Apple Threatens to Shut Down iTunes!
Filed under: Tech Talk > Business Blitz
Apple is not pleased.
The Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, D.C. is considering a motion to increase the royalty rate paid by Apple to music publishers and the record labels from 9 cents to 15 cents.
The big tech company has threatened to shut iTunes down as early as today, Thursday, should they be forced to pay this increased rate.
Apple said the increase could force it to raise its song price of 99 cents, something they've refused to do even after crazy pressure from the record companies.
iTunes' Vice President Eddy Cue has also said that Apple could shut iTunes rather than raise its prices or absorb the higher royalty costs, "If the [iTunes music store] was forced to absorb any increase in the … royalty rate, the result would be to significantly increase the likelihood of the store operating at a financial loss — which is no alternative at all. Apple has repeatedly made it clear that it is in this business to make money, and most likely would not continue to operate [the iTunes music store] if it were no longer possible to do so profitably."
Eww. Sounds a little greedy to us!
The president of the National Music Publishers Association, the group pushing for the increase said, "I think we established a case for an increase in the royalties. Apple may want to sell songs cheaply to sell iPods. We don't make a penny on the sale of an iPod."
Interesting point!
We think Apple's full of it, though. Let's see if they'd really shut iTunes down!
Someone else will eventually emerge and take its place, right?
We hear MySpace Music a-calling!
[Image via AP Photo.]
Zune is better than i-Tunes anyway!!!
Software is WAY better
how would iPods work without iTunes?
WTF
NO
FUCK APPLE
WTF!?!?!?!
I BUY ALL MY MUSIC FROM AMAZON.COM'S MP3 STORE!! THEY CHARGE 89 CENTS A SONG AND IT COMES IN MP3 FORMAT AND CAN BE TRADED AS YOU WANT, SO IT DOESN'T HAVE THE BULLSHIT COPYRIGHT STUFF FROM ITUNES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOO
well, actually, fuck them. if they are going to be greedy bastards i don't want to profit them.
who cares? just steal music like i do
I
How is not operating at a loss considered greedy? Do you want them to pay you for their services? I bet any company waiting in the wings will face the same pressure.
Siding with Apple on this one. It's not Apple that's being greedy, it's the record companies. They might not make money on the iPod, but they're probably making about five times the amount of money per song than they would have if they were only released on albums. I know that *I* have bought many songs that I wouldn't have gone out and bought an entire album to have.
These half ass no talent "musicians" like 50 cent, Kid Rock and Amy Winehouse make millions and millions for the shit they put out and all we hear is whining about how hard it is now, F them all. One or 2 big hits and they travel in private jets and buy huge homes. They make too much, their record labels make too much I have no pity on anyone in the biz.
Ah, snap! Just what I need to hear!
Actually they're not being greedy, your information is just wrong. Your posting makes it sounds like iTunes gets 90 cents per track in revenue. That is not the case. The Copyright Board wants to raise the ARTIST royalty from 9 to 15 cents. On top of that 9 cents, Apple also pays 56 cents in royalties to the label, so in the end Apple makes about 34 cents per track. That is revenue, not profit. Their financial disclosing shows that after infrastructure maintenance for iTunes, they actually only profit a few pennies per track. The artist increase, for all intents, would put them in the hole as they claim. This really is about Apple taking a stand for inexpensive music. If the Copyright Board wants to fuck around, they should take some of that 56 cents from the Label and give it to the Artist, and leave the price alone. The Artists deserve more!
Re: dana.NC – That's what I was wondering! Wtf!
let me just say this about apple and itunes
i love my ipod hate itunes
today i called in because their stupid itunes 8.0 won't download in my vista so all i wanted was a little help
the guy told me he could email me directions but he couldn't walk me through it unless i paid 29 dollars!!
WTF! why am i paying you!, its your fault your stupid program doesn't work on my system but i have to pay for it! HELL NO!
those are people who only care about money and not their customers
Apple pays an estimated 70 cents of every dollar it collects per song to the record companies responsible for each track. The record companies turn over nine cents to the music publishers who control the copyrights to these tunes. So, the record company's should pay the music publishers out of their 70 cents, not Apple 29-30 cents that they get. Who is the greedy ones, here. Record Companies, again!!
Apple starts to show it's true colours
everybody whose anybody knows to use FROSTWIRE.COM.
How exactly is that "greedy?" It's called capitalism you moron.
i do not want to pay more than .99 cents for a song
i hope they do shut it down if the gov tries to control a business…we live in a democratic capitalist society and this sort of interference should not be allowed
music companies can refuse to sell their music or allow apple to sell their music. let them do that
Don't mess with my Apple!
