Apple and Free Music?
March 20, 2008
As we all know, the free craze has been forcing companies to rethink their business tactics. To my surprise, Apple is thinking about it as well. Apple + free music = Are you kidding me?! I guess this will be an add on to Dave’s post..
But of course there is a catch. To receive unlimited free access to the music library, customers have to be willing to pay more for the iPod and iPod Phone playing and digital media storing devices. Apple has to wake up and smell the coffee. Some of the company’s rivals are experimenting with new ways to distribute online music, even if that means giving it away. So as of now, “Apple is negotiating with record labels over a deal to offer a monthly music subscription for the iPhone, as well as an unlimited music bundle for both the iPod and iPhone” according to a cited unnamed music industry source.
As of right now, the iPod shuffle starts at $49, and the iPhones start at $399. No one is really sure as to how much prices with jump but one can only imagine. Oddly enough, approximately 10 percent of Apple’s revenues are made through iTunes. In 2007, iTunes made a 2.7 billion dollar profit for Apple. According to The Financial Times, “Apple sold $8.3 billion in iPods last year, an 8 percent increase over the year before.”
I think that it would be in Apple’s best interest to make free music available to customers without jacking up prices. Then again, Apple has become the world’s second largest music retailer in the U.S. To my amazement, Walt-Mart Stores Inc is the world’s largest music retailer.
$400 Million iTunes Deal For The Beatles Catalog!!!
March 9, 2008
Finally, Paul McCartney has signed a $400 million deal, which will see the Beatles catalog make its way to iTunes, at long last.
Paul McCartney has signed a $400 million deal, which will see the Beatles catalog make its way to iTunes, at long last. Though McCartney will probably make off with the lion’s share of the cash sum, Ringo Starr and the families of the late John Lennon and George Harrison will also benefit. Micheal Jackson, EMI and Sony will also be paid, as they each own a share in the back catalog. McCartney may actually have to pay out a little more on his divorce settlement because of the deal. How that works is anyone’s guess, but you gotta feel sorry for him; having to share all those millions is just plain malicious. Efforts to clear the Beatles-related music for digital distribution have been previously held up by a long-running trademark feud between iPod\iTunes-owner Apple Inc. and Apple Corps., the Beatles label. The two sides finally settled the dispute, opening the door to clear the catalogs for distribution via iTunes and other digital retailers.