventory and when we see extra funds to allow us to make the nice videos, beats and songs, we go for it. Pick a hit song today.. any hit song.. and tell me if you would have heard of it without our marketing machines. We own the radio stations, and we get a cut for every single CD. So iTunes should not be any different..

As for the "mac head" (Odyssey67) who called iTunes a golden goose.. well you are right, iTunes is a golden goose.. and an anorexic one at that, how many songs does apple have, compared to an illegal P2P network? . Just think if we raise the prices, more artists would want to join Apple.. which would speed up the growth of the music library. One place to find all your songs.. rare, new, old.. Apple would have the capability to beat any P2P network! And you can download your songs with ease and legally!

So I say let Apple grow with more songs with larger profit margins which would be more than enough to bring more artists.. MTV is a lost cause.. there are more naked people having their "real world" experience on that channel then there are music videos and songs. Lets do it right this time!

MW: OPEN as in OPEN your eyes you blind MAC fools!!!!!!! you call me greedy when inevitably Apple will raise the price of music.. Apple stock is not going to be oil proof forever! Not if there are "HERO's" like me around to save you from yourselves. Wake up from the reality distortion!

Music Label Exec:
Of course you get a cut on every CD. You also get a cut on the songs sold on iTunes. You just don't get it do you? The consumer drives the iTunes sales, not the labels, and you delivered this to us all when you stated that you own the radio stations (Clear Channel et al). The radio stations drive the popular music because the DJ's play what the labels tell them to.
The iPod scares the labels because there is no advertising revenue, yet -- unless the Podcast phenomenon takes off. This cuts off another revenue stream altogether for the music industry.

Instead of fighting against consumers and technology, grasp it all and change. It hurts, and I am not saying that it won't, but the market is changing and the big players are still desperately haning on to the old business ideologies of the 80's and 90's. This is very evident by the numerous MTV/Apple references. You didn't sell videos to the consumer through MTV -- it was a direct sell to the consumer to try to entice them to buy the cd. The artists that got to make the best/most expensive videos got the most air time on MTV and thust the most cd sales. iTunes and iPods are much different as the consumer now has a direct say in what they listen to instead of being spoon fed media from the conglomerates regardless of how much a label spends on a video.

I say stop making video fodder and just give consumers what they are willing to pay for -- music for a decent price (which will slow P2P trading). You don't have to spend a lot of money to do this -- evident by artists bypassing their labels to go directly to iTunes. They get it, consumers are now getting it, and hopefully the labels will get it or -- bye, bye!

Revenue protection is not a real issue here. It comes down to business ethics. All busniesses need to make money or they go out of business, and everyone realizes that. What the consumers are so angry about is that we all see the big labels trying to raise rates above the reasonable threshold of $.99. This is viewed as greedy by the consumer. Be fair in your pricing, and eventually the market will mature. This will bring lower P2P trades and higher profits for all. Raise the rates and you will stunt the growth. I for sure will not purchase any more songs on iTunes if the prices increase. I have spent over $1,000 since it opened. Your welcome for your $600 of precious revenue.

If Music Label Executive is what he says he is, then he exemplifies his own problem:

The music industry HATES their customers. That is the clear message we get from the RIAA and from the Music Label Executive messages above. They are more than happy to directly insult their customers. They want to completely control them.

Sure, they aren't the only industry that hates its customers, but hating your customer is a good long-term plan for failure, and a good formula for a bitter, bitter life. Sadly, music customers know that they are hated. There is no mystery if music sales are slow.

I honestly would like Apple to allow labels to raise their prices. Then I will see blatantly advertised in the price exactly which labels want to abuse me as a customer, and I can avoid buying their music.

Customers do not know what they want. They can only complain.

Did customers know what they wanted when Steven Wozniak and Steve Jobs released the 58 watt Apple I in 1976? No... did they care? No.. they wanted to make a computer system that was portable for themselves and fellow programmers..