ITunes rules supreme!
It's not Apple that's the greedy entity here. Why on earth should they operate at a loss?? Go to Amazon for MP3s if itunes shuts down.
iTunes pisses me off anyway!
i HATE itunes….Rapsody is the best!
oh
damn it
thank god
i still have my
cassette tapes
and my player
in my
FORD FUCKIN PINTO!!
TRICKED OUT
YEA…YEA…YEA……..
what do you wanna say now?????
huh, huh???
jealous….
yep…
knew ya'd be
If they think they don't make money off an ipod sale they're deluded. I wouldn't buy music if I couldn't put it on my ipod and macbook. People won't pay more and music is EASY to get for free.
I meant to say, I Love Apple.
noooooooooo.
where will i get all my music?!
where will i burn my cds?!
where will i rip my cds to put them on my ipod?!
this is yesterday's news. there was no increase. all is well. read it on cnnmoney
as an itunes user if they shut it down like that id stop using apple
Noooo! I love itunes and I like what I pay for songs which is .99 cent if they were to raise the price I rather use limewire.
Since when is trying to make a profit to pay employees being greedy? What a dumbass thing to say. You're being paid for this website so by your logic I could say you're being greedy for not operating this website at a loss. Apple has every right to make money, but the record companies are trying to ace them out of the few pennies they make while they (the record companies) make even more. I say good for Apple for taking a stand against them. Apple's always led the way in their products and now they're in the forefront of paving the way for other companies to let the big time record companies know they won't be pushed around. Well done Apple!
zune sucks, ipods do not need the itunes music store to load songs or manage playlists. The music industry is being greedy here, apple is just resisting them. Myspace music? Trying to get into the log cabin PeePee?
If this was true "Apple has repeatedly made it clear that it is in this business to make money" they would not be against raising the prices, right?
Also, the fact they say they don't make a penny on the sale of Ipod's is utter bullshit. My ex worked for Apple and I got employee prices, nearly 100 dollars off. They sell to employees at cost or a little above. That means they were making 100 (at least) of every Ipod.
They would NEVER shut down, and I would LOVE to see the Copyright board tell them "fine, go ahead and shut down then" and leave them squirming.
Learn to use Torrents and forget Itunes.
Re: gir7000 " as an itunes user if they shut it down like that id stop using apple " –
You wouldn't have a choice would ya dumbass?
It IS Apple being greedy because they set everything up so you can't use their products without their service, and can't use the product in any other format in any other device - THAT IS GREED.
Remember when you actually bought records/cassettes, etc? Once you bought it, you could copy it over and over, sell it, give it to a friend, do what you want. Apple put an end to that. Fuck them.
Apple has the right to make money just as PEREZ HAS THE RIGHT TO CHARGE FEES FOR ADVERTISING ON THIS SITE.
.
What if Perez's web host raised his fees 50% just like the royalty percentage fee increased for Apple? Of course Perez would have to increase his advertising rate!!
.
Perez, you're being a little hyprocritical.
ILLEGAL DOWNLOADING.
Those sites work. And who cares about the trouble? [[And lack of]]
Some even have little fake warranties, like LimeWire.
i wouldnt be able to function without my itunes..they would be crazy to shut it down
Selling iPods has nothing to do with selling music off of iTunes. Apple won't raise its prices because the consumer doesn't want to pay more than 99¢ a song. I think that there is a better way to resolve the conflict than by shutting down iTunes however. Chances are the price won't go up and iTunes will still run…
well geez im already paying 1.69 for one song, if they increase it yall know whatll happen -_-
I'm on apple's side on this, too. Its bad enough the recording industry makes us pay to download legally- now they want MORE money??? The artists get none of this, you know. Don't be fooled. Your precious Jonas monkeys are not getting a red cent from this increase.
Excuse me, but, people, the WHOLE REASON FOR A BUSINESS IS TO MAKE MONEY!!!!!!!!!!! That's what our whole world is based off of and I'm sorry if you seem to think that Apple saying that they are in business to make money is greedy. They're being honest and I respect that.
And, omg, turn your ipod off and watch world news for once in your life..you might learn something about how the world works.
WOW….Is this really true?..Then…The Apple folks are a BUNCH of GREEDY FUCKS. I love my IPOD, But i can download tons of shit with out the SITE……so i say…..FUCKUM…
I just downloaded the newest version of itunes and now my ipod won't work!!! I get a messege telling my my ipod is corrupt!!! WTF!!!!!!!!!!! I called a friend and she got the same messege!!!
I don't think it's greedy at all. They're a business, they provide a service to the public for a fee. You can't force a business to continue operating at a financial loss. You can't even force a business to continue operating if there's no reason for it to shut down. It's their business, it's their prerogative to operate or not.
