Lawsuit demands end to iPod/iTunes monopoly; CD sales plummet
A class action lawsuit filed against Apple Inc. accuses the company of knowingly controlling the handheld market with its FairPlay music standard, forcing rivals out of business and allowing it to overcharge customers for iPods -- news that comes just as CD sales are reported to have dropped sharply in 2007.
Class action charges Apple with digital music monopoly
A 24-page class action complaint submitted this week in a Northern District of California court alleges that Apple is unfairly tying the iTunes Store and the iPod together by selling much of its music in the FairPlay AAC format. Customers who own the iPod must buy from iTunes if they want music in a protected format; in just the same measure, iTunes customers must buy an iPod if they want to listen to music on a portable player.
As Apple effectively controls the digital music sales industry, this is a major disincentive to buying a competing player, say chief plaintiff Stacie Somers and her representing lawyer Helen Zeldes. The two point to statements by government officials in France and Norway where Apple was accused of leaving customers without rights.
Moreover, the iPod maker is not only neglecting support for rival standards but is deliberately stripping it out and creating "crippleware," according to the lawsuit. Although the chipset in the iPod shuffle natively recognize Windows Media Audio, no such support exists in the shipping firmware of it or any other iPod.
Apple is also targeted in the complaint for using its secure position atop the market to allegedly overcharge customers for iPods. Although the prices for immediate orders of 1GB and 4GB of memory were only separated by $5.52 at the time Apple produced the first-generation iPod nano, Apple saw fit to charge $100 more for the higher-capacity model, the plaintiff says.
As these combined practices potentially violate the Cartwright and Sherman Antitrust Acts in addition to California competition laws, Somers' suit asks for a permanent injunction against the reported behavior in addition to damages.
CD sales drop nearly 10 percent in 2007 as online sales rise
Sales of albums in the US have dropped a full 9.5 percent in the US between 2006 and 2007, according to new results from Nielsen SoundScan.
Much of this is attributable to a shift away from CDs due to both legal and pirated music downloads, though the research firm cautions that the music business would have fared worse without the help of online music stores, dropping by a steeper 15 percent.
Digital sales ultimately represented the recording industry's shining beacon, according to the report. Sales at all online stores grew by 45 percent to roughly 844.2 million individual songs and were responsible for 10 percent of all music sold. Actual content sold climbed by about 14 percent to 1.35 billion, hinting that customers were buying more items overall but also spending an increasing amount on individual songs and music videos.
"That says consumers are embracing both the track format and the digital album format," says Nielsen Music president Rob Sisco.
Intuit resolves troublesome QuickBooks data loss glitch
After contending with the issue since mid-December, Intuit on Friday has released a QuickBooks patch that it says should fix a potentially very dangerous bug in the 2006 and 2007 Mac versions of the company's finance management software.
Owners of the program found that installing an automatic update last month erased the contents of their Mac's Desktop folder, triggering a class action lawsuit as well as complaints from many users.
The download primarily disables the automatic update feature and suggests that users will instead have to manually apply future patches to QuickBooks to address any flaws discovered in the future.
Class action charges Apple with digital music monopoly
A 24-page class action complaint submitted this week in a Northern District of California court alleges that Apple is unfairly tying the iTunes Store and the iPod together by selling much of its music in the FairPlay AAC format. Customers who own the iPod must buy from iTunes if they want music in a protected format; in just the same measure, iTunes customers must buy an iPod if they want to listen to music on a portable player.
As Apple effectively controls the digital music sales industry, this is a major disincentive to buying a competing player, say chief plaintiff Stacie Somers and her representing lawyer Helen Zeldes. The two point to statements by government officials in France and Norway where Apple was accused of leaving customers without rights.
Moreover, the iPod maker is not only neglecting support for rival standards but is deliberately stripping it out and creating "crippleware," according to the lawsuit. Although the chipset in the iPod shuffle natively recognize Windows Media Audio, no such support exists in the shipping firmware of it or any other iPod.
Apple is also targeted in the complaint for using its secure position atop the market to allegedly overcharge customers for iPods. Although the prices for immediate orders of 1GB and 4GB of memory were only separated by $5.52 at the time Apple produced the first-generation iPod nano, Apple saw fit to charge $100 more for the higher-capacity model, the plaintiff says.
