DIRTY DIRTY MP3 player…
Yesterday, Microsoft agreed to share revenue from Zune sales with record labels and artists. Forcing the issue was Universal Music Group, which at deadline is the only label named in the program. UMG refused to license its music to the Zune unless it could receive a percentage of each device sold, in addition to standard music licensing fees for downloads and subscriptions.“These devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it,” UMG chairman/CEO Doug Morris says. “So it’s time to get paid for it.” (full story)
All those millions of songs legally purchased via the iTunes music store are stolen too, I guess. And the songs encoded from legally purchased CDs as well.
Then again, according to the RIAA’s interpretation of Fair Use, there is none. If you purchase a CD, they believe you have no right to re-encode it to put in a digital player.
What a load of horseshit.
There’s a reason why people are abandoning the major labels and mainstream music in general. It’s the rampant greed on the part of the media companies. If an industry sues their target consumers, why would they be surprised if said consumers turn their backs on their product?
Morons. Utter, total morons.
So, essentially anyone who purchases a Zune is paying a “stolen music fee” tacked on by UMG. That’s awesome to assume that every customer is criminal, jack up the price, and then pass that cost onto the consumer. Brilliant!
We’ll have to see just how “successful” they are passing it along to the consumer.
But Zune will win on the strength of its HOT girl-on-girl installation error screens.
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