Aural Sects

Ticketmaster/LiveNation: Lenders Approve Merger

musicalbeds:

One more kick in the nuts for honest musicians. But of course… who actually cares about those anymore?

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc said on Tuesday it has received the required approval from its lenders for its proposed merger with Live Nation Inc, the world’s largest concert promoter.

The leading ticketing company said more than 50 percent of its lenders have given approval for the merger which its executives said had been one of the major hurdles for its plan to combine with Live Nation.

Ticketmaster’s plan to merge with Live Nation has met with antitrust concerns from politicians and consumer groups. The case is currently being examined by the U.S. Department of Justice. Both companies said they expect the merger to close this fall.

Ticketmaster also said Tuesday that first-quarter net income dropped to $7.2 million, or 12 cents a share, from $32.7 million, or 58 cents a year ago.

Profit was hurt by ticketing volume declines, pre-merger and public expenses and foreign exchange volatility.

Revenue increased by 7 percent to $373.8 million, thanks in part to Ticketmaster’s acquisition of Front Line Management group in October 2008.

I find it hilarious that their stock is worth $0.12 a share.

Source

Wow, I am not at all surprised that the Money Lending Corporate Rapists are eager to enable the Customer Scamming Corporate Rapists. I’d like to believe that the DOJ would block this merger, but considering just how many former mafiAA lawyers the DOJ has hired I think that’s very unlikely. Once the merger is complete it will be the death of affordable live music for anyone except the rich. But who cares, right? *so bitter*

Sounds of the Universe - Depeche Mode

Well it’s out! If you’d like to Try Before You Buy, you can stream the entire album on Spinner.com here (the songs are mislabelled though, if you want to know what your listening to look at the track listing on Amazon instead). If you like what you hear, then you’ll be pleased to know (if you’re in the US) that Amazon’s MP3 store has the MP3 album on sale for $3.99 for today (April 21st) only.

I’m streaming it now. I’m enjoying it so far. Not madly in love right of the bat, but not turned off either. And if the labels weren’t waging such an unrelenting war against their customers I would probably buy it right away. Especially at the sale price. But I’m having a real hard time justifying spending money that will go, primarily, to supporting corporations that are so dedicated to ripping off both fans and artists.

I’ve paid for Wrong, and I don’t regret spending that money. It’s a wonderful song. But more than that, I don’t know.

Thanks labels, for pissing all over me in your pathetic attempts to save your dying business model.

ETA: I went ahead and bought it. I feel dirty, and I apologize to the guys of Depeche Mode for not being able to afford the actual cd - which I am certain you get paid more for. Not a lot more, of course. Maybe I’ll just send them $10 later or something.

Amazon MP3 Store raises prices

So…

AmazonMP3 Follows Suit… $1.29 Pricing Spreads

The dominant iTunes Store sets the tone for the paid download space, a field that includes Napster, Rhapsody, and AmazonMP3. Already, a shift towards variable pricing on iTunes is rippling across the sector, and causing at least one early shift. A quick gander onto AmazonMP3 reveals more than few $1.29 downloads, a change first noticed by C|Net journalist Matt Rosoff.

Thanks to Apple, Amazon and its competitors are now faced with higher wholesale costs, a shift that forces higher pricing. The end result is quite predictable, especially considering the razor-thin margins that paid downloads afford. But at least one competitor - eMusic - has flatly refused to elevate its payment structure, one that bundles download allocations into monthly subscription charges. Then again, eMusic mostly sells songs from independent labels, a group that has show more willingness to accept lower price points.

I’m done buying mp3s. The labels have ‘won’ this one for sure. I will no longer purchase MP3s from any source at all. CDs, should I desire them, will be bought used. I’ll still support the bands that I love most, but everyone else just lost any money I might spend on them. Good job labels! You’ve driven me right back out the door.

Oh, and in related news, despite bullshit claims that most of the ‘new’ prices on iTunes would be of the $0.69 variety:

Apple Shifts iTunes Pricing; $0.69 Tracks MIA

I know, I’m totally shocked too!

