Interesting piece on the battle between ITUNES and it's growing monopoly over digital music versus the record labels last ditch efforts to maintain control of music distribution. A growing number of record labels are trying to steer clear of Apple's ITunes because they think that it is crippling overall music sales. It seems to me that this is not a very smart solution. The record companies continue to want to force consumers to buy music through their archaic distribution and technology(cd) methods. Fighting Itunes isn't the solution because consumers are clearly showing they prefer it as a distribution method. Itunes isn't a perfect system and yes their monopoly over digital sales is something to be fearful of for both the consumer and the artist. Part of the problem is that record companies and artists aren't putting out great albums anymore. If artist's cd's had more than one or two great songs consumers would demand the album as opposed to just buying the singles they desire. It is never easy to manage change and the record labels will continue to go through growing pains as they adjust to the fact that traditional record sales and their wide profit margins are no longer the way to go.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
RECORD LABELS SKIP APPLE'S ITUNES
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1 comments:
I think the record industry has come to terms with the fact that digital downloads are the future to a great extent.
There are many artists who do put out incredible albums, but because the record companies only pimp one or two singles, the public just buys what they know.
The record companies are complaining about being forced back into the "singles" business because of how Apple insists on things being sold through iTunes, and yet, the record company has never gotten out of the singles business since all you hear on the radio, or see on TV are the one or two "hits".
Funny thing is that I ALWAYS buy the entire album from iTunes, not just the singles ... and I do think that artists should have the right to determine how their work is being sold; either in parts or as a complete package.
For example, Green Day's "American Idiot" album ... all the songs tie together. The entire album tells a story. So why not allow Green Day to say "we only want this work sold as a complete piece"?
Apple needs to allow the artists to have more control over their music. The record companies need to adjust their marketing ... if they want to sell albums, they need to market albums, not individual songs.
My own take on the subject: Is iTunes killing music? ...
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