1st
OCT

There is a Literal Music Cock Fight Going on Right Now

Posted by pixie | Filed under Uncategorized

I’m usually more of a catfight kind of girl, but this one is too good to pass up. Apple is going head-to-head with the US Copyright Royalty board over a proposed increase of the royalty rates Apple pays to the artists whose music they sell via iTunes. Both of them are swinging their big sticks mightily, but in the end, who shall win? Time will tell.

Should the US Copyright Royalty Board win, Apple representatives have said they’ll have no problem shutting down the Apple store — which is responsible for 85% of all online sales. The USCRB could fiesably attempt to rely on Amazon or MySpace, but who’s to say they’d goo along with the demands of the copyrighters?

But here’s the thing. They’re fighting over pennies — literally. Apple pays $.9 of the $.99 they charge to the artists. The US Copyright Royalty Board wants to see this raised to a whopping $.15. In response, Apple said they’d much prefer to pay 4.8 cents. A statement released by Apple Vice President Eddy Cue claimed any increase in the royalties would cause the Apple store to operate at a loss, which is why they would be likely to close the store.

Considering music sales were down across the board in the United States in September [this may have something to do with that pesky “economic collapse” we’re facing], now might not be the best time to have the most-trusted and most-used legal downloading service/store close down. Especially since iPods are still the #1 MP3 player and many of the other stores online don’t have iPod compatible files. Of course, Apple knows this, which is why they are playing so tough. Like I said, cock fight.

Honestly, as much as I love my iPod, I’d love to see someone else come in and maybe make things a bit more competitive. There’s no way I am buying music off the new MySpace — they can’t even keep passwords secure, there’s no way in hell I am giving them my debit card information — but who knows? Maybe there is someone who can slay Apple. Or maybe Apple really is the best.

Still, I don’t see how they can’t operate if they give artists $.15 per $.99 download. How expensive can it be to run the Apple store?

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242 Comments »

Comment by iDrew
2008-10-01 23:22:29

Apple can’t afford it, because all of the money is to build a computer to keep Steve Jobs body “seemingly” alive, so as not to upset the investors. You thought the robot in the “Short Circuit” movies was awesome? He didn’t give awesome earth-shattering Apple announcements every fiscal quarter. Suck on that Johnny 5!

Pixie, I love this headline :)

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Comment by pixie
2008-10-02 09:37:11

I think you are officially losing your mind. :)

And thank you. It’s times like these that I miss the site that shall not be mentioned oh so much.

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Comment by iDrew
2008-10-01 23:27:12

(ps, my deepest apologies for the accidental capitalization of your name!)

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Comment by Tom Z
2008-10-02 11:16:27

Am I the only one who expected this story to involve Chad Kroeger?

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Comment by aidegoitess
2008-11-16 11:49:51

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Comment by Insokerinfini
2008-11-17 15:02:23

to: Admin - If You want to delete your site from my spam list, please sent url of your domain to my emai: stop.web.spam@gmail.com
And I will remove your site from my base within 24 hours
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PS4. sorry for my bad English :)

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Comment by acconeeCill
2008-11-21 18:16:22

to: Admin - If You want to delete your site from my spam list, please visit this site for instructions: remove-url.co.cc

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