How iTunes Variable Pricing Fucks over Fall Out Boy & Their Fans

Fall Out Boy is my favorite band. They made me care about music in a way I had never cared about it before. They made me passionate about music. They inspire me every single day. And, thanks to lable greed, my ability to purchase their music has just been jeopardized.

First, this bullshit variable pricing fuckwittery is not limited to just Fall Out Boy (of course). It’s something that labels have been trying to force iTunes to do since the start. And in exchange for making all iTunes items DRM-free, they’re getting it.

Back on March 26th the LA Times ran an article about variable pricing:

Hottest tracks to cost $1.29 at iTunes starting April 7
The online music store, under pressure from record labels, is abandoning its 99-cent-only strategy.

The move, part of a new “variable-pricing” strategy that will also lower the price of selected songs, is an attempt by the music industry to wring more revenue from digital downloads in the battle to offset declining CD sales. Label executives contend the new pricing will allow them to offer packaged downloads of songs that might entice consumers to spend more on music.

Some music industry veterans are criticizing the 30% hike price, saying the timing is tone deaf because it comes in the midst of a recession and at a time when spending for online music appears to have reached a plateau.

It’s now April 7th, and those variable prices have come into effect:

Elevated Pricing Arrives at iTunes Store…

The anticipation is now over, as music fans everywhere can now pay more for their favorite tracks on the iTunes Store.

Naturally, the first thing I did was run right over to iTunes Store to see how many of my favorite bands were being fucked with. A quick search of my top-played bands only showed one band being manipulated in this manner. Of course, it’s my very favorite band so I’m more than a little pissed off.

I will not use subscription music services. I cannot afford a monthly bill for music, it’s hard enough to pay my monthly cable tv/internet bill. I have yet to hear anything that would reassure me that buying from Rhapsody wouldn’t require infecting my computer with Real (audio, studio, etc) malware. Which means, for purchasing MP3s, I’ve been using the Amazon MP3 store. Now it’s not a perfect fit, it’s only for the US, doesn’t tend to have singles, never has music videos and there is never a PDF (or similar) with liner notes like there is on some iTunes albums. But it’s good enough.

So I went through the Fall Out Boy tracks that have had their prices tampered with and compared them to the Amazon versions of the same tracks/albums. You’re welcome.

Beat It (feat. John Mayer) - Single
iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=276328441&s=143441

Beat It (feat. John Mayer)   —   $1.29

vs Amazon (not sold as a single, but available for individual purchase off the **** Live In Phoenix album):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016Q45XK/ref=dm_dp_trk9?ie=UTF8&qid=1239096967
price $0.99

Folie à Deux (Deluxe Version)

iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=299508502&s=143441
whole album price $9.99 (includes video for I Don’t Care & Album Only bonus America’s Suitehearts remix)

America’s Suitehearts   —   $1.29
I Don’t Care 3:34 Fall Out Boy Folie à Deux (Deluxe Version) Alternative   —   $1.29
(other 11 regular tracks are $0.99 each, America’s Suitehearts remix is album only, I Don’t Care video is $1.49 [standard cost for music video])

vs Amazon (no Deluxe Version, regular album):
http://www.amazon.com/Folie-%C3%A0-Deux/dp/B001NB6IN8/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1239096853
whole album price $9.49/tracks are $0.99 each, does not include any bonus tracks and Amazon does not sell music videos

From Under the Cork Tree

iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=59950798&s=143441
whole album price $9.99

Sugar, We’re Goin Down   —   $1.29
Dance, Dance   —   $1.29
(other 11 tracks are $0.99 each)

vs Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/From-Under-The-Cork-Tree/dp/B000W0YXIS/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1239096451
whole album price $9.49/tracks $0.99 each

Infinity On High

iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=213526614&s=143441
whole album price $8.99

Thnks Fr Th Mmrs   —   $1.29
(other 13 tracks are $0.99 each)

vs Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-On-High/dp/B000W0AG8O/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1239096285
whole album price $9.49/tracks $0.99 each

