A Much To Do About a Lot!

So what is in store for the future of the music industry? We have a mergers bidding in radio and label land; Apple and Steve Jobs publicly getting support to change restrictions on DRM; wireless and iPhones- eliminating the need for common accessories of the past; terrestrial radio losing listeners, CD sales are down- THIS makes for fresh news everyday – not a dull moment, not a stable ground—and a chaos leaving many nervous about the direction things are going. EMI and Warner haven’t cleared the water yet on pricing and regulatory concerns. It will take them probably some time to agree upon circumstances – since innately circumstances seems to be in a bit of a dance on all levels in the music industry these days. To complicate matters more, EMI Group and online music sellers including Microsoft, Yahoo, Amazon, and Apple refrained from talks about removing copyright protection from songs due to the fact they couldn't agree on the size of an advance payment. EMI “demanded an upfront payment to compensate for its risk in releasing the music” without DRM software. Who can blame them? In return the retailers countered EMI’s advance request with a lower offer, but EMI further rejected the offer.

It seems like a lot of negotiating for one label to handle at a time. It might surprise some they rejected the advance- but in all do respect, give the label a break! "This industry fights every change tooth-and-nail is not helping reverse the tide." Harold Vogel, an independent media analyst in New York, said in an interview. But who can blame them. They are sinking a bit – or it is safer to say – treading rougher waters. The music industry is under a lot of pressure from retailers such as Apple's iTunes and Napster to free music from DRM, and that is tremendous pressure. Their whole business model might have to change. They have to keep their own company a float, so take some time- but not too much, people will jump ship. All the complications and finances can be somewhat traced to digital progressions and newfound piracy issues. Honestly it is a bit sad. It could be the beginning to the end of the Big Four.