Universal Music Group vs. Apple
The Universal Music Group continues to keep its head up its ass. As if they are not screwed enough with declining sales of CDs each year, they now seem content to choke off the one point of growth in music sales – the iTunes Store. The New York Times has an article about how Universal is threatening to pull their entire catalog out of the iTunes store if they can’t come to an agreement on terms and pricing. It seems as though Universal wants to be able to control pricing (read: raise prices) and Apple has stood by their one-price-for-all approach.
If you are a label exec, what is the thought process here? For better or worse, iTunes IS the digital music market. Dozens of other stores out there have tried to compete and can’t. I realize that the music industry HATES giving up control, but we’re in a new world now and if you continue to screw your consumers, your ship will sink faster than the Titanic.