Infinity On High - Deluxe Bonus - EP

iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=268367386&s=143441
whole album price $2.99

Dance, Dance (Live From Hammersmith Palais)   —   $1.29
(other 4 tracks are $0.99 each)

vs Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-High-Deluxe-Bonus-EP/dp/B000YNGDYU/ref=sr_shvl_album_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1239095913
whole album price $2.70/tracks $0.99 each

Infinity On High (Deluxe Edition)

iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=268582103&s=143441
whole album price $11.99

Dance, Dance (Live From Hammersmith Palais)   —   $1.29
Thnks Fr Th Mmrs   —   $1.29
(other 17 songs are $0.99 each)

vs Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-On-High-Deluxe-Version/dp/B0013XP7Z6/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1239095913
whole album price $9.49/tracks $0.99 each

**** Live In Phoenix

iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=276715932&s=143441
whole album price $9.99

Dance, Dance (Live)   —   $1.29
Beat It (feat. John Mayer) [Studio Version]   —   $1.29
Sugar, We’re Goin Down (Live)   —   $1.29
(other 12 songs are $0.99 each)

vs Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Live-In-Phoenix/dp/B0016Q8G4E/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1239095722
whole album $9.49/tracks $0.99 each

Thnks Fr Th Mmrs Hit Pack - EP

iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=253742414&s=143441
whole album price $2.49

Sugar, We’re Goin Down   —   $1.29
Thnks Fr Th Mmrs   —   $1.29
A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More “Touch Me”   —   $0.99

vs Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Thnks-Fr-Mmrs-Hit-Pack/dp/B000VZFSHY/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1239095360
whole album price $2.71/tracks $0.99 each

Thnks Fr Th Mmrs Remix - EP

iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=259598464&s=143441
whole album price $5.99

Thnks Fr Th Mmrs (Lenny B Long Term Memory)   —   $1.29
Thnks Fr Th Mmrs (Lenny B Club Remix)   —   $1.29
Thnks Fr Th Mmrs (The Lindbergh Palace Remix)   —   $1.29
Thnks Fr Th Mmrs (Lenny B Short Term Memory)   —   $1.29
Thnks Fr Th Mmrs (Lenny B Radio Edit)   —   $1.29
Thnks Fr Th Mmrs (The Lindbergh Palace Radio Edit)   —   $1.29

vs Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Thnks-Fr-Th-Mmrs-Remix/dp/B000VZFSNI
whole album price $5.94/tracks $0.99 each

So if you buy the whole album of Folie à Deux (Deluxe Edition), or the Thnks Fr Th Mmrs Hit Pack EP or the regular Infinity On High from iTunes you’re still doing okay, though not by much. In fact the only real deal there is the Folie à Deux (Deluxe Edition) and it is an awesome deal, well worth the money. For the rest of that, however, Amazon wins hands down.

Now, in my case, this doesn’t currently affect me. Why? Because I’ve already bought all of these songs/albums. But in the future? And now that they’ve introduced variable pricing, I have no way of knowing just how variable they’ll end up getting.

I might understand variable pricing when it comes to physical goods with scarcity issues. However, we’re talking digital goods. There is not now, nor will there ever, ever be scarcity issues. A digital file can be copied infinitely with no degradation. This means the rules of “supply and demand” that physical goods are subject to DO NOT FUCKING APPLY.

And honestly, I would bet every penny I have ever made EVER that not one more cent is going to the artists. Will Fall Out Boy be getting more money for each mp3 of Sugar We’re Going Down sold through iTunes? I sincerely doubt it. And that, right there, is why I’m almost at the breaking point when it comes to paying for music.

I want to support the artists I love. I want to pay them back for the happiness they have brought me. The only way I can reasonably do that is to purchase their music/merchandise and go to concerts. I want to spend my (very limited) money the best way, ie: the way that will most benefit the artists. Increasingly the best way appears to be to send the artists a check and download their music from ‘friends’. I’d be happy to be shown to be wrong.

But from what Trent Reznor and Amanda Palmer have been saying, I really don’t think I am wrong.