Music labels don't get sympathy in probe

An ongoing investigation by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is piquing the interest of industry watchers who wonder what will happen to digital music prices in the near future. Four major music labels have confirmed that they've received requests for information from Spitzer's office, and companies such as Yahoo, Apple Computer and America Online expect to receive similar requests.

The investigation is seen by some in the music industry as a warning to big labels--who want to break free of the 99-cents-per-song price Apple has established--not to work together to set song prices too high. Apparently it's working. A planned move by some of the major labels has stalled since the investigation began. Music label executives who once praised Steve Jobs as an industry visionary have become increasingly frustrated as they feel trapped by Apple's refusal to budge from the one-size-fits-all pricing. Ideally, labels would have the ability to charge a discounted price for older albums and more for new ones--just like they do with CDs. But, thus far, that flexibility has not been realized.

While industry executives may feel like victims held captive by one man's fancy, bloggers aren't exactly pouring sympathy in their direction. And the sentiment is understandable. Big-time music has made its fair share of enemies in the Web community over the last few years by suing thousands of individuals for file-sharing.

Blog community response:

"If Apple can get new long-term favorable contracts signed for the next round, it'll be all but over for the labels. And probably the same result anyway, even if the labels do force Apple to mess with prices."
--IpodDailyNews

"Who'd have thunk it, the music industry being crooked? So, who are the pirates now? It does seem maybe these (alleged) crooks may be losing their grip on the industry: getting caught with their hand in the pricing cookie jar, and potential other investigations into payola (the other way they control the flow and exposure to music/artists)."
--yagu on Slashdot

"We have seen the industry majors ignore multimillion dollar fines,and proceed as the business of corruption is normal! How long do we have to endure this continuing corruption from within the industry!"
--Ian Deal on CNET News.com's Talkback