Connected World Media

In a high stakes game of chicken, Universal Music Group, the largest music corporation in the world notifyed Apple it will not renew its yearly contract to sell music on iTunes. Universal will sell music “at will”. There are many interesting quotes from this article.

But if Apple were to decide not to carry Universal’s recordings, the music company would likely sustain a serious blow: sales of digital music through iTunes and other sources accounted for more than 15 percent of Universal’s worldwide revenue in the first quarter, or more than $200 million. (Vivendi does not break out revenue from Apple alone).

Some industry observers have cautioned against taking on Mr. Jobs directly. “When your customers are iPod addicts, who are you striking back against?,” said Ken Hertz, an entertainment lawyer who represents artists like Beyoncé and the Black Eyed Peas.

Seems to me that Universal shouldn’t mess with Apple. Both companies would suffer damange if Universal started pulling songs, but I’m not sure it would be mutual assured distruction. Consumers love Apple right now and most think the music industry sucks. The music industry is desparate to get on better negotiating terms with Apple, but packing up your toys and going home isn’t the right way to go.

Sometimes you run across something that is just not quite right. Such as it is with the very odd iWear, uh, thing. I don’t have the wearwithall to explain. Click the link and explore for yourself.

And hell freezes over. EMI has stuck a deal with Apple to sell tracks and albums from their catalog DRM free. The songs will be of a higher quality and come at a higher price. So it should be interestng too see if this opens the floodgates for other lables to follow.

As usual, the RIAA has its own opinion of the Fair Use Act modification of the DMCA. As expected, they don’t like it. So says the RIAA:

The DMCA has enabled consumers to enjoy creative works through popular new technologies

Yes, the good folks at the RIAA are making a better digital life for all of us. Thanks God for the RIAA and thank God for DRM!

Representatives Rich Boucher (D-Va.) and John Dolittle (R-Calif.) have introduced  an amendment to the evil DMCA that scales back some of the draconian measures and introduces the concept of fair use to the bill. Thanks goodness someone is comming to their senses and changing things up. It’s time someone on the hill started fighting for consumer rights in the new digital world.

I didn’t think it would happen so fast, but just days after the Steve Jobs manifesto on digital music, sources say EMI is in talks to release a large portion of their catalog in MP3 format. Great news for music loving consumers everywhere. Let’s hope it really does happen. Why doesn’t Bill Gates get behind this as well for the Zune? They could have called it Bill & Steve’s Excellent Adventure.

Meanwhile at Warner, CEO Edgar Bronfman has a different opinion. 

In a somewhat stunning open letter to the world, Steve Jobs says DRM technology is largely ineffective and should be droped in favor of more open MP3 or AAC formats. Jobs says Apple would drop DRM from the iTunes music store right away if the record companies would let them. Jobs and Apple have come under increasing pressure from European governments to due away with DRM technology in iTunes. In this letter, Jobs is saying I’d love to but it’s out of my hands. Go talk to the record industry. Varying reactions from the industry has started to flow in, not all of it positive. Some in Big Music say Apple should simply license FairPlay to everyone as to make it more universal. Jobs outlines why this is not a good option in his letter and do you really think Microsoft is going to get on board with this? Not a chance.

It’s most likely that all the overseas pressure on Apple and iTunes contributed to this letter being written but it’s a great thing nonetheless. The music industry has been playing big bully for awhile now and it’s time they started feeling the heat from their customers and partners.  As Jobs points out in his letter, the industry sells far more physical CD’s than digital downloads and those are all completely unprotected. Look at it this way. Free and open societies prosper much better than closed and controlled ones. Like Soviet Communism, this too shall fall.

I have written about it before and here we go again. Another article suggesting the music industry is at least thinking about the merits of dropping DRM from their music distribution strategy. Music sales are dropping and digital downloads are not making up the difference. It’s adapt or die time for Big Music.