Just like how customers did not know what they wanted when the Dulcimer (if you don’t know what this is then you, the reader obviously are not a mac head) was first introduced in October 2001?? ( Yea go google Dulcimer.. I'll be right here when you get back with a whole list of new insults)

I am protecting my artists right to make more money and so in turn my own companies rights to make more money. just cause i have the balls to talk about it and fight back does not automatically make me a greedy pig. It makes me an aggressive business man!


I dont hate my customers I thank you for buying the music i produce but I produced it and I control how much its going to be, regardless of demand.

I just think its funny how the insults have died down and all you are left with is useless banter.. guess everyone’s apple love here is only skin deep. Stop repeating and saying over and over about how we bully you, and how we hate you.. you buy our music and thats how its going to be. We need to survive and we shall do so as we see fit.

Now go.. make a website called flawedmusicexecutive.com and write all my posts as a transcript.

MW: deep as in mac heads devotion and loyalty is only skin deep.

Music Label Executive >

And, of course, charging your artists for packaging on digital downloads when there is no packaging demonstrates just what an honest industry you and your colleagues operate.

Or shall we analyse the case of the European CD ripping industry - particularly those in the UK - who are being persecuted by the music industry for providing a service to allow legitimate owners of CDs to enjoy their music library to the full. Never mind that a private consumer could rip their own music and never face the risk of prosecution; the music industry doesn't like it when somebody makes any money out of music - no matter how tangential - and they don't get their noses in the trough. How much of the money generated from the license fees will see its way into an artist's pocket? 2%? Maybe 3% if they're lucky.

But we'll get the old chestnut about needing the money to invest in new artists; utter BS - an £80 million advance to Robbie Williams from EMI, £35 million for Virgin to pay off Mariah Carey, an alleged $80 million to REM.

As I've recently said on a number of posts, the only difference between the music industry and the Mafia is that one is a bunch of guys with silly haircuts and loud clothes and the other is an Italian criminal fraternity.

Exec:
You insult yourself because you must be a mac follower if you know the history.

We do know what we want, and we do complain. You will find yourself without your golden parachute soon if you don't realize what is going on. Maybe you need to go back to school to figure this out.

Why do you think the services industry has grown to be so large -- especially ones that provide great customer service?

Get out of your shell and get in deep with consumers. This is a good start for you, but until you understand what we want, you will just continue to loose money. Why do you think the P2P swapping has been so successful?

MacMan,

Where are all your fellow mac heads ??? No one is left to fight? All you have is lines that you read from your economics book.
p2p works becasue everyone.. is cheap .. face it. What I suggest if you want to keep 99 cents is to run advertising just like how google does and give us that money.. that way everyone is happy.. You of course the end customer get you privacy invaded.. but thats bound to happen sooner or later...

Apple will sell your information up the creek just to have "An all time high" in their stock prices.

Please everyone.. i beg you.. save yourselves and meaningless Office:MAC incompatibility errors and get windows XP.. and buy a good antivirus software like it says in the good book.. its better for you.

Pages is fun but wheres excel??? far far away....

MW Shift-Apple-Q: as in logout and shutdown. its over.

MacMan,

P2P works cause people are cheap. the service industry is large?? where?? it cut throat.. you guys even turned on apple saying the nano scratches too much.. unless u are talking about waiting tables then oh yea its a huge industry

Customers dont know what they want thats why i am here to save them.. from itunes and from apple. go back to windows..

MW : Shift-Apple-Q. Logout. Shutdown and forget about it.. its over.

MacMan >

Don't get too worried about MLE's insults.

He/she (more likely, it) works for an industry that has flouted the law, used bribes, defrauded artists, been prosecuted for anti-social behaviour (here in the UK at least) and a whole lot more besides.

From a £3.00 ringtone here in the UK, an artist will receive 12p - the Government receives 45p in tax, which leaves £2.43 which pretty much gets carved up by the phone company and the music company: but the artist paid for the recording studio time and the mixing and the mastering, not to mention the work involved in writing the song in the first place (obviously this doesn't apply to many artists).

