Music Publishers Want Apple to Pay for iTunes Store’s 30-Second Previews

(On iTunes), you can stream radio, and you can preview tracks, things that we should be getting paid performance income for.

- David Renzer, CEO Universal Music Publishing Group

We have no choice but to assume Renzer does not use iTunes and has no idea how others use it. No idea.

  1. Streaming radio stations are not provided by iTunes; iTunes aggregates the list of available stations.  Those stations are responsible for paying their internet royalties.
  2. So, Renzer wants iTunes to start forking over money every time someone previews a song. And what does he think happens next?  Surely he doesn’t believe iTunes would start handing over money without changing anything.  No, iTunes would stop offering previews, sales would plummet, and we would be back to square one.

Please tell me he doesn’t believe 30-second previews are preventing purchases.  He’s not that ignorant, right?

[via DF:  “This is about one step away from demanding money for when you have a song stuck in your head.”]

Source: CNET