[update]Apple Threatens Itunes Closure - Paying Artists Decently Is Bad Business

[GhostShip]

This is shameful talk from apple 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7645537.stm

A veiled threat by Apple to close its iTunes store has emerged 18 months after it was issued and just a day before royalty rates are to be set. The Copyright Royalty Board meets on Thursday to rule on a requested 66% increase for sales of digital music from 9 cents to 15 cents a track. A rise would have to be paid by either Apple, the record company or consumer.

Apple opposed the rate hike and has said it is unwilling to raise its 99 cents a song price or absorb a rise.

In April 2007 the company's vice president for iTunes, Eddy Cue, submitted testimony to the Board at the Library of Congress.
"If iTS (iTunes Store) were forced to absorb any increase in the mechanical royalty rates, the result would be to significantly increase the likelihood of the store operating at a financial loss - which is no alternative at all.
"Apple has repeatedly made clear that it is in this business to make money, and would most likely not continue to operate iTS if it were no longer possible to do so profitably," said Mr Cue.

What many seem unaware of here is apple gets a bigger percentage than the artist, often about 3 times more in fact and they do currently operate as the biggest online download provider, given they operate 85%  of such services its a misleading claim to say it would hurt them at all if they had to up the share of the revenue given to the artist, I,m not siding with the labels either both they and apple should go halves to increase the artists share and look long on the maturing market and their position in it.

To do otherwise is to be labelled greedy corporate scum, the choice is theirs, but in the meanwhile lets keep our eyes on what they will be asking joe public to stump up in lieu of their own profits.

[GhostShip]

Situation update folks 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7649770.stm

The veiled threat to shut down iTunes if royalty rates on downloaded songs were hiked has been averted.
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) opted to keep the status quo and turned down a request to increase royalties from 9 to 15 cents on songs bought online.
The Digital Media Association, which represents online music stores including Apple, Amazon.com and Best Buy, applauded the outcome.
"Keeping rates where they are will help digital services and retailers continue to innovate and grow for the next several years," the Association's executive director Jonathan Potter said in a statement.

The Recording Industry Association of America said sales of digital songs and albums rose 46% last year to $1.2bn (£652m).
Over the last five years Apple has sold more than 5bn songs online. Meanwhile CD sales dropped 20% to $7.4bn (£4bn).

For ringtones, the federal agency set a new rate of 24 cents, roughly in line with industry practice of paying songwriters 10% revenue on each $2.50 (£1.35) ringtone. The rate was even higher than the 15 cents per song requested by songwriters and publishers.

I think you can all see that once again the artists have been shafted, it seems an artists work is worth less than 5 cents on itunes but $220,000 to corporate lawyers who pay nothing to the artists, because of lost sales according to the recording industry, it seem the industry is only concerned with its corporate members who fund it, artists are the lowest of the low to them and thats clearly shown here.