More Videos
- My Top 10 Tech Toys for the Holidays
- iPhone a Better Gaming Platform Than Android?
- Dell Has Some Explaining to Do
- Dell May Start to Show Some Promise
- Has Twitter's Finest Hours (Seconds) Come and Gone?
- Intel's Andy Bryant Offers An Explanation
- Apple's Global Retail Invasion
- Intel Settles; AMD Settles the Score
- HP's Shot Across Cisco's Bow
- Back Off, Regulators!
MOST SHARED
- Wall Street Finds Profits by Reducing Mortgages
- CNBC VIDEO: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates 'Walk & Talk' at Columbia University
- Kraft Weighs Higher Cadbury Bid as Rivals Circle
- MBS Buyback Program Should be Extended: Fed's Bullard
- China Wind Power Reportedly Seeking $2.2 Billion in IPO
- Volkswagen to Triple China Sales by 2018
- China Should Stop Property Stimulus Now: Central Bank
- S&P Stocks Trading at New 52-Week Highs
- Losey: Asset Allocation At Retirement
- Farrell: Obama Hectored, Ignored and Restricted?
- Don't Dwell on Investment Mistakes; Move on, Like Buffett
- CNBC VIDEO: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates 'Walk & Talk' at Columbia University
- U.S. Stocks Slip, Dollar Rises
- How Stock Investors Can Play Holiday Travel
- Time Lapse World Series Is A Great Play
- Hirschhorn: Greed...or Fear
- Wave of Debt Payments Facing US Government
- US Job Losses to Bottom out Next Quarter: NABE
- Obama Jobs Forum May Be More Political Than Practical
- Late Payments on Credit Cards Drop in Third Quarter
- Smallest US Businesses Borrowing Again: PayNet
- Little Sign of Inflation on the Horizon: IMF
- Kraft Weighs Higher Cadbury Bid as Rivals Circle
- MBS Program Should be Extended: Fed's Bullard
- Tyson Food Profit Beats Estimates
RSS FEED
Tech Check
Text Size 
 |
Source: rocafella.com Jay-Z |
But this new rumor is something totally different: That ousted Def-Jam CEO and star rapper Jay-Z is about to create a new recording label with Apple Inc. [AAPL
Loading...
()
]
While the deal is interesting, it faces some extremely steep hurdles, not the least of which is how other traditional recording labels would view Apple's move onto their turf. The company's relationship with them is already tenuous. Steve Jobs has been a vocal critic of digital rights management and the labels' traditional role as music-material gatekeeper.
Still, if Jobs can figure out a way to control content AND distribution, artists could flood his way and he might find himself in the catbird seat. Again.
Apple already assumes many of the roles enjoyed by traditional labels, most notably distribution. And that's why this becomes so interesting: big name artists with a strong fan base don't need "development." They need distribution. Look at Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and Madonna.
Traditional labels would cry foul but it's not clear they'd be able to do anything about it. Apple would be in the unusual position of using established acts from established labels to attract customers to iTunes, as it does already today, and then leverage all those eyeballs to sell its own music from its own artists. That'd be a neat trick, but it would sure anger some Hollywood heavyweights.
Could Apple even launch its own label? Sure. There's the misconception that after settling its long-running litigation with the Beatles and Apple Corps that Apple Inc. was prevented from entering the music business. Not necessarily true. There's nothing in the settlement that would prevent Apple from doing this.
One source I talked to said that "logistically this is possible, but unlikely." He asks, "Is this core to what they're doing? Answer? No."
And one other thing: Do a Google search of Jay-Z and Apple and you'll see that these two already have a contentious relationship. AppleInsider pointed this out as well: Jay-Z railed against Apple's iTunes a couple of months ago, saying his new album, American Gangster, would not be made available on iTunes since the service let shoppers buy individual songs instead of the entire album.
In a statement released at the time, Jay-Z said, "As movies are not sold scene by scene, this collection will not be sold as individual singles."
That's not to say a new Jay-Z/Apple label would do things differently, if it came to fruition. But something like this might be a lot more trouble than it's worth.
Questions? Comments?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes