Heise reports that the big labels want to get *more* money from online music sales. Apple is selling songs for about USD 1, which I think is already far too expensive. Buying an entire CD worth of music costs you more than the real CD, and you get no CD, no booklet, no jewel case, and damned DRM on top. And the labels are already getting USD 0.70 per song! Their greediness is apalling. Now they want Apple to ask up to USD 1.5 for popular songs. And when iTunes Japan opened, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group were no longer part of the deal... ¹
Pirates!
Mehr hierzu auch bei TelePolis:
Taugt ein verschärfter Urheberrechtsschutz dazu, den unerlaubten Handel von Musiktiteln über Internet-Tauschbörsen einzudämmen und den Absatz verkaufter Tonträger wieder in die Höhe zu treiben? Die Erfolgsaussichten einer solchen Maßnahme sind umstritten. ²
ChrisAnderson also writes about it, and thinks that variable pricing is good:
But long term, one-size-fits-all pricing is just constraining the economics of the industry and holding back the market. If Apple introduced variable pricing, it’s not hard to see how the average price might actually fall in a year or two, thanks to the number of titles in the discounted niche/backcatalog categories vastly outnumbering the more expensive hits. ³
Chris Gilbey responds in a comment, saying what I feel to be right:
The problem that I see with record companies setting multiple prices - for both them and for artists and for Apple, and others - is that they will still get it wrong. The model then (and now) is that the top selling artists are discounted aggressively in order to establish sell in and sell through. New and emerging artists were sold at the full price. Catalogue was sold at a discount. ⁴
So basically: They’re not getting it. Instead of embracing the Internet way of selling music, they will not abandon their old ways and thus will have to finance their entire marketing, manufacturing and distributing departments all the way.
And Barry Ritholtz chimes in and asks the right question:
Does it make sense to price digital downloads – with no physical cost to press, ship or warehouse – the same as CDs? ⁵
Barry also links to some of his own blog posts on the subject, so I’ll have to go and have a look.
Finally, there’s an interesting pricing model by Julian Bond, with details based on All Of Mp3. ⁶
(More power to them for getting it right and living in a country that has resisted WIPO pressure until now!)
#Copyright