UPDATE: Apple has got in touch with the following statement: “We’re releasing the open specs for iTunes LP soon, allowing both major and indie labels to create their own. There is no production fee charged by Apple.”
iTunes LP, billed by Apple as the return of the old-school album, is pricing out indie labels according to one record boss. So what makes the all new format so prohibitive? And can it truly pique people’s interest in the same way lovingly crafted vinyl used to?
The Apple obsessives at TUAW have done some digging and thrown up some interesting stats about iTunes LP. Word is Apple charges a $10,000 production fee for iTunes LP. That’s according to the boss of US indie label Chocolate Lab, Brian McKinney. He says Apple is only offering major labels access to the spanking new service.
There is also the suggestion that relations with the major record labels need to be cultivated and that iTunes LP is the next step to keep them on side after introducing variable pricing and DRM.
The fact is, $10,000 is a piffling amount in the cut throat world of music. Surely if Apple wants to make iTunes LP a truly exclusive offering, it’s prices would be higher. In which case, is Apple simply being selective in order to play nice with Universal, Sony, EMI and Warner?
£10,000 per album is actually a massive outlay when you look outside of top-100 mainstream artists/bands. And this is when it is indie labels (at least here in the UK) that are the ones that are selling the vinyl albums.
I don’t understand why Apple would resort to these tactics when it’s been beyond incredible encouraging third party support on iPhone OS. Foolish, methinks.
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This is great news! I don’t know if I was given bum information, but I’m glad I spoke out so that we could find out the real deal. I hope Apple wasn’t too upset by my ribbing.
Too right it’s good news Brian, but Apple says there’s no cost attributed to them making iTunes LPs. Seems that information was indeed, as you say, a bit bum!
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