So the record company would like you to believe that, if a ringtone is sold one million times, that the £1.2 million pounds it generates is taken up by marketing: again pure BS, because it doesn't take into account the fact that the record company also makes money from radio play, physical sales, digital downloads and other sources.

And it also ignores that much of the record industry's marketing activity is centered around illegal fly-posting (the afore-mentioned illegal fly-posting) for which they pay next to nothing.

well, kiddies....

Music Exec has shown his/her true colors... they're just a troll looking for attention. they've gone from what was first a bearly plausable arguement to FUD to pure fiction and desperation within a few paragraphs. but let's not crush them, oh no. just allow them to continue to make themselves look more and more idiotic and misinformed and eventually, after they've grown bored, they'll go away.

Please... DON'T FEED THE TROLLS.

Oh, and one last thing.

I still would like to see Apple purchase EMI Group plc (purchase price: around £2 billion, or $3.5 billion) and acquire the assets of EMI, Parlophone, Virgin, Chrysalis, Harvest and others as well as EMI's music publishing empire (which is another business that could do with a kick up the arse).

The fact that this would give Apple a seat at the "music industry" table, give artists a "21st Century"-aware distribution channel and get control of nearly (?) all of The Beatles' recordings is all just a bonus.

File an antitrust lawsuit. This is in stark violation of at least the spirit of the law, if not actually an outright monopolistic practice.
Sic 'em!

Dear Music Label Executive,

Please note that 99% of your product is absolutely unconsumable. Your product SUCKS! Your rock bands and your hip hop groups and your rappers and your girl bands and your boy bands that sound like girl bands and your entire slew of talentless drivel is not even worth the $.99 that iTMS charges per song. You're lucky people buy at all.

Here's your lesson: Stop churning out anything that remotely sounds like it might possibly be similar to something that reminds us of music, and learn to cultivate some talent like in the old days. There really is something to a musician that can actually play an instrument, a songwriter that can actually read and write music, and a vocalist that can actually . . . wait for it . . . SING!

Music Label Executive – ANON says:
“Don’t tell me about profits when I spend 10 million for a R n B video. We do not need another MTV on our hands. We are protecting our inventory and when we see extra funds to allow us to make the nice videos, beats and songs, we go for it. “

Given how cheap it is to shoot and produce video digitally today, the fact that you blow $10 mil everytime you do so may be part of your business model problem. Maybe it’s time to cut the fat, eh? And nice sounding phrases like “protecting our inventory” don’t change the fact that all you’re doing is publicizing a product. Hey, experienced business exec – didn’t you learn somewhere along the line that when your marketing costs start cutting too far into your product’s profit, it’s time to cut back on non-functional advertising? In other words, if the nice videos are such a drag on your bottom line, stop spending so much for them, or make less of them.

“Pick a hit song today.. any hit song.. and tell me if you would have heard of it without our marketing machines. We own the radio stations, and we get a cut for every single CD. So iTunes should not be any different.. “

You’ve created your monster, one that you yourself claim is costing you a fortune, and now your solution is to infect the only business model that actually is better? ITMS hasn’t cost you a dime in any sort of infrastructure or marketing costs (in fact, seems to be demonstrating that you can sell music quite well without it), and returns to you more money per track than you’ve been making doing things the old way … so yeah, I can see how that should be scrapped. I mean, what a freaking mess.

Bugs Bunny said it best – “What a maroon!”_

“As for the "mac head" (Odyssey67) who called iTunes a golden goose.. well you are right, iTunes is a golden goose.. and an anorexic one at that, how many songs does apple have, compared to an illegal P2P network? . Just think if we raise the prices, more artists would want to join Apple.. which would speed up the growth of the music library. One place to find all your songs.. rare, new, old.. Apple would have the capability to beat any P2P network! And you can download your songs with ease and legally!”

