The National Music Publishers’ association has requested that the royalty rate they receive on songs from the iTunes Music Store to be raised from 9 cents to 15 cents per track. The Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, D.C., which sets royalty rates on statutory licenses, is expected to issue a ruling Thursday. Apple feels that the music market is not mature enough to raise prices beyond the 99 cent price point—that doing so would inevitably lead to declines in sales and profits. Rather than
Archive for September 30th, 2008
Consumer electronics makers face tough holidays
Reuters writes:”Consumer electronics makers may be looking at the bleakest U.S. holiday seasons in years. Two Wall Street analysts warned on Monday that weakening consumer sentiment will hurt sales of Apple Inc’s Mac PCs, iPod music players and iPhone mobile phones.The tech sector had been largely spared the problems affecting the rest of the …”
Would Apple really shutter iTunes? Unlikely (CNET via Yahoo! News)
Apple did indeed say that if it couldn’t make a profit, it “most likely” will not continue to operate iTunes. You can find a copy of the statement here on page 4 (PDF).
Flash for iPhone Confirmed; Ball in Apple’s Hands
From a blog post that launched a thousand rumors, comes confirmation that Adobe is, in fact, creating a way to bring Flash content to the iPhone. Here is an excerpt from their official statement during a recent “town hall”: “Upon a direct question from the audience, Paul Betlem for the first time publicly confirmed that Adobe is actively developing a Flash Player for Apple’s popular phone. He said (not direct quote) ‘My team is working on Flash on the iPhone, but it’s a closed platform.’ He
Norway Forgets Who They’re Dealing With, Demands Apple Open Up FairPlay DRM (Again) [FairPlay DRM] (Gizmodo)
Norway is ostensibly big on neutrality, even when it gets them invaded and pulverized, so it’s not surprisingly it hates Apple’s FairPlay DRM, which only lets songs play on iPods. It even has a law…
Norway Forgets Who They’re Dealing With, Demands Apple Open Up FairPlay DRM (Again)
Norway Forgets Who They’re Dealing With, Demands Apple Open Up FairPlay DRM (Again) Posted by Matt Buchanan at 8:20 AM on October 1, 2008 Norway is ostensibly big on neutrality, even when it gets them invaded and pulverised, so not surprisingly it hates Apple’s FairPlay DRM, which only lets songs play on iPods. It even has a law requiring that consumers be able to use digital media with whatever device they choose, which FairPlay obviously pees all over. After a lovely chat with Apple in Fe
Could a digital music royalty price hike force iTunes into subscriptions?
There’s some talk today that if the National Music Publishers’ Association manages to increase the royalty rates for music bought from online music stores, Apple iTunes could shut its doors. That won’t happen. But it could force iTunes to change its business model. The Copyright Royalty Board is meeting Thursday in Washington to set a new price for royalties. While the National Music Publishers’ Association wants the rate raised from its current 9 cents a track to 15 cents (a 66 percent increa
Apple press briefing: New iPods and iTunes 8 (Bangkok Post - Thailand’s English news)
In mid-September, Tony Li, Apple’s Asia-Pacific product marketing director, showed the latest version of iPhoto and the new iPods in Bangkok.
Norwegian Consumer Watchdog Slams Apple’s DRM (Again)
Norway’s consumer ombudsman is resuming his battle against Apple and DRM. Bjorn Erik Thon recently wrote a letter to Apple saying it was “unfair” for Apple to sell music on iTunes that could only be played on iPods, according to crn.com. “Consumers themselves should be able to choose what music device they would like to use to listen to music bought from the iTunes Store,” he wrote. Thon has asked Apple to respond to his inquiry by November 3. This is not the first time Thon has gone after
Will Apple’s Growth Engines Grind To A Halt In A Downturn? No (AAPL)
Here’s a scary scenario: Could Apple’s (AAPL) main growth story — its Mac computer business — grind to a halt in a recession? Could its iPod line see shrinking sales next year? Could most of Apple’s revenue growth next year come from this year’s iPhone sales — thanks to a creative accounting technique? That’s the doomsday forecast issued today by Citigroup analyst Richard Gardner, who whacked his estimates for Apple’s fiscal ‘09 and ‘10, following downgrades from analysts at Morgan Stanley