Apple Pushing Record Labels for More Exclusive Beyonce-Like iTunes AlbumsApple's iTunes chief Robert Kondrk met with record label executives during Grammy Week in January about the potential of more exclusive album releases, like Beyoncé's
iTunes-exclusive album last December,
according to
Billboard.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-396159" alt="beyoncebig" src="
http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2013/12/beyoncebig.png" width="800" height="423" />
Apple Inc.’s music chief Robert Kondrk has been pressuring major labels for releases similar to last year's Beyonce exclusive, excluding services like YouTube and Spotify to help shore up slowing download sales, according to music executives familiar with the conversations.
While digital music track sales fell from 1.34 billion units to 1.24 billion units in 2013 due to the rise of streaming services like Spotify and YouTube, Beyoncé's album sold 1 million copies globally in a week iTunes alone.
Kondrk is using the album's success to sell label executives on the prospect of exclusively releasing albums on digital storefronts like iTunes. He told executives the exclusives don't have to be limited to iTunes as long as they weren't on streaming services like Spotify. The move would be to preserve sales on digital storefronts.
Finally, Kondrk asked executives if they could lock down individual track sales until after a certain window of time, which would then allow users to purchase individual music tracks and listen to albums on streaming services. This is in stark contrast to Steve Jobs' sell of
unbundled legal access to music when the iTunes Music Store was introduced in 2003.
In January, it was reported that digital music sales
declined year-over-year for the first time since the opening of the iTunes Music Store as more users opt for streaming services such as Spotify, Rdio, Pandora and iTunes Radio.
Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories •
Best Buy Offering Free 16GB iPhone 5s With Trade-In of iPhone 4s or 5 •
New Apple TV Not Imminent Despite $25 Gift Card Promotion •
Apple Handles 'Several Billion' iMessages and 15 to 20 Million FaceTime Calls Daily [Updated] •
Apple Compiles iOS Development Resources in New 'Designing Great Apps' Hub •
MOGA Working on New Bluetooth iOS 7 Game Controller •
Google Hangouts for iOS Gains iPad Optimization, iOS 7 Redesign •
ABC to Stream Oscars Live to 'Watch ABC' iOS App for Select Customers •
Apple Adds Kendrick Lamar, Supporting Acts to iTunes Festival SXSW Lineup<img width='1' height='1' src='
http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/35070/f/648327/s/37a97823/sc/15/mf.gif' border='0'/><br clear='all'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr><td valign='middle'><a href="
http://share.feedsportal.com/share/twitter/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macrumors.com%2F2014%2F03%2F01%2Fapple-pushing-itunes-exclusives%2F&t=Apple+Pushing+Record+Labels+for+More+Exclusive+Beyonce-Like+iTunes+Albums" target="_blank"><img src="
http://res3.feedsportal.com/social/twitter.png" border="0" />[/url] <a href="
http://share.feedsportal.com/share/facebook/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macrumors.com%2F2014%2F03%2F01%2Fapple-pushing-itunes-exclusives%2F&t=Apple+Pushing+Record+Labels+for+More+Exclusive+Beyonce-Like+iTunes+Albums" target="_blank"><img src="
http://res3.feedsportal.com/social/facebook.png" border="0" />[/url] <a href="
http://share.feedsportal.com/share/linkedin/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macrumors.com%2F2014%2F03%2F01%2Fapple-pushing-itunes-exclusives%2F&t=Apple+Pushing+Record+Labels+for+More+Exclusive+Beyonce-Like+iTunes+Albums" target="_blank"><img src="
http://res3.feedsportal.com/social/linkedin.png" border="0" />[/url] <a href="
http://share.feedsportal.com/share/gplus/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macrumors.com%2F2014%2F03%2F01%2Fapple-pushing-itunes-exclusives%2F&t=Apple+Pushing+Record+Labels+for+More+Exclusive+Beyonce-Like+iTunes+Albums" target="_blank"><img src="
http://res3.feedsportal.com/social/googleplus.png" border="0" />[/url] <a href="
http://share.feedsportal.com/share/email/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macrumors.com%2F2014%2F03%2F01%2Fapple-pushing-itunes-exclusives%2F&t=Apple+Pushing+Record+Labels+for+More+Exclusive+Beyonce-Like+iTunes+Albums" target="_blank"><img src="
http://res3.feedsportal.com/social/email.png" border="0" />[/url]</td><td valign='middle'></td></tr></table></div>
<img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/186531245636/u/49/f/648327/c/35070/s/37a97823/sc/15/rc/1/rc.img" border="0"/><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/186531245636/u/49/f/648327/c/35070/s/37a97823/sc/15/rc/2/rc.img" border="0"/><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/186531245636/u/49/f/648327/c/35070/s/37a97823/sc/15/rc/3/rc.img" border="0"/><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/186531245636/u/49/f/648327/c/35070/s/37a97823/a2.img" border="0"/><img width="1" height="1" src="
http://pi.feedsportal.com/r/186531245636/u/49/f/648327/c/35070/s/37a97823/a2t.img" border="0"/><div class="feedflare">
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MacRumors-Front?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MacRumors-Front?d=6W8y8wAjSf4" border="0"></img> <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/MacRumors-Front?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></div><img src="
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/MacRumors-Front/~4/97xfd9APaQY" height="1" width="1"/>
Source:
Apple Pushing Record Labels for More Exclusive Beyonce-Like iTunes Albums
