NYT: Music execs operate 'in fear of Apple'

The last line is the truth. I will be completely honest, all I used to do was pirate my music before iTunes. It really wasn't so much the cost, it was mostly the convenience. I buy a lot of music from iTunes purely out of laziness and convenience. This is the beauty of iTunes. I don't think anyone can usurp Apple though, not without an effort on the magnitude of Microsoft with the Xbox. The task to dethrone Sony and Nintendo was massive, but it was doable with a good product, money, and time. The problem is, I see the goal to dethrone Apple even bigger than that one. You need time, money, product and momentum. I really don't see how you'd get momentum without something drastically better. What can be better though? Minor improvements can be made, but you would have to have a better device, iPod, a better tool, iTunes. I don't see all these pieces of the puzzle falling together.

The music industry has had negative relationships with their sales outlets since the beginning of the industry.

There was a time where they complained about radio...tower records...MTV...Wal-Mart.

I mean, these guys are the biggest bunches of whiners in the history of business. They've managed to kill or cripple every one of their product channels in some way or another.

Plus, they also screw the musicians that provide them with their bread and butter.

Unbelievable.

Interesting. This should explain why music labels are embracing Spotify. I never understood how Spotify got those deals until now. Labels want a real competitor to iTMS, which Spotify will become. As soon as Spotify is on our iPhones (and that will be soon): bye bye iTMS. Apple will have to answer with their own subscription service by the end of the year or suffer a greatly reduced market share in the long run. I wonder if record labels will allow Apple to do that without any kind of delay ...

Personally, I'm confused by this part:
"Music executives, according to an unnamed source, are afraid of angering Apple, as Apple can single-handedly remove a label's catalog from the iTunes store, angering the label's customers."

Perhaps it is true that the executives believe this, but I think the result would actually be the opposite. I don't make my music purchasing decisions based on what label puts out the music. I don't think most people do.

I do make decisions about purchasing music based on convenience, though, so if Apple removes some section of music and I go there looking and can't find it I'm certainly less inclined to return to iTunes next time.

Right??

Now the music industry is experience the same thing what they did do, to others, like musicians and online music stores. The music industry had power, back then. Now they have to work for there money, not grabbing it! And the audience is deciding what they want hear. See YouTube and others. They don't like it, they don't have control. Just a little bit.

Problem still is if you get a mighty company back again. They will be calling the shots and you might have the same problem again. They going to decide what the price is. Only if they have all the music of the different record companies or at leased the bigger part. I hope there will be serveral (not two big ones) service, who will offer the same way as iTunes! That makes the prices drop too!

Awww. Poor music labels. Big bad Apple is beating up on you?

I'd don't believe this pathetic PR crap for one second. The labels wrote their own tickets to extinction by allowing their unbridled greed to dictate pricing and shoving one-hit-wonders down our throats instead of focusing on artist development.

How can we hasten their demise?

So the record labels live in fear of Apple. Big Deal. I'm sure they have an equal fear of Wal-Mart. Anytime a distributor is such a large part of your bottom line. You live in fear of their demands.

I say let the labels crash and burn.

ex-musician.

Amazon is a great place to buy and download music. In fact it's often much cheaper and DRM free.

And my credit card info I've put all over the web could be used by those sites for their personal shopping spree, but it doesn't mean that just because they have the power to do that, they will.

What is it with music labels and always having their knickers in a bunch...