04.20.07 - 12:33pm
CD sales lost over 13 percent of their revenue in 2006, and digital music sales jumped 60 percent, with album sales up 103
percent. This puts record companies in a bit of a rock and a hard place in upcoming negotiations with Apple over music contracts coming up this next month. With such an exorbitant loss of music sales, record companies need to find a way to make money selling the music digitally. With Apple controlling over 80% of a market that the record labels desperately need, the record labels may forced to play into Apple’s hands when the contracts hit the tables
Apple clearly will be fighting for DRM free music and since EMI has already signed up to have all their music DRM free the record labels hands have already been called, without even getting a chance to fight for Apple’s Fairplay to be opened up with DRM still in place.
Category: apple, itunes | Tags: apple, cd_sales, drm, emi, music_contracts, record_labels | Be the First to Comment »
04.18.07 - 02:13pm
Itunes has just posted a sale for over 100 famous iTunes albums. Albums from the likes of U2, Miles Davis, Smashing Pumpkins, Pink Floyd and more are available for $7.99 for a limited time.
The announcement comes on the heals of the news that CD sales have dropped 13 percent from last year, exceeding even the Napster era of 2001 to 2004 when downloads were free.
The good news however is that iTunes were up 60% from last year, and while digital downloads are still not enough to make up for the drop in CD sales the music industry is still hopeful.
“Today’s music marketplace has challenges, but it also offers reason for hope and optimism,” RIAA chairman Mitch Bainwol said in a statement. “The appetite for music is as strong as ever and a digital marketplace now worth nearly $2 billion has emerged virtually overnight.”
Category: itunes | Tags: cd_sales, digital-music_sales, itunes | Be the First to Comment »