As these combined practices potentially violate the Cartwright and Sherman Antitrust Acts in addition to California competition laws, Somers' suit asks for a permanent injunction against the reported behavior in addition to damages.
CD sales drop nearly 10 percent in 2007 as online sales rise
Sales of albums in the US have dropped a full 9.5 percent in the US between 2006 and 2007, according to new results from Nielsen SoundScan.
Much of this is attributable to a shift away from CDs due to both legal and pirated music downloads, though the research firm cautions that the music business would have fared worse without the help of online music stores, dropping by a steeper 15 percent.
Digital sales ultimately represented the recording industry's shining beacon, according to the report. Sales at all online stores grew by 45 percent to roughly 844.2 million individual songs and were responsible for 10 percent of all music sold. Actual content sold climbed by about 14 percent to 1.35 billion, hinting that customers were buying more items overall but also spending an increasing amount on individual songs and music videos.
"That says consumers are embracing both the track format and the digital album format," says Nielsen Music president Rob Sisco.
Intuit resolves troublesome QuickBooks data loss glitch
After contending with the issue since mid-December, Intuit on Friday has released a QuickBooks patch that it says should fix a potentially very dangerous bug in the 2006 and 2007 Mac versions of the company's finance management software.
Owners of the program found that installing an automatic update last month erased the contents of their Mac's Desktop folder, triggering a class action lawsuit as well as complaints from many users.
The download primarily disables the automatic update feature and suggests that users will instead have to manually apply future patches to QuickBooks to address any flaws discovered in the future.
Comments
1) Has a built in 3Megapixel camera
2) A very good stereo FM radio
3) A versatile address book that syncs with my Mac address book
4) A calendar that syncs with iCal
5) A 3G video camera and modem
6) A great intuitive interface that is faster to navigate than an iPod
7) With my new Sony Ericsson stereo bluetooth headphones and $20 2Gig memory card, I have a great sounding music player that pauses when a phone call comes in.
HOWEVER!
I cannot play any of the music I purchased from the iTunes music store on it!
This is like me buying a book and only being able to read it in a specific location.
Come on Apple, un DRM ALL your music today, or I'm going to compete...
On the other hand, Apple does indeed have a rigid hardware lock-in with the video's they sell. I purchased episodes of Battlestar Galactica and I can't believe how much more restricted the DRM is for video than it is for audio. It's hard to believe I can't make a DVD of the video's I purchase in the same way I can make a CD of the audio I purchase.
Next thing you know they will be suing the Japanese for selling better cars than the American makers.
Oh, and why haven't they sued Microsoft a long time ago for their monopoly on the OS market and the years of terrible software.
Grow up people. If you don't like Apple's products, buy the competitions. Oh, what's that, you don't like the design of the competitions? They are too hard to use. You don't like actually having to pay the artists?
This is just a thinly disguised attempt of the Music industry to try and sue back the market share that they lost to Apple. They can't compete in the open market so they resort to suing. What is this country coming to?
Al
and also for converting AAC in mp3 with ITunes.
No.
Just another terrorize Apple case.
A 24-page class action complaint submitted this week in a Northern District of California court alleges that Apple is unfairly tying the iTunes Store and the iPod together by selling much of its music in the FairPlay AAC format. Customers who own the iPod must buy from iTunes if they want music in a protected format; in just the same measure, iTunes customers must buy an iPod if they want to listen to music on a portable player.
1. Who in their right mind would willingly choose a protected format over a non-protected one for an iPod?
2. Wasn't iTunes designed for the iPod? I think I'm going to sue Toyota for not making the right replacement parts for my Saturn...
As Apple effectively controls the digital music sales industry, this is a major disincentive to buying a competing player, say chief plaintiff Stacie Somers and her representing lawyer Helen Zeldes. The two point to statements by government officials in France and Norway where Apple was accused of leaving customers without rights.
I hate this 'monopoly' which is why I'm going to help propagate it by purchasing their products. And there's also this thing called the internet... you may have heard of it, apparently you can buy digital music off of it in many many places.