Wow – you really are new here. I’m usually defending myself against the “mac heads” on this site, which just goes to show how little you understand about this whole situation. This is not about Apple. Sure, Jobs figured out how to do what your industry was too damn stupid to figure out for yourselves. But the reality is he simply brought some order to the chaos that the digital world wrought on your old way of doing business. If Jobs were to die tomorrow, I’m sure you’d hold a party, but that wouldn’t change your problem. You want to charge people more than they are willing to pay for music in the form of low overhead data files. You want to impose a DRM scheme to effectively make them renters of this type of music, not owners. You want to recreate ‘how it used to be’ using the new tools technology provides. Those tools are not just in your hands though, and the public (you remember them – the ones who pay for your corporate jet?) doesn’t want to be played for suckers anymore.

Face it Exec; people with more imagination and expertise than you can command will simply make piracy the norm if you insist on making “legal” equate with “greedy” or “unjust”. You can make the whole world crooks if you want to, but there aren’t enough jails to hold us all. In the end, the public will simply ignore your ‘impositions’ the same way they ignore the 55MPH speed limit (and for the same reasons). You’ll just go broke trying to fight it.

A Golden Goose, skinny or fat, still gives you something valuable for next to nothing, by definition. You complain that iTMS is still small compared to illegal downloads. Then lower the prices and get off Apple’s back. Demand will go up from basic market principles, and Apple can go about growing your legal pie for you without being distracted by your carping. The goose will get fatter.

Maybe even enough to rival your head.

I love it how you mac heads just assume where people work and what they do. Perfect you call me out with spreading FUD when you just sat that saying i work here and work there and that i am a troll. When you mac heads finally get whats coming to you all you do is just fold up and insult. Perfect.. go back to touting that you have Zero viruses, I think thats the only thing you guys have anyway... ( I am looking at you MDN web-masters.. that i think is your only argument 90% of the time when you write a paragraph on someones article which they took time to research.)

If i was peddling for attention please i would not do it on a website.. i am trying to show you that maybe more money for songs would mean more songs for everyone.. how much of money does it take to encode a song./... nearly free??? how about the fact that if more prices are suggested for songs then maybe you have the right to request a higher bitrate encoding.. make it as cd like as possible.. how large is 320? or 192?

Fine buying music is better than renting, but at least make it worth while for artists .. just for once i would like someone to stop teaching me economics or explaining to me why i am a dork.. instead have a debate with me and prove to me why charging extra for a song, thereby encouraging more artists and labels to sign on.. and finally giving australia, nz their own music store, is not a good idea.. dont waste my time by blaming me..

Face it.. you guys have just moaned and groaned for too long.. time to get whats coming.. debate with me i say.. show me projections that people will go back to piracy..

More artists will join if there is more money to be made making itunes better than any p2p out there.. people flock to money if it is to be made... thats proven over and over..

think about it,,.. rare, old, new.. any kind of song u want at one place which sounds great, every-time u download it.. p2p cant even give you half of that.. and best of all no spyware..

Oh and one more thing the price will go up for apple.. because their stock cant be oil proof forever... its just sad that i see you disappointment way sooner than you do.

"ITMS hasn’t cost you a dime in any sort of infrastructure or marketing costs " Odyssey67.. how do you know it has not cost me a dime?? did you sign a deal too? what physical proof do you have that it has not.. were u sitting next to me when the ink dried on the contract?

All of you accuse me of FUD and yet you go on talking nothing but... FUD yourself.. soon i guess i will get blamed for working for Microsoft.. to which i reply in advance "Thank You".. thats a nice comment...

Steve jobs uses the word greedy.. and all of you attach it to you vocabulary.. sigh.. and you call me trolls..

Really the goal of every business is to improve.. with more funds why can't we improve.. yes we have boy bands and girl bands but we do also have real musicians, singer/songwriters who do not sell out.. what about them? dont they deserve something too?? why can we use the higher profits to help them harness their talents better... discover new genres of music.. make history again like aerosmith and run dmc..

have a heart... you mac heads have over paid for everything... even your glorious PPC chips which dont even perform for what they are worth. A buck or two more for music aint going to hurt your already depressed wallets. you already made a bad purchase.. make one thats smart for once.

