Universal: owners of non-Zune players are thieves
updated 04:30 pm EST, Mon November 13, 2006
Universal on non-Zunes
Confirming earlier indications that the company is compensating for perceived losses to its music business, Universal on Monday accused all owners of music players beyond Microsoft's Zune of stealing music, according to Billboard. Universal CEO Doug Morris made the public revelation that the music label refused to license its content to Microsoft's online store without royalties, arguing controversially that his company required compensation outside of direct music sales regardless of whether or not Universal artists' music is ever copied to the player. More details follow after the jump.
"These devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it," Morris said, in effect stating that players without such licensing schemes are used primarily to listen to illegally copied songs. The executive also clarified the terms of the deal and noted that the company receives $1 per every $250 Zune sold, distributing half of the profits equally amongst its artists. The company has previously hinted that it will try to negotiate similar terms with Apple and other online store owners in the future but has not said that it would adjust the price of the music itself.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2006
Moron
Maybe I'm in the minority (though I doubt it), but I've owned several iPods from gen 1 through the new Shuffle, and I've never had an illegal track on any of them. I have an extensive CD library and have thousands of legal tracks, as well as podcasts and audio books on my iPods. If M$ caved in to extortion demands from the RIAA and individual record labels, it's only because they know they have little chance of breaking into the huge marketshare that Apple enjoys without significant help.
If the record labels priced their products reasonably, instead of whining about their failure to foresee and capitalize on a major shift in their marketplace, they would be an active participant in eliminating piracy of their products.
Further, I have long since tired of having to buy an entire CD, just to get the 3 or 4 tracks that are worth listening to, the rest being filler tracks. Find some acts that actually have talent, and the record labels can reverse the downward trend of sales of their products.