The music industry wants the apple to rot…
Friday, October 10th, 2008Who’s fault is it? Is it Steve Jobs aggressive deal making? This is one case where Apple really sunk itself.
If Apple was smart… first off they should have NEVER agreed not to enter the music industry when they were sued by Apple Corps(The beatles). I mean it sucks that they were sued in the first place - Paul McCartney can go suck a green apple for that one, but the fact still remains that they should have fought back harder. Because of this issue, they have fewer options, I’ll explain in a second.
Now the Apple has become such a powerhouse, the music industry has gotten more and more frightened of them and the 1 song model on the iTunes music store. In fact, the likes of Sony, Universal and Warner Music continue to withhold music from Apple, choosing instead to back iTunes’ rivals as a way of punish Steve Jobs for his lack of flexibility.
You might ask, why didn’t SONY get this much pressure with the walkman? Well first off, they didn’t change the album sales model (but they did do everything they could to make it proprietary - they just failed miserably because they suck too - ie Mini Disc), but secondly, they own a MAJOR chunk of the music industry.
Well, thats the solution, just buy a studio? Right? Well… WRONG, because of the terms of Apples settlement with Apple Corp dictate the Apple is not allowed to be anymore of a stakeholder in the industry than they already are.
Anyway, to cut to the chase, the studios are not only withholding music, they are also withholding important opportunities. If Apple does not ingratiate themselves as much as possible - another competitor is going to come along and de-throne King Jobs.