Face it everyday this website posts news and visitors posts about macs glory.. its about sometime someone brought another side to all this nonsense.. i think i am sent here to keep your reality distortion field in check. I am the Agent Smith to your Neo.. but this time.. I will win.

With Love,
Music Label Executive - ANON

iTunes should sign more artists directly - record companies have been screwing artists for years ...

Bypass the .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

"Don't tell me about profits when I spend 10 million for an R&B video"

Except you don't spend the money: under most artist's contracts, the cost of promotional video (and indeed all promotional costs) are actually paid for by the artists, as is recording studio time.

The only real costs that the label carries in the vast majority of cases are the production of the physical artefact (redundant under a digital paradigm), shipping and distribution (ditto) and above-the-line advertising (i.e. press/TV/billboard).

This guy is no music label executive, unless he's the junior mail room executive, and - to be honest - his whole writing style (!) is reminiscent of NMFY or NoMacForYou.

Dear Troll uh Music Execs:

1. You want a cut of the ipod? Why not the turntables, CD players and other mp3 players.

2. I love it when you and your friends at the RIAA tried to sue some Canadians over P2P sharing which is legal in Canada.

3. If your tongue were still the noise would still continue, the rocks and stones themselves would start to sing.

4. There are roots. I remember when the recording industry used to have class. Then again, at that time the composers used to record their own music, on paper. You can still get recordings of this. Of course you need an orchestra to read it, but it is such a pure form of music. Do you get a cut from the paper industry for recording music, sheet music?

5. Trolling trolling trolling, keep those posts a going.

And the MW is: *takes a look*
Effect: As in cause and effect.

Music exec= especially verbose sputnik

if not then
exec= lying sack of sh*t

MW litlle as in the industry little understands the ground shift underway

What would be cool to know is, for those artists, like Motoharu Sano, who have struck independent contracts with Apple, what percentage of sales they receive. I'd assume, that depending on their contract, they'd still have to pay the label something, but obviously the label doesn't have full control, as they do for many artist. So maybe those artist, such as Motoharu Sano, are making more the the 7 cents a song (US) that artist have been complaining about. In fact, it's possible that they could be taking the full 70 cents per song, or somewhere in between 7-70 cents.

I believe "Music Label Exec- Anon" IS INDEED A MUSIC LABEL EXECUTIVE.

And boy, it just goes to show that Music Labels have even bigger problems than we thought...!!!

The world has changed, but they haven't recognized it. Nor yet do they have a clue what to do about it.

Dear oh dear oh dear.

Dear Mac Head, uh.. Zombie uh..., Road Warrior

"You want a cut of the ipod? Why not the turntables, CD players and other mp3 players."

We do get a cut.. you take one of my songs and remix it.. i am get a piece of that pie.

"I love it when you and your friends at the RIAA tried to sue some Canadians over P2P sharing which is legal in Canada."

Again, I (the troll) say to you what i say to every mac
head.. Any extent to protect profits.

"If your tongue were still the noise would still continue, the rocks and stones themselves would start to sing"

.... What? and you guys think i am talking garbage...

macaholic: Instead of insulting please debate. You are just living up to the sterotype of the bitter apple user.

"And boy, it just goes to show that Music Labels have even bigger problems than we thought...!!!"

Our problems are being migitated as we speak. Like i predicted Apple will raise their prices for music as they do with every other product they sell.

Like i said in another post. Its sad that your voices will die here while i reap the benefits of reality.. that the music will be heard at a price we choose.

Goodbye, i am off to another post... fight me there if you wish, this one is over.

How odd!

Mucous Executive has as yet failed to answer - smartass or otherwise - any of my charges.

Why is that?

Because he either can't (because he is NMFY or somesuch troll) or because he knows he has no defence.

