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Internet Apple Pours Record Labels a Cocktail
Shane McGlaun (Blog) - July 27, 2009 12:34 PM
Print 35 comment(s) - last by glennpratt.. on Jul 28 at 4:17 PM
cocktail would bundle digital content with full digital albums

Apple has the biggest digital music store on the planet courtesy of iTunes. The company, however, is always looking to grow its sales even further. Its latest plan is to build digital music sales by bundling the music with other materials.

Apple is reportedly working with EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music, and Universal Music Group on a project codenamed Cocktail reports FT.com citing four people close to the project. The labels and Apple have reportedly been working together on the project with a launch date of September.

Cocktail hopes to boost music sales and interest in albums by bundling liner notes and video clips with the music. The hope is that by bundling other features consumers would buy an entire album rather than digital singles.

One executive familiar with the plan said, "It's all about re-creating the heyday of the album when you would sit around with your friends looking at the artwork, while you listened to the music."

Consumers who purchase these albums will reportedly be able to play the music directly from the interactive book without having to go back into the iTunes software. FT.com quotes one executive as saying, "It's not just a bunch of PDFs. There's real engagement with the ancillary stuff."

The music companies reportedly involved with the project offer no comment at this time. Apple is also rumored to be working on a new tablet with a 10-inch screen set to launch before Christmas according to sources. The tablet would be a good complement to the Cocktail music service.

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"Not gonna do it"
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 7/27/2009 12:50:00 PM , Rating: 5
I refuse to pay for the full price of an album, when at most there are like two or three good songs and a bunch of junk on albums today.

I'll continue my "per track" purchasing.




RE: "Not gonna do it"
By Spivonious on 7/27/2009 1:31:02 PM , Rating: 5
There are some bands that are still putting out albums rather than a collection of singles...Opeth comes to mind, but I'm sure there are others.


RE: "Not gonna do it"
By BigPeen on 7/27/2009 1:35:40 PM , Rating: 5
Dream theater as well. The prognation tour with DT, Opeth, 3 was epic.


RE: "Not gonna do it"
By Murst on 7/27/2009 2:46:08 PM , Rating: 3
DT has both. For example, Metropolis II was a bunch of songs telling a story, whereas Awake was just a collection of singles which had nothing to do w/ each other.


RE: "Not gonna do it"
By Spivonious on 7/27/2009 3:07:35 PM , Rating: 2
Doesn't Awake have a couple songs that all go together? Silent Man, Erotomania, and one other... or is that Falling into Infinity?

Anyway, I was referring to albums coming out today, not 15 years ago. DT's last three have been large piles of crap. Opeth just keeps getting better. Watershed is a true masterpiece, easily up there with My Arms, Your Hearse.


RE: "Not gonna do it"
By theapparition on 7/27/2009 7:44:08 PM , Rating: 3
Images and Words was very similar to Awake. And even though both had tracks that were non-related, there were, as you mentioned, themes that were stretched out in the lyrics and music.

I'll have to give Opeth a listen. Being so old, I'm out of the newer music scene. Try giving Fates Warning a listen, especially the masterpiece "The Ivory Gate of Dreams" off of "No Exit", the greatest side 2 song ever recorded.


RE: "Not gonna do it"
By AntiM on 7/27/2009 1:39:41 PM , Rating: 5
I suppose you can't blame them for trying new things, but lets face it, the album is all but dead. If only we could get rid of the record labels...


RE: "Not gonna do it"
By theapparition on 7/27/2009 1:49:36 PM , Rating: 5
Maybe I'm a dinosaur, but I still find value in the album purchase.

Not so much the physical medium, which is vastly disappearing, but those "other" tracks that you were alluding to.

If I only purchased some hit tracks, I'd have missed out on the artists other songs, in which there can be quite a few gems, just don't get radio play or whatnot. Some songs, definately grow on you.

While purchasing tracks has it's merits, it will be a sad day when albums are gone for good.


RE: "Not gonna do it"
By MrBlastman on 7/27/2009 2:28:00 PM , Rating: 3
I tend to agree with you - especially with music from the 70's and 80's. There are quite a few albums from that time period that had "non-radio" songs on them but when listened to, especially in their entirety from the beginning of the album to the end, are actually quite good.


RE: "Not gonna do it"
By someguy123 on 7/27/2009 5:40:31 PM , Rating: 2
true, but it's a gamble basically. nobody really does "albums" anymore, just a collection of songs that may or may not share the same theme or even be produced by the same person.


RE: "Not gonna do it"
By theapparition on 7/27/2009 7:37:40 PM , Rating: 3
Which is exactly why, IMHO, most music today stinks. Pop tunes with catchy hooks designed to make one-hit-wonders.


