Record Companies to ask for subcription service

you can see the article on the news page on my site.
It looks like the big 4 record labels are going to ask for a subscription service for iTunes like Napster and Rhapsody are doing. What does everyone think of this?

They asked last year, they didn't get it. I don't see anything changing. The bottom line is that they are getting greedy and they have no other place to go to get the kind of business iTunes gives them

I agree. I think the record companies just need to realize that the days of controlling their market through tangible materials such as CD's is coming to an end no matter how hard they fight it. Just like any other industry that is being phased out by technology they are dragging their feet at the cost of the consumer because they want to make as much dough as they have been in the past. Although it would be cool to fill your ipod for a monthly fee I have a feeling that Steve Jobs is going to walk away from the table with this as he does anything that doesn't feel right to him.

Did you get your picture off the custom south park character site? I know the guys who own that site!

I agree, the business model for record companies is changing, and they are starting to look old.

I would like to see a TV show or movie subscription model. TV shows would have me for sure - if cheaper than cable!

have you checked out Joost yet?

Actually, I just got my download. But I have not had time to really test it out. I gotta get on that!

it's alright if you have a good connection. Sometimes the shows kind of just drop off and it gives you some error saying it's not available at the time and that's a bit frustrating

Any chance of an invite to the Joost beta?

yeah what is your email address? send it in a private message if you don't wish for other people to see it

As baggss stated this was requested some time ago. I believe that Apple has set everything for a subscription service if needed.

I don't think a subscription service is out of the question. It's all a matter of money. If Apple can make money from it, they will do it. Mr. Steve isn't the final word in the company, you know.

I don't think the record companies completely bend to the will of Apple either. Now that EMI is DRM-free, people who use different MP3 players can download via iTunes and play their music with any MP3 player they want. That's not going to be good for the iPod's dominating position in the market. The only reason I can see for Apple accepting this is to satisfy some EU issue they have.

fleurya said:

Mr. Steve isn't the final word in the company, you know.

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Really? Who is? Don't give me that "The Shareholders are" line either, we all know that is a bunch of garbage in this case. The board and the shareholders are collectively going to follow Steve wherever he goes.

baggss said:

Really? Who is? Don't give me that "The Shareholders are" line either, we all know that is a bunch of garbage in this case. The board and the shareholders are collectively going to follow Steve wherever he goes.

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What about when he was sacked in 1985? They didn't follow him then.

This isn't 1985. Stock is at an all time high, the board and the shareholders are MORE than satisfied. No one is going to care how he handles the labels, they have as much, or more, to lose than Apple does here.

I was just kidding.

I for one would hate for apple to adopt a subscription model for iTunes, but then the reason they went with DRM was because if they hadn't, the music controlled by the 'big four' wouldn't have been offered on the iTunes Store, and that's practically every significant popular artist to date.

If the remaining 3 of the 'big four' threaten to remove their libraries from the iTunes Store if Apple don't adopt a subscription model of digital music distribution, then there's nothing Steve can really do about it.

I never understood the point of subscription download music services. Seems to me everyone that uses them is completely stupid.

They wouldn't have given Steve back his job if they knew how to run the company themselves...

johnnyluu said:

I was just kidding.

I for one would hate for apple to adopt a subscription model for iTunes, but then the reason they went with DRM was because if they hadn't, the music controlled by the 'big four' wouldn't have been offered on the iTunes Store, and that's practically every significant popular artist to date.

If the remaining 3 of the 'big four' threaten to remove their libraries from the iTunes Store if Apple don't adopt a subscription model of digital music distribution, then there's nothing Steve can really do about it.

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True, but where are they going to go? iTMS is the single biggest on-line music download service today. That's a significant chunk of change for them. The Zune store isn't doing anywhere near what MS would like and the Zune itself has nowhere near the popularity of the iPod. All they are going to do is lose money for themselves and alienate the music buying public even more. None of the other services like Napster generate anywhere near the volume or profit that iTMS does.

As I said, the record companies have just as much to lose as Apple does. I also don't see the other big 3 walking away and leaving EMI as the sole seller. They all want to make money so I suspect you may see more deals like EMIs because it now opens the iTMS up to other players, at least in part, which means more money.

Yes, the shareholders do run the company because they own the company. And they took ownership in the company to make money. They may trust in Steve to handle the business, but ultimately they are in it to make money. That's a fact for any publicly-traded business. They would not allow the company to pass up a money-making idea just because old Steve doesn't like it. That's just insane goes completely against one's reason for investing in a company. If it were ever to go public that Apple could make a sizable profit from subscription music and they passed on the option, you will see a decrease in the price of their stock the same day, guaranteed.

The only reason I could see them not taking an opportunity to add value to the company like subscription music would be because it was decrease value in some other way. I don't see how it would in this case other than a few people who just don't like subscription music, but they can choose not to use that option, so it doesn't matter. Why do people get so bent out of shape over adding options they don't even have to use??

True, but where are they going to go? iTMS is the single biggest on-line music download service today. That's a significant chunk of change for them.

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That's simple, if they dumped Apple and went with other providers, the consumers would just have to go wherever the music goes, so there's no real loss for them. Pus, if it's DRM-free they can play it on whatever they want, including iTunes and iPods. If I want to latest Linkin Park album and it's not on iTunes, I'm not going to buy it just because it's not on iTunes? Wrong, I'll go buy it from wherever it's offered. There no cost for the consumer to switch from one distributer to another, so they simply go to a source where they can get it. No loss to the record label at all, but a big loss for Apple. That's why the idea that Apple holds some kind of control over the record labels is a fantasy.