p2pnet - rss feed: Big Music to hike mp3 prices?
p2pnet.net News:- Apple boss Steve Jobs is apparently brassed off because some record labels are talking to online retailers about raising wholesale prices for digital music downloads to capitalise on the “burgeoning demand for legal online music,” says Britain’s Financial Times.
If the Big Music cartel decides to hike its already exorbitant rates, the corporate music sites will be told, not asked, about it.
Wholesale prices are currently thought to be about 65 cents and Gartner analyst Michael McGuire is quoted as saying the move could backfire because consumers who buy music online are used to paying 99 cents or less for downloads.
In the real world of online music, the only thing that’s burgeoning is the music industry’s venality and as a direct result, hardly any of the hundreds of millions of files that move around the Net every week are sold from the corporate music sites.
iTunes is about the only site doing any business, and even it is barely breaking even – which is OK since the ‘store’ is no more than a front for Apple’s iPod.
“Less” could easily apply to the vast majority of online music lovers who aren’t, in fact, paying anything because the cartel has yet to come up with fair pricing for mp3s so its clients can market cartel ‘product’ for amounts which might tempt p2p users.
Be all of the above as it may, “The move, which suggest the labels want a bigger slice of the fledgling market’s spoils, has angered Steve Jobs,” says the Times.
Apple is at the moment under scrutiny for over-charging for its downloads in the UK.
“The European Commission (EC) has confirmed it is looking into allegations that Apple’s iTunes Music Store discriminates against UK consumers by charging them more to download the same song than it charges other European music buyers,” says The Register.
In the meanwhile, “Music industry executives said introductory wholesale prices for digital tracks had been set low to stimulate demand, but Apple’s success had prompted concern that they may now be too low,” says the story.”
In point of fact, Apple is the only viable game in the corporate music world being responsible, as it is, for 99.9% of online music sales.
The other sites, such as Napster II and RealNetworks, don’t even feature.
‘I’m not alone’
“Once again the music industry seems to be forgetting why p2p is where it is today,” says _-Jile_
“If people had not been tired of the prices paid for music, programs like the old Napster and Audiogalaxy would never have been created - but they were tired of the prices then and they’re still tired of them now.
“The average CD has 12 songs, at 99 cents a song its that’s $11.88 plus taxes … that’s more than I really want to spend on a music cd as it is, and I’m not alone.
“Raising the prices will only drive new users to the p2p world.
“ Thanks, RIAA.
“Notice I’m not saying anything about the people already using p2p as possible customers anymore? That’s because imho, there’s little hope of ever moving these users back from p2p to iTunes clones in the paid market, especially with pricing increases and non-transferable licenses.
“Perhaps there’s a future in paid services like this once they get their stuff together. But this surely isn’t an impressive move for their changing business model.
“Just my 10 cents.”
February 28th, 2005 at 10:52 pm
with new lockdown cd’s on the way.. how much you want to bet there will be “bug fixes” for apple computers which somehow render them useless.
They made jobs angry.. they wont like jobs when he’s angry.. RAAAWR!
February 28th, 2005 at 11:49 pm
Poor Stevie. He jumped in bed with the nastiest whore he could find, and now he may have some deadly disease.
Oh! The Pain!
Raise those prices. C’mon. What’s the matter, chicken?
March 1st, 2005 at 2:22 am
The digital encodes they sell started overpriced. The industry is looking at paid downloading and cd sales as two entirely different markets. Therefore, every customer needs both a download for thier mePod and a cd for there car. (well, I’m sure they think you need separate cd’s for car, shower, work, and living room) The fault in that idea resides in the fact that I can rip my own cd, legally, at any quality and format I choose with no DRM. Any download price even remotely resembling the cd price is obviously rediculous. Lower quality/more restriction should equal less money to purchase. (Anybody remember MC 900ft Jesus, “if I only had a brain?”) The industry is standing naked for all to see it’s hideous true form that has been evolving since long before television even existed. It is ugly, and turns average consumers and media to stone if they gaze too long. Any other industry would have been regulated by the government that was characterized as a cartel by the FTC.
I wish they would raise the price to $5 a song. That would be great. I have never enjoyed watching the failing of an entire industry. I don’t like Brittany, so don’t worry about what I’m doing online. Music is art.(not pop music)
March 1st, 2005 at 5:45 am
So a song from iTunes at the moment cost 79p so an album’s worth, say twelve, costs £9.49 which does seem to be the standard price for a CD these days… However, CDs arn’t compressed using a lossy format are they, indeed they’re not compressed at all.
Iguess that the music studios are using the “Stella Artois” school of commerce, in that they’re “reassuringly expensive”… But of course everyone knows that raising prices is the best way to boost sales
Of course raising your prices when already under investigation by the EU traiding standards body is probably not the smartest move.
I’m not anonymous, I’m Zayfod
March 1st, 2005 at 9:12 am
“I don’t like Brittany”. Why? It’s a wonderfully pretty place with great seafood.