I don't blame them. Have you seen Apple's share price lately? It's down $90 PER SHARE since mid-May. They should not have to operate at a loss.
I've lost so many fucking iTunes when my Mac crashed that I could care less. I actually listen online to artists I like then I just buy the damn CD's. I'm old and I like the actual FEELING of a disc in my hand.
That's not greedy, that's business. If my business is costing me money, I need to shut it down. Hopefully they won't.
I like more Zune's Marketplace.. I mean you can get the Zune Pass for 14.99 and download as many songs as you want. The Zune has cool features and the software is easy to use and pretty cool too.
Microsoft is gonna take over the world!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!Go Zune!
iTunes sucks! go and download music illegally or get a zune player and a zune pass and dowload all the music you want for the cost of one CD!
HAHAHAHAA.
They will not shut down iTunes.
And either way, I'll still have the software to use my Limewire downloaded song sto put my shit on my ipod.
yeuuhh
Apple only makes 29 cents per download. 70 cents goes to the record company, which then pays the publishers. If the publishers want more, go to the labels for it. At 29 cents, for sales through a software application THEY created and that has revolutionized music sales, that isn't too much to ask?? And why would the publishers make money on ipod sales? What did they have to do with it? Do they make money on all radios and cd players that are sold? They take Apple to task for selling songs "cheaply" and why is that so wrong? IT allows the consumer to buy and try out music they may not otherwise try? And that only helps sales. Apple is right in this situation.
Perez, I really wish you would do some homework before blogging about such garbage. Seriously you are a guy that wants to start a record label but yet don't have a clue how it works…. Did you really look into how much Apple makes selling music on iTunes…. ? You are truly clueless how the business operates. Apple profits pennies per song after operating expenses. Who do you think pays for the infrastructure for iTunes, the marketing and the enormous amounts of bandwidth? Get a clue you shit head, the record companies destroyed the music business by their shear incompetence, your idiocy will only add to there demises. cheers.
perez, you're an idiot. i'm fairly sure you make thousands and thousands a week off your site. How else could people live? How else could the economy function? Without money how would apple have created all of their innovative goods?
If you think that's greedy I'd like to see you take all the ads off your site.
:)
Re: ChihuahuaBama – yay for sanity!
This is absolutely crap, iTunes won't shut down, because without it they won't sell ipods or iphones. Shutting iTunes could totally damage apple's rep. This is a bluff and I can tell you already that iTunes rapes the artists for so much of a download. As an artist myself I can tell you that once iTunes takes it's "platform costs" away the record company is left with under half of your original $.99 - sucks - totally. Other download sites take only 20%
iTunes and apple are turning into money grabbing wankers. FFS without the writers or artists there would be no music for them to sell!
I assume they wouldnt stop with the actual itunes application nor would they cease to stop movie and television program downloading - there are plenty of other online mp3 stores and itunes have that stupid shitty rule about passing songs on too many times; pushing the price up to 9 cents is still cheap compared to what we pay in England - 79p, about $1.50ish per song.
Im shocked at the very minimal amount Apple give record companies - there cant be too many outgoings on site hosting and song downloading plus they make a fair whack off ipods/iphones/mac etc - I would have thought a minimal of 40% would go to the record companies.
DUDE thats OLD news from like a week ago and iTunes isnt shutting down bc the artist raise got declined
From what I've read this morning, the royalty rate rise was rejected anyway or raised by a minute amount. I believe I read
a cap for downloads of 9.1cents to be paid to publishers. How will ad-funded sites pay these royalties for free music?
Only the wealthy would have the balls to ask for a raise when so many are losing jobs.
Music is sold now as a piece of data. I think they should charge by filesize for each song. A 6 minute song would cost twice as much as a 3 minute song. How easy and fair would that be?
Then they could offer higher bitrate "Audiophile" recordings for more money as the filesize would be larger. They could also offer cheaper, lower quality recordings (like they sell now) at a discount.
holy shit!! they only get .09 per song from Itunes. Thought it would be a 25/75 split
Sorry, siding with Apple. The record companies are the greedy ones. Always have been!
Steve Jobs and Apple pretty much forced the music industry to save itself. When the iTunes music store came out there were no real pay options available to get music online. Everyone was using Napster, and other file sharing sites to get there music online. Well… Those don't make the music companies anything. iTunes makes the labels money, and that's all they care about. They'd put out an album of me farting if it were to sell a million copies.
Im with Apple - business and business - nothing in life is free and they are an awesome company for wanting to keep the price of songs down!!!!!!
"myspace music"…..HAHAHAHA! what a joke!!