Moreover, the iPod maker is not only neglecting support for rival standards but is deliberately stripping it out and creating "crippleware," according to the lawsuit. Although the chipset in the iPod shuffle natively recognizes Windows Media Audio, no such support exists in the shipping firmware of it or any other iPod.
That's just ridiculous. Does the Zune support Fairplay AAC? Do any of Sandisk's players?
Apple is also targeted in the complaint for using its secure position atop the market to allegedly overcharge customers for iPods. Although the prices for immediate orders of 1GB and 4GB of memory were only separated by $5.52 at the time Apple produced the first-generation iPod nano, Apple saw fit to charge $100 more for the higher-capacity model, the plaintiff says.
Supply and demand? Free market economics? People willingly paid for the 4GB model, not because someone held a proverbial gun to their head and forced them to, but because they were able and willing to purchase it at that price, and so they did.
As these combined practices potentially violate the Cartwright and Sherman Antitrust Acts in addition to California competition laws, Somers' suit asks for a permanent injunction against the reported behavior in addition to damages.
Oh, how we all love the American justice system and the crap that it allows.
...which I prefer over an iPod as it:
1) Has a built in 3Megapixel camera
2) A very good stereo FM radio
3) A versatile address book that syncs with my Mac address book
4) A calendar that syncs with iCal
5) A 3G video camera and modem
6) A great intuitive interface that is faster to navigate than an iPod
7) With my new Sony Ericsson stereo bluetooth headphones and $20 2Gig memory card, I have a great sounding music player that pauses when a phone call comes in.
HOWEVER!
I cannot play any of the music I purchased from the iTunes music store on it!
This is like me buying a book and only being able to read it in a specific location.
Come on Apple, un DRM ALL your music today, or I'm going to compete...
Well, the problem lies more in the record industry, than apple. Steve Jobs has been openly anti-drm from the beginning. More importantly, Apple explains in detail how to legally circumvent their DRM. Even more importantly, you're not forced to buy music from itunes store ever, at all, not to run on your ipod, or to import into itunes. A monopoly is;
"A monopoly (from Greek mono(μονό), alone or single + polο (πωλώ), to sell) is a persistent situation where there is only one provider of a product or service in a particular market. Monopolies are characterized by a lack of economic competition for the good or service that they provide and a lack of viable substitute goods."
There are MANY viable providers for music, television, movies and other media. Amazon, eMusic, Rhapsody, ZuneMarket, peer2peer and torrenting are all valid forms of digital media. Ripping physical media from brick and mortar stores, as well as ordering from online are all useable in iTunes.
I'm really not seeing the "Monopoly".
...which I prefer over an iPod as it:
1) Has a built in 3Megapixel camera
2) A very good stereo FM radio
3) A versatile address book that syncs with my Mac address book
4) A calendar that syncs with iCal
5) A 3G video camera and modem
6) A great intuitive interface that is faster to navigate than an iPod
7) With my new Sony Ericsson stereo bluetooth headphones and $20 2Gig memory card, I have a great sounding music player that pauses when a phone call comes in.
HOWEVER!
I cannot play any of the music I purchased from the iTunes music store on it!
This is like me buying a book and only being able to read it in a specific location.
Come on Apple, un DRM ALL your music today, or I'm going to compete...
This law suit won't help you a bit. It's goal is to have Apple support WMA on the iPod. That wouldn't change your situation at all as iTune's won't sell in WMA in any case. BTW if you purchased iTunes+ music you could (assuming the phone support AAC). So buy iTunes + tracks or CD's.
Better rev up your on lawyers.
Wow. Panic... confusion... cha cha cha!
Good grief, is this why AAPL dropped nearly 15 points today?
Wow. Panic... confusion... cha cha cha!
Nah, it's more attributable to the 200+ point drop of the general market
...which I prefer over an iPod as it:
I cannot play any of the music I purchased from the iTunes music store on it! [non ipod device]
This is like me buying a book and only being able to read it in a specific location.
That's a stupid analogy. And yes, I used the word "stupid" on purpose. (I'm didn't call YOU stupid, I called your analogy stupid. Smart people can come up with stupid ideas. What makes them smart is that they recognize their idea, when scrutinized, isn't worth keeping (ie: posting on a public forum.)