But that Birtny Spews? Well, she sux.
March 1st, 2005 at 9:19 am
Let’s say for a moment that the P2P downloading market is about 1000 times as big as iTMS sales. (Look at Big Champagnes top 10 and that’s not unreasonable)
Now let’s say that rather than iTMS being a huge success, it’s actually failing miserably because they are at the top of the price elasticity curve and not in the sweet spot.
It’s seems very likely to me that dropping the price to $0.25 per song might see a growth in official downloads of at least 100 times and possibly 1000 times. That looks like an awful lot of money to me and would completely change the game.
But oh no. Some MBA somewhere thinks that tomorrow will be like today plus 10% and is only interested in propping up tomorrow’s bottom line. Hooray for short term-ism.
Why don’t they understand that their competition is “Free but awkward”? It’s not Amazon, Tower and Walmart. Pushing up the price just makes “Free but akward” look more appealing.
March 1st, 2005 at 2:24 pm
I think the price for each new mp3 on these online mp3 stores, should be around $0.10, or less. Now adays most mp3`s are not released with a bit rate of 128k, thats so yesterdays (2002 or before), these days the majority of mp3`s released are of 192k and higher (In the p2p world).
The industry now, must eitheir lower the prices to $0.10 and keep the same bitrate or lower the prices say to $0.50, and increase each mp3 bitrate.
Who the heck came out with the idea of DRM? Our western society if very happy to promote freedom. Even bush when he talked about IRAQ he said the american government is going to FREE the people from a Tyrant. Why in the digital world, the same thing does not happen? Why arent digital files, not free, but drm`d!
The internet is not anymore a safe place, but not because of pedophile,or other malicious ppl (although there are thos ppl), but because the Tyrant buisness man, have near absolute control of the meduim!.
And to steve jobs, Have he forgot his days,when he and his friend wozniak used to build blue boxes,and make free phone calls!!!! Ironic isnt it!!!!!!
March 1st, 2005 at 3:14 pm
I second the motion. They are just sooo out of touch with the market and their egos. They think it is 1970 and they can tell the consumers what and how much to pay.
I’d love to see a bar chart of their sales vs. P2P download.
R | *
E | *
V | *
E | *
N | *
U | *
E | *
S | *
| *
|
____________________________________________
1 10 Million per week
P2P Usage
I hope they understand graphs in Hollywood… Not sure they do byt he way they’ve been acting lately.
I also love the way they play it off as “The artists are the only ones suffering…” Little do they know that the artists will finally get the moneys they deserve and the publishers will also get what they deserve.
So sad….
March 2nd, 2005 at 4:33 pm
First of all let me say I own approx. 150 CD’s that I paid for at around $12-$15 ea. Not only the ones I own but most CD’s have only 2 songs worth listening to more than once, the rest are fillers and in alot of cases should never been recorded by the artist in the first place, let alone put on a CD.
So let me see … 1 CD x $12. divided by 2 half decent songs = $6.00 a song. I couldn’t buy just the song or two, so I was forced to paid the $12-$15 if I wanted the song that I liked. Now I should feel sorry for the Aritist, Yaaaaa right. They accept pennies for their for works but still sell to a Industry that makes millions.
Why is it a song can be written for only a few $s and in some cases nothing and have a lifetime copyright, yet the Medical and Chemical Companies spend millions and millions developing a product and have only 10 years to make their money off of it before it can be copied.
Maybe its about time the Copyright Laws should be rewitten.
Also why should I pay High Prices for something that was written 50 years ago to someone that likely isnt even alive.
The RIAA sure had someone Bafooed when they made that law . You don’t think anybody got paidoff …..DO You.!!!
Just My $6.00
March 2nd, 2005 at 8:12 pm
For the 128k standard ‘crap quality’ mp3 make every song 15¢.
For the 256k better quality mp3 make every song 49¢.
For those who really want a decent quality song, sell raw wav rips for 99¢….
Oh and it might be nice if everyone paid the same price globally based on the current exchange rates….
Now, will ‘that’ happen? Doubtful…… and will I ever buy music again?… no, I’ll stick to indie artists who produce music for the world and for themselves…… and not for money… even though p2p has been the BEST advertising paid artists could have hoped for… p2p isn’t to blame for down-trends… over-priced crappy cd’s with 1 good song don’t sell, just the good single songs which still seem to sell on itunes types anyway are all that’s moving…… lol
Time to get with the times RIAA… before you’re out of business…. Your ‘artists’ would likely benefit from the RIAA going bye bye though…. so keep it up!!! Keep attacking your customers, that’s a ‘real’ smart idea. lmao
Just another 10 cents..
_-Jile-_
March 2nd, 2005 at 11:56 pm
lol, ok so I cant count… When I started writing I was thinking 2 but then as I got going realized three tier might even be better…
*sighs* I need a vacation.
_-Jile-_