RE: "Not gonna do it"
By MrBlastman on 7/27/2009 7:45:57 PM , Rating: 2
You mean to say:

True, but talent is lacking these days. Nobody really does "albums" anymore because they all are lazy products of the music houses and they really don't understand the concept of music or why it is music. The music companies are content with churning out crap hoping people's ears are full of wax and will listen to it.

:)


RE: "Not gonna do it"
By atlmann10 on 7/27/2009 5:22:23 PM , Rating: 2
This reminds me of the recent Itunes update to lock out Palm Pre Smartphones. Then of course the PRE had another update to re-enable it. Why would Apple want to block another player it makes no sense.

Yes I know they want to sell there player, and they loose the profit from it. However; if they don't have to pay for the materials to make it, nor the packaging and retailing of it this makes no sense. Because in the end it just means more Itunes customers and a wider market penetration.


RE: "Not gonna do it"
By psonice on 7/28/2009 8:52:05 AM , Rating: 2
Because palm is a competitor, selling a competing product? There's no issue with using itunes as such, they only blocked the ipod/iphone syncing facility that apple made for their own players.

Pre were getting it to work by pretending to be an ipod, and sending fake USB vendor strings to itunes. That's not really a good way to do business, and definitely not a good way to get your player working with a rival's media player. As much as I like the look of the pre, and want it to succeed, I think the whole itunes support thing was a really bad move that's likely to backfire.

Why didn't they just bundle one of the free media players? Or at least just a bit of software that runs in the background, and pulls media + playlists out of itunes and syncs them to the device? That would work just as well, without the reverse engineering and inevitable cat + mouse followed by a good suing.


I wonder how overpriced this will be...
By AEvangel on 7/27/2009 12:46:09 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
pple is also rumored to be working on a new tablet with a 10-inch screen


Yeah, lest see how over priced this is since the average netbook is like $350.




RE: I wonder how overpriced this will be...
By melgross on 7/27/09, Rating: -1
RE: I wonder how overpriced this will be...
By Iaiken on 7/27/2009 1:16:46 PM , Rating: 3
You might want to familiarize yourself with a concept called "Good Enough Computing".

To you (the elitist) they seem like junk, but to the average consumer they are an excellent combination of performance, portability and value.

Leave your bias at the door...


RE: I wonder how overpriced this will be...
By headbox on 7/27/09, Rating: -1
By Totally on 7/27/2009 2:31:28 PM , Rating: 4
when an item carries a price premium for no apparent reason of a similar or like product it's overpriced.


By Wierdo on 7/27/2009 2:37:11 PM , Rating: 2
Could simply have wiser spending habits.


RE: I wonder how overpriced this will be...
By icanhascpu on 7/27/2009 3:42:35 PM , Rating: 2
While I agree, good enough computing people usually dont come here.


By dark matter on 7/28/2009 4:15:45 AM , Rating: 2
Hence the reason you are not the target market for netbooks.


By Spivonious on 7/27/2009 1:30:04 PM , Rating: 2
My dad has an HP "mini" and it was pretty slow (yet fine for just email and web browsing) with XP on it. He put Win 7 RC on it and now it flies.

Netbooks are not meant to replace more powerful computers.

Also, the Apple 10" device is not a netbook, it's a tablet. It's also rumored to cost ~$750.


By invidious on 7/27/2009 2:03:20 PM , Rating: 5
quote:
Considering that even the "best" netbooks are junk


If you buy a product to fill a need that the product was not designed for it does not make the product junk. It makes you an uneducated consumer.

quote:
You don't have to offend potential buyers by making up nonsensical statements.

Thats good advice, maybe you should listen to it yourself. How is him assuming the apple tablet will be overpriced any worse than you labeling all netbooks as junk? His claim is almost definately going to be right, yours is clearly just your opinion and one that most people do not agree with.


By AEvangel on 7/27/2009 2:55:29 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
Considering that even the "best" netbooks are junk


What is funny...I have tons of friends that own them and I can only recall one that had an issue with it and that was a hardware issue on an Acer which was under warranty. Also keep in mind that those Netbooks that Apple will make will be no difference then some of the windows based units since they will all use the same hardware the only difference is the OS.


By Alexstarfire on 7/27/2009 3:07:54 PM , Rating: 1
I find what you say hilarious. We'll see what happens IF they even produce this tablet that has been rumored.


By Chocobollz on 7/28/2009 3:33:34 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Its value will be seen by the sales, as has been the case with iPods and iPhones.

So if your 10 yo daughter buy an iPod/iPhone, you say them as having a "value"? :-/

Most ppls who buy Apple's products are the majority of peoples, whom don't know jack about hardware. All they can see is those shiny metal casing. Even if Apple put a craps components in it, ppls would still buy it because they only care about looks.

Other products might be not as shiny as Apple's products but remember, don't judge a book by its cover. Just because the cover is shiny, it doesn't means that it's good. If you only interested in something because of it's shiny, then you can be called as the likes of Smeagol!


