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?

Record Labels Sue Project Playlist

Posted by pixie | Filed under Uncategorized

You may not know it by name, but I bet you have seen Project Playlist playlists on your friends’ MySpace pages. They’re the little mix tape-like boxes that people can make and embed in their page so they can show off what kind of music they like.  You know, introducing people to new songs and bands they may not have heard of.  It’s especially useful since MySpace only lets you put one song up, and they strip out Imeem code.  Since the company makes it easy for people to listen to music, naturally, the major labels all got together and decided to sue the company.

They summed up their issue as:

In short (Project Playlist’s) entire business amounts to nothing more than a massive infringement” of the record companies’ copyrights.

Why? Because people can stream music online or even worse, on a mobile device, using the site.  That’s right — they can simply listen to music. They’re not downloading it, they’re not file-sharing, they’re just listening to music!  Can you imagine the horror? People are hearing music! Good God, they might even become fans and buy something, like an album, tickets to shows, or merchandise. Looking at the major labels’ selling strategies, this is clearly something they do not want.

As usual, the labels are asking for money from the company, and trying to shut down Project Playlist. They’re so very forward-thinking and with it! I couldn’t be prouder of the progress they have made with the Internet.

I wasn’t at the press conference, but here’s what I gather:

A shady record executive in a suit scuttled out from behind a curtain. He told the media what a horrible thing has befallen the labels — people can actually hear the music they’re releasing.  The crowd gasped, and some people even took flash photography. [They’re trying to figure out why the photos came out blank right now; it has something to do with vampires not showing up on film, FYI.]  He then went on to say, “don’t you understand? We’re the major labels! You realize that a good 95% of what we release is total crap, right? And if people actually hear what it sounds like, without our marketing spin, slick videos, and radio/television personalities telling them it’s cool and they should like it, nobody will ever buy this crap! So as you can see, we must sue to protect our horrible business model.”  He then stomped his hoof and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, as is the traditional way for major label executives to exit a room.

Seriously… every time I think they may be making some progress, they go and do something so ass-backwards and stupid, they shock me all over again.

If you want to support a cool service [I discovered some great bands from friends who use this and have songs on their MySpaces] — head over to Project Playlist today.