You bought the music knowing it would only play on devices that understand Fairplay. Apple never promised devices from other companies would one day have Fairplay installed.
I bought a lot of movies on VHS and now they don't play on my DVD player. As long as they still play on my VHS, I got my money's worth. The studios didn't screw me.
Before you say "Yes, but what if your VHS player broke and the tapes didn't play on your new VHS player?" Again, I bought the VHS tapes knowing they'd play on all machines that support VHS tapes. Your iTunes songs play on all machines that support the Fairplay format. Exactly as was promised when you bought them.
CD games made for Nintendo don't play on Wii consoles. You have to buy the same game again for each different machine you have. Sometimes the games are available on multiple machines, sometimes they're not. That's life. Nobody screwed you.
... Actual content sold climbed by about 14 percent to 1.35 billion, hinting that customers were buying more items overall.....
All this whining, when there are in fact only good news for the music business to report. Content sold 14% up is just fantastic news!!
I agree though that the consumer should have more generous rights to its legally purchased music content. But hey, that's why we like the new DRM free trend emerging (that Apple was part of starting.) Nah... I say these are a bunch of whiners... Move along... new times ahead.
Oh, and why haven't they sued Microsoft a long time ago for their monopoly on the OS market and the years of terrible software.
What an outstanding, original point! Why didn't someone else think of that?
Other great American pastimes... buying a flat screen at Costco, keeping it a year and bringing it back without the box for a full refund because they have a satisfaction guarantee. (Yup, saw it happen five times in the last three visits to Costco) One guy actually bought a trinitron 3 years ago and came back with the receipt asking for a 100% refund..
But I digress, I am currently looking for people who would like to file a lawsuit against Microsoft for building software that crashes twice a day, after all, if Toyota did the same thing with cars.... How about asking for a risk premium? If Apple is to make Microsoft's formats available on an iPod, then Microsoft needs to reimburse us each time the bloody thing crashes, after all, our equipment works just fine without it, but invariably crashes when Microsoft gets involved. Let 'em open it up I say... I'll personally file a class action suing their crap back out if the Microsoft format ruins my listening enjoyment by crashing my machine.
As an Apple stockholder I think Apple should go all the way with this one. Steve J was hammered by the industry for publicly demanding an end to DRM and now he's being sued because DRM's still there. My hope is he'll lowball an offer in compromise and litigate the hell out of this, sticking the plaintiff and the lawyers with Apple's in addition to their costs.
I also think it's time for stockholders to band together and sue the plaintiffs and their lawyers for affecting the stock price and losing me money with bullshit lawsuits. These assholes push all the time to get something they don't deserve, it's time to push back
...which I prefer over an iPod as it:
1) Has a built in 3Megapixel camera
2) A very good stereo FM radio
3) A versatile address book that syncs with my Mac address book
4) A calendar that syncs with iCal
5) A 3G video camera and modem
6) A great intuitive interface that is faster to navigate than an iPod
7) With my new Sony Ericsson stereo bluetooth headphones and $20 2Gig memory card, I have a great sounding music player that pauses when a phone call comes in.
HOWEVER!
I cannot play any of the music I purchased from the iTunes music store on it!
This is like me buying a book and only being able to read it in a specific location.
Come on Apple, un DRM ALL your music today, or I'm going to compete...
"Customers who own the iPod must buy from iTunes if they want music in a protected format."
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's not a single customer that wants the music they buy in a protected format.
Apple is not controlling the market. The good people of the US and other countries CHOOSE to buy the iPod and use iTunes because it is easy to use! Other players on the market suck! Before the iPod, I had a Creative Labs Jukebox, which was the first hard drive MP3 player. It worked, but it was too big, and slow as hell for navigating menus, and took 5 hours to transfer music over USB 1.1! The moment the iPod arrived, I bought it the first day! The iPod was successful on both Mac and Windows long before the Music Store arrived. No one complained back then.
The majority of users have music from their own CD's, not purchased from iTunes. You can buy a competing player and put your own music on it without any restriction. You can buy music from iTunes, rip it to a CD, and reimport the music for any player. Or, go buy the CD and rip it for your generic music player. No one is forcing you to use iTunes, the iPod, or the Music Store. Lawsuit has no merit.