RE: I wonder how overpriced this will be...
By cserwin on 7/27/2009 1:50:51 PM , Rating: 2
Apple doesn't care about Netbooks - they will never make anything to compete with that market. They cares about Kindles - that's where they'll compete - call it a "digital library appliance" and they'll beat the hell out of Kindle because they don't play music.

Apple has never cared about making or supporting commodity devices. Don't go expecting that to change.


RE: I wonder how overpriced this will be...
By glennpratt on 7/27/2009 5:53:56 PM , Rating: 2
Uhh, the Kindle plays music and has built in speakers.

In my mind, a device doesn't compete with the Kindle unless it uses e-ink. Sure, I can read a book on my iPhone, but it's nothing like reading on the Kindle and other e-ink devices.


RE: I wonder how overpriced this will be...
By PrinceGaz on 7/27/2009 7:13:07 PM , Rating: 2
I haven't actually used a Kindle or Kindle 2, but what makes e-ink so much better than reading a book on a conventional LCD display like on the iPod touch?

The Kindle and iTouch have almost identical dot-pitch (160dpi on the iTouch vs a marginally better 167dpi on the Kindle), so the only real advantage is the Kindle's screen is physically bigger- but then so is the whole device. I can carry the iTouch anywhere and easily slip it into a shirt pocket if I need to put it away for a minute or two such as to buy a drink. The Kindle wouldn't even fit into a trouser pocket as it measures a bulky 8 x 5.3 inches, as well as being over twice as heavy; that alone would limit the usefulness of a Kindle for me as it is not convenient to carry everywhere (I wouldn't want to leave it on my seat if I went to a bar for another drink). It should be noted that for the same reason, one of these Apple tablets would also be totally unsuitable for me.

Some people say that e-ink is more natural to read and causes less eye-strain. Well it certainly produces less eye-strain than an iTouch at its default brightness level, but even if you haven't already turned down the screen brightness of the iTouch to make it more comfortable to use generally as well as to extend battery life, decent eReader software like Stanza let you easily adjust the brightness and background colour whilst reading so it looks as natural as paper in the same light does.

The only advantage that leaves for the Kindle is battery-life. If you're going to be away from a power-source for a long time, then yes the Kindle is better; but if you can give the iTouch a charge once per day, then you can easily get a full days reading off one charge (provided you turn off Wi-Fi, and set the screen-brightness to an appropriate level).


By jtesoro on 7/27/2009 9:51:24 PM , Rating: 2
For most people, reading from paper is much better than reading from an LCD screen, iPod Touch or otherwise. If it's all the same to you, then the Kindle doesn't add much value. For others, it's great.


By dark matter on 7/28/2009 4:20:38 AM , Rating: 2
You can read an e-ink device in full sunlight with no problems, just as you would a book? The screen is not backlit, but relies on ambient light just like a real book

Also book readers only use energy to change the display, whilst an iphone uses energy constantly. Therefore the battery life of an ebook reader is far superior.

Before you pass comment about product x will beat product y, you really need to make sure you know what product y is next time. Or you end up looking ignorant and it devalues your comments.


By glennpratt on 7/28/2009 4:17:03 PM , Rating: 2
I read on Stanza (inverted, minimum screen brightness, medium gray font) and a Kindle pretty frequently; in short, they don't compare, but they both have their uses. If you haven't really tried it, you wouldn't understand.

If I want to read on the go in a hurry, I may use Stanza (or the Kindle app). If I wan't to read in pitch dark without disturbing anyone, I may use it too. Otherwise, they just don't compare. Try reading an entire book on both and you will understand. Reading on e-ink just isn't fatiguing for your eyes like the iPhone or any LCD for that matter.

It's the whole experience too - much more like a book. The screen is much bigger and easier to read, the whole thing is bigger and thinner without weighing more which makes it easier to handle. The battery life is ridiculous. 15 day vacation? No problem - much like a book.

There are similar uses for both, but they really aren't direct competitors.


Times have changed, Mr. Executive
By chmilz on 7/27/2009 1:30:01 PM , Rating: 3
The past:
quote:
One executive familiar with the plan said, "It's all about re-creating the heyday of the album when you would sit around with your friends looking at the artwork, while you listened to the music."

The present:
Millions of loners with headphones glued to their melons, tuning out the real world while they fantasize about how awesome they are.




Sony?
By wallijonn on 7/28/2009 10:58:37 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Apple is reportedly working with EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music, and Universal Music Group


Somehow, I just can't believe that Sony would go along with any consortium which would use any software which they haven't licensed out to others. If the added material is truly interactive, let's say it uses Sun Java, I can't see how Sony would be willing to pay a licensing fee to Sun. Making the music albums only playable on PS3s I can see... But using someone else's codecs and DRM? Preposterous. Oh, wait... 3 of those 4 are movie studios, too...




"Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment -- same piece of hardware -- paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that's a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be." -- Steve Ballmer











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