It was supposed to be Apple’s finest hour, but this weekend’s absurdly hyped launch of the iPhone brought some serious complications for Steve “Mock Turtlenecks Rock” Jobs. Customers lit up help lines after activation delays plagued new buyers, and some AT&T locations successfully strong-armed shoppers into purchasing unnecessary accessories. Big sales, but headaches abound.
There’s also trouble in a market Apple already dominates: Now comes word that the world’s largest record company has declined to sign a long-term deal with Apple to sell its music through iTunes. Vivendi’s Universal Music Group, which represents U2, Amy Winehouse, Eminem, 50 Cent, Black Eyed Peas and just everyone else that still makes albums, wants to take things slow and not be so exclusive. But before we think this spells the demise of iTunes as we know it, there’s nothing to suggest that Universal will pull its catalog altogether. Maybe they’re just incapable of making long-term commitments:
Universal, which produces one in three albums sold in the United States, will continue to sell music via iTunes on a month-to-month basis, rather than be locked in to a two-year agreement Apple had proposed, the source said.
It’s too early to tell what effect, if any, this will have on either the company or the program, but there’s a chance Universal can spread its love to some other digitial music strumpets. Eh, but when it comes down to it, betting against Apple is like betting against Keyser Soze. And you never shoot the devil in the back.
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so let me get this straight: they bitch about piracy all day long and then want to back out of one of the few legit ways for people to download music? universal is run by some really smart people.
Have you ever thought record company execs were smart? Just another in a long line of hilarious stumbles. But I guess they’re not backing out at all, and even if they do, they may just switch to another legal means.