Universal's Desperate Delusion
by George Ziemann -- January 18, 2007
Doug Morris, the CEO at Universal
Music, may just be getting ready to pick a fight with Steve Jobs,
according
to IPDemocracy (although the following quote actually comes
from an AP story in USA Today).
Morris has already suggested,
albeit guardedly, that his next target will be iPod-maker and
No. 1 online music retailer Apple. With Apple's licensing deal
to sell Universal music on iTunes set to expire in May, Morris
says, "There might be other ways to get paid."
Speculation in the industry
is that he'll seek a slice of iPod sales. Apple declined to comment.
Universal's upcoming negotiations
with Apple could set the tone for the rest of the recording industry.
But Morris says he doesn't know if he's prepared to pull Universal's
music from iTunes to get a cut of iPod sales.
"I wouldn't want to draw
a line in the sand," he says.
Morris has already sued MySpace,
was going to sue YouTube until they gave him a share of the company,
and got Microsoft to promise $1 for every Zune sold, which has
probably raked in tens of dollars for Universal. Maybe hundreds.
Addendum -- January 19 --
Even though Microsoft is paying Universal, you still can't
share their music via Zune.
Morris wants money from Apple
because they have a product that plays digital music. Additionally,
Apple is the only one really selling digital music. Their closest
competition, EMusic, is running at about 5 percent of Apple's
sales.
Not only that, rumor is that
you'll be able to buy Beatles albums on iTunes beginning on Valentine's Day.
I would guess that this will kick sales up for at least a week
or two.
Of the four existing major
record labels, I've got EMI at the top of the list as far as
which one seems most likely die first. But Universal is edging
into second place.
Universal Music Sues MySpace
November 17, 2006 -- Universal Music Group today filed
a lawsuit against MySpace.com, claiming the usual blah blah
copyright blah blah theft blah blah. Universal is apparently
unaware of the recent media downgrade of MySpace to "so
last year." Maybe Doug Morris heard that Britney and Cletus'
first official act of public snubbery was to delete each other
from their list of MySpace friends.
It's been almost seven full
years since Napster launched and this ridiculous behavior began.
The record labels still think they can sue their problems away.
Sales continue to drop.
I think it's time for the record
labels to stop suing their competition and be forced to actually
compete with them. If Universal is being destroyed by a bunch
of high school kids on MySpace making their own personal entertainment
destination, then that's Universal's fault for not having the
ability to make one on their own. Universal should have a place
on their website where all the fans of Universal artists can
upload their sing-along (or dance-along) karaoke videos.
It's not just Universal. Are
all four of the RIAA labels completely unable to create a music
service on their own? If Warner Music or Sony doesn't like iTunes
pricing structure, why don't they make their own digital online
store? Not creative enough? Technical inability? At Sony?
The labels could eliminate
the retailers and deal directly with the public, thus prolonging
their reason for being. If they are afraid of offending the retailers,
then they're in trouble because one of the two is no longer necessary.
Ultimately, the artists are
going to be dealing directly with their fans.
Universal Targets Those Who Can't Pay
October 8, 2005
-- Perhaps trying to relive the
old days when the Mafia ran the music business, Universal
Music has announced their new game plan -- generate revenue
from those who can't (or won't) pay. They are also moving away
from music, diversifying into perfume and apparel. They want
to create stars, not nurture talent. They want brands, not bands.
This really comes as no surprise.
We should expect as much from an industry that would intentionally
sue a 14-year-old child, along with another 14,799 people.
We should expect as much from an organization which somehow has
the right to declare any music they did not create to
be "pirated goods" and remove
it from store shelves at gunpoint.
What also comes as no surprise
is that the media ignores all of this behavior. After all, the
media is not concerned with the truth any longer. That's not
their job, especially since there is no bloody crime scene, no
death, no destruction, no anonymous leaks from high ranking officials.
But more important, there is no political advantage to be gained.
If anything there is a possibility of political fallout if people
start becoming aware of how political influence is bought and
sold by the lobbyists representing foreign interests.
To "generate revenue from
those who can't pay". Hmmm. That's intriguing. At the very
least, it's a scheme to take money from the poor. No, no, not
the artists. Other poor people. How can they do that?
I can understand how they might put together another vindictive
plan to punish people, but how can you generate revenue from
people who don't have any money? They would have to devise a
way to actively divert funds intended for the poor.
Five years ago, I wouldn't
have considered for a moment that the cartel would actually go
that far, nor would I have entertained the notion that our government
might allow them to get away with something so aggregious.
We know better now, so expect
the worst.
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