14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that the iTunes Music Store has reached the point where the companies feel they should be making more money out of it. Already the film industry is getting worried because since episodes of "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" have become available for purchase and download, the TV shows seem to be losing viewers.
Stephen McPherson, ABC entertainment president, feels that "selling iPod downloads drives more viewers to the shows on ABC because it gives fans who may miss episodes a chance to keep up with intricate plotlines." However the figures seem to indicate that indeed, both shows lost around two million viewers.
The EMI Group also wants different slices. Chief executive of EMI Music, Alain Levy, told the press that EMI has been discussing the problem of variable prices with Steve Jobs.
"We are having discussions which make us believe it will happen in the next 12 months," said Levy. "There is a common understanding that we will have to come to a variable pricing structure. The issue is when. There is a case for superstars to have a higher price."
In the end, regardless of what it tries to do, when the product goes digital, the industry loses control over it. With the iPod and iTunes Music Store dominating the market, every major company wants to be in on it, but they have to sell their songs the way Apple tells them: one at a time, for 99 cents each.
Not surprisingly, the music industry, and now the movie industry too, is worried about losing the control in favor of Apple.