I think treating all the labels equally is inherently not fair because of (a) the enormous difference in competitive power and (b) the majors didn't invest the time at incredibly cheap rates that Merge and Matador have. So it's not really a lie from either side; it's a difference of opinion about what's fair.
I think (a) is the key here. I don't have any trouble imagining that there are compensation schemes that favor the majors over the indies, due to different download patterns (maybe volume dependent, or weird bonuses kicking in at different levels, etc). I don't know what they would might look like, but such a scheme delivered equally to all labels could easily be seen as untenable by the indies.
Lower wholesale rates, hmm...so they are backing up truckloads full of bulk mp3's at the eMu loading docks? I guess it's official, I don't understand the digital music bizniz. Can this really mean that the majors are accepting a lower rate than the indies??
Maybe they are backpedaling. 11th hour negotiations etc, or in this case 11:59.
Someone linked to an NPR story on the other board, which reports that eMU "imposed" pricing tiers on the Indies. If that is indeed the hangup, it admits of an easy solution...
Now I know it's been 7 years since I finished my MBA and I really haven't used it during that time but I'm left confused about the application of physical commercial concepts to digital assets.
"In commerce, a wholesaler buys goods in large quantities from their manufacturers or importers, and then sells smaller quantities to retailers, who in turn sell to the general public."
Are they negotiating the terms as an effort to retail a fixed number of digital goods? The replication, storage, and transmission of digital goods is negligible compared to their physical counterparts. The entertainment industry continues to baffle me.
I'm sure they simply used "wholesale" to mean "what the retailer pays their supplier". Technically it's a royalty or licensing fee or whatever, but the concept is similar enough. At least that's my guess. Of course it does make sense that the major labels with 1000s of back catalog items barely sell have finally decided to slash their rates on them, which hurts the indie labels with only a couple hundred or less.
@pzeke - There are a couplethreads started about Limewire that should help you get started. Their interface isn't great, but they are in a similar position eMusic was a few years back - good prices, no album-pricing, but missing some of the major indies. Just make sure to go to the storefront and not the P2P site.
Of course it does make sense that the major labels with 1000s of back catalog items barely sell have finally decided to slash their rates on them, which hurts the indie labels with only a couple hundred or less.
Would majors have any reason to force indies to accept lower wholesale prices? Lower wholesale rates in this case wouldn't affect the cost of downloading at eMu for customers, which is going up, but would there be some explanation why the majors would seek leverage against independents? Is it that indies are getting better market share in the digital world (Merge finally did get its first #1 album, although it did so by keeping Arcade Fire at $4 for almost a week)?
You can't get into much trouble going to Limewire.com anymore.
What's up with downloading at LWS anymore? It used to try to open Limewire, which I never cared to install on my computer. So is DL'ing individual tracks now the only option?
I've only downloaded by individual tracks, which is a pain, but I haven't looked around yet for other options because I also don't want the Limewire.com DLM on my computer.
I installed the DLM, although I think I've since uninstalled it, because I was trying to download an hour-long track and it wasn't working on a per track basis. It was slooooooow, but other than that never gave me any problems.
@BT - It might not be that the majors are forcing the indies to go along with their plan, but rather eMusic deciding that everybody gets the same deal whether they want it or not.
I have never gone to Limewire before. I just used the link Doofy posted, and this is the first thing I saw, in all caps:
ATTENTION
LimeWire is under a court order dated October 26, 2010 to stop distributing the LimeWire software. A copy of the injunction can be found here. LimeWire LLC, its directors and officers, are taking all steps to comply with the injunction. We have very recently become aware of unauthorized applications on the internet purporting to use the LimeWire name. We demand that all persons using the LimeWire software, name, or trademark in order to upload or download copyrighted works in any manner cease and desist from doing so. We further remind you that the unauthorized uploading and downloading of copyrighted works is illegal.
Limewire was a file sharing service that was recently shut down by an RIAA lawsuit. Limewire Store is a store that they opened up on the side, which seems to be all legal and stuff. Whether it survives the Limewire shut-down is another question, but hopefully they are sufficiently walled off.
found jedward's twitter. felt like a stalker. then realized that people put this stuff for others to read on purpose right? well whatever. we love you jedward.
Thanks to all who responded to my Limewire question. The website does remind me a bit of eMu's back when I first stumbled across it, March 2005. Don't want to sign up today, but who knows, maybe tomorrow...
Maybe they should have put up a banner saying, "Good News! Today eMusic will have the biggest music exodus in it's history as thousands of popular albums leave the site!"
Comments
Craig
Someone linked to an NPR story on the other board, which reports that eMU "imposed" pricing tiers on the Indies. If that is indeed the hangup, it admits of an easy solution...
Are they negotiating the terms as an effort to retail a fixed number of digital goods? The replication, storage, and transmission of digital goods is negligible compared to their physical counterparts. The entertainment industry continues to baffle me.
@pzeke - There are a couple threads started about Limewire that should help you get started. Their interface isn't great, but they are in a similar position eMusic was a few years back - good prices, no album-pricing, but missing some of the major indies. Just make sure to go to the storefront and not the P2P site.
What's up with downloading at LWS anymore? It used to try to open Limewire, which I never cared to install on my computer. So is DL'ing individual tracks now the only option?
Craig
From Yancey's Twitter.
I'm dying here.
Also, you need to get a life, rather than re-checking this url every few minutes.
or not
That's beuuuteeful!