Inside Apple's Discussions With Record Labels

By Eriq Gardner

Hypebot has a nice little scoop about the demands that each of the major labels are making in negotiations with Apple to drop DRM. Everyone wants something different. According to Hypebot, here are the demands:

 

* Warner Music Group wants variable pricing on the track level including some hit product above $.99 cents.
    * Sony BMG wants to work with iTunes using the agency model.  As it is with Rhapsody, Amazon and others, Sony BMG is the actual seller of tracks and iTunes woulc be the agent delivering them. Sony BMG's concern is that competition will drive track prices lower and the agency model allows them to maintain complete control.
    * Universal wants watermarking on the individual track purchase level.  Apparently other download stores have agreed or are close to agreeing to do the same. How it will effect consumers remains unclear.

One of the beauties of iTunes is that you pretty much know what you're buying. Will that change?

Comments

[Roger Goff]

Assuming those are really the positions of the labels, those three business models are not wholly inconsistent. They can do an agency agreement with pricing parameters built in and watermark the tracks. That seems pretty easy to me and it should make everyone happy.