Come on, Mucous Executive, tell me again how the record industry pays for promotional expenses like videos.

MCCFR,

Do you think kelly clarkson had the money to pay for her first music video?? do you even know what her sign on bonus was?? We payed for that video..

How about cameo appreances in a video, who pays for that? we group artists in our label and give them a royality fee to appear in up and comming stars videos...

Who do you think payed for musicians summer vacation in the Bahamas so that they can "write his music and work on an album" .. we did.

Come on man you are on the outside hating on an industry you know nothing about.. Even if i dont like apple.. i know them, i know what their products are and what their pitfalls are.. why? because i do my homework when i want to deal with someone. Just like old steve himself.. he did his homework and won the first hand of this card game but it takes two to tango... so its my turn to put my cards on the table and fight back with all the powers of my Label..

Music Label Executive - ANON is clearly a fool. If he's really a music exec - which I'm beginning to doubt - he's done nothing here other than show exactly why the industry is in such a disfunctional state.

His repetitvely narrow justification of the profit motive, for putting the screws (as far as the law and common industry practice will allow) to both customer and artist alike, are akin to a person lighting a forrest a fire in order to stay warm. In both cases, because you can't think through the consequences of your desires, you'll kill yourself and everything around you for the satisfaction of getting your way.

Let me put this another way, Exec. You talk about how you have to pay for celebrity "cameo appreances" in videos, or for musicians' "summer vacations in the Bahamas" as if those are anything more than industry 'pork'. We, the buying public, don't give a shit about that stuff. I don't buy songs from U2, or the Roots, or Gretchen Wilson, or Sinatra, or the Beatles, or Pearl Jam, or Outkast, or even the Boston Pops ... because I see a video. And certainly not because JayZ or Diddy or Snoop get some face time on it. Further, you claim you want to raise prices so that you can funnel the money back to the artists so that they can in turn make more music. Putting aside the ridiculousness of tying those two things together (i.e. How did they 'manage' to be prolific and creative when they were just starting out?), if you paid the artists the money you blow on the 'caviar dreams' you supply them, wouldn't THAT money help them make more music just as well?

Face it - you have no interest in making more/better music, or even making your industry more efficient (hence more profitable). You just want to keep the Gravy Train going - for you, for the artists, for all the other self-absorbed people involved - and to hell with the rest of us outside your twisted little world who ultimately will have to pay for it.

Despite all your words here, and all your moral outrage at Jobs, the sorry truth is you give examples of your industry's sickness as reasons for spreading it; in effect, infecting a healthier way of doing business.

Well, I may be wrong, but I think you're swimming against the tide. Sooner than you will like, the artists are going to figure out they'd rather have a bigger cut of a 99cent track than more 'fluffing' from you. And when it happens, you will be on the outside looking in.

My advice (if you really are who you say you are): Cut the fat - you'll live longer - and get ready to adjust to a brave new world, where you aren't all that important anymore.

Have a good weekend

Odyssey67,

The only thing i have to say to you is that the prices will inevitably go up.. and I will admit to repeating this and only this.. "Apple stock will not be oil proof forever and the economy today will be far better than tomorrow.. the economy is tanking"...

If apple reprices we have to renegotiate.. we did not blindly sign a contract.. We (the labels ) could go quietly into the night and let this happen on its own.. or address issues that could keep my label, my artists and apple afloat longer..

Even Steve Jobs can deny this.. no one can deny numbers and the numbers show that no company can be oil proof. Microsoft is a cash cow for god sakes and its feel the burn of oil prices.. apple will come down and prices will go up.

Make what you want for my argument.. but this prediction will come true.

Wake up.. please wake the F@ck up!

Music Exec:
You are on egotistical jerk! Consumers will win this one, and you will be out of a job. I hope that Apple becomes a record label because it will offer consumer friendly choices with the elegance that artists desire. You will loose your talent, and you will end up being fired by your board cronies.

As for me, I still have options. You must be from Warner? No more artists from your label for me!