MTV and Real to join forces against Apple's iTunes

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
MTV Networks is expected to announce Tuesday plans to merge its online digital music service into a joint venture with music software company RealNetworks, according to the Wall Street Journal.



Citing people familiar with the matter, the financial paper said MTV and RealNetworks (which runs subscription digital music service Rhapsody), will band together (subscription required) with the common goal of taking on Apple Inc.'s iTunes Store.



As part of the deal, MTV will reportedly ditch its MTV Urge download service that it launched last year alongside Microsoft Corp.



Meanwhile, the Journal reported that the new service between MTV and Real will tap wireless provider Verizon Wireless to help supply mobile content to users.



The paper suggested that the pact with Verizon could bolster the new venture's battle against iTunes, given that Apple drew widespread criticism from mobile operators and consumers when it made AT&T its exclusive wireless provider for the iPhone.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 91
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    Who is this MTV that you speak of.
  • Reply 2 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by backtomac View Post


    Who is this MTV that you speak of.



    More so, does this real networks still exist?
  • Reply 3 of 91
    vinney57vinney57 Posts: 1,162member
    Seriously, can anyone see any way that Apple can be challenged in this area? Their only concern will be to steer a course through any potential monopoly challenge but then, where's the unfair practise?. They may have to create an 'Apple Law' at some point in the future. In a couple of years time I could envisage Steve throwing a switch and BOOM Apple becomes the largest record company in the world overnight.



    After following Apple for 25 years is wrong to enjoy every minute of this?
  • Reply 4 of 91
    Didn't MTV used to have something to do with music once upon a time?
  • Reply 5 of 91
    jpellinojpellino Posts: 697member
    MTV told some exec they wanted to create an online music store to compete with iTunes, and once that person stopped laughing, he were able to choke out "Get real!"



    So they did.



    MTV / VH1 stopped being about music a long time ago. What can they offer - purchasable videos of the same things they recycle on a half dozen 24-hour channels of road rules, real world, cribs, sweet 16, hulk hogan...?
  • Reply 6 of 91
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    Come on, let see the numbers, what has MTV or Real made, how many people subscribe, what is their turn over rate. How about verizon, how many people download music to their cell phone, let see the numbers. ( I am sure they are out there, just too lazy to search)



    Once again these people do not understand the experience apple gives people.
  • Reply 7 of 91
    trobertstroberts Posts: 702member
    What about the DRM? Does URGE and Real Networks use the same DRM scheme so people do not have to repurchase songs? What is stopping the record companies from having their own online stores? I believe Universal wants to sell music without DRM so why not set up their own with the music they want to sell DRM-less? While they are at it, they can sell videos. They could even follow Microsoft's lead and convert dollars to points so accounting and marketing can get together and figure out how to get the most money from customers while getting them to feel good about their purchases.
  • Reply 8 of 91
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Apple will be more challenged by EMI and Universal's decision to sell DRM-free songs at Walmart.com for just $0.94 per track.



    ? http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070821/...walmart_mp3_dc
  • Reply 9 of 91
    Apple didn't "make" AT&T its exclusive wireless provider for the iPhone, Verizon wrote its own destiny.
  • Reply 10 of 91
    flinch13flinch13 Posts: 228member
    I'm sorry... did they say subscription service? Only a chump would sign up for a subscription-based music program. MTV is trying to use their brand name to cover up a bad product. I can speak for myself... I want to own my music when I pay for it. The end.
  • Reply 11 of 91
    Bring on the competition. Competition is a good thing. It's only logical that everyone else wants a piece of Apple's pie. (Whoa. Completely unintended pun.)



    Apple has the upper hand with stronger branding and a more integrated experience. For all the critics of Apple's "tight" integration, it's exactly that integration that will keep Apple at the top of their game. For all the critics of iPhone -- and I admit it's not perfect yet -- it offers the best phone/media player experience.



    Verizon/Real/MTV will probably be a bit clunky and will only appeal to the niche out there who don't mind having their songs virtually locked onto their phones. Did I mention how a Verizon phone, Rhapsody/MTV, and your computer probably don't offer a seemless experience? Did I mention how users are more likely to lose (i.e. need to repurchase) their songs than to maintain a backup of that music?



    As of the $0.94 tracks are concerned. I suppose it depends on what's being offered. There are actually entire good albums that are offered around $6, with a few of those (Maps's We Can Create) containing DRM-free tracks. Again, just as with Apple's competitors, the Big Four Labels are free to experiment with the marketplace. In the end, I think Apple's strong presence and branding will prevail here as well.



    As others have said, the day Apple flips on the "iTunes as Label" switch, the markets will be irrevocably changed.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by flinch13


    MTV is trying to use their brand name to cover up a bad product. I can speak for myself... I want to own my music when I pay for it.



    That's my bottom line with this whole RIAA mess. In the end, the Big Four Labels, or any "rights holder," does not want consumers to own any art, because they believe they own the art. They want consumers to pay an upkeep for art. In the video space, this has been largely bypassed by simply reissuing films and TV shows ad naseum, be it on different media or in repackaged "special edition" products. Granted, this media has historically been rigorously copy-protected.



    Music doesn't quite work this way. The Compact Disc seems to be the end of the line as far as portable formats go, and CDs have been widely available for 15 years. Consumers want to be able to carry a jukebox with them that will have as much music as possible, which requires a "looser" digital format. This format demands as much ownership as is granted on a CD, but the labels are backtracking on all of this. Their true intentions are revealed. If only they could have all copy-protected CDs way back when the whole thing started, the whole ball game would be different, but only Sony has done this and done so recently. Apple is making them pay for their mistakes, and as Apple's footprint gets bigger, it'll be tough for the RIAA to make a strong case in any court case that might eventually arise from this digital Cold War. I think they're afraid of a final legal showdown because of what happened to Apple Corps.
  • Reply 12 of 91
    frankly, any company that bands together with another company that came up with a product name Urge deserves public mockery. what wanna-be-hip person would brag to her peers that she got Urge: ooo kelly, i got urge! [squealing] oh-ma-gawd!



    this sorry choice of a product name, urge, evokes nothing but uncool or unhip images.



    URGE:



    he has an urge to fart.

    it was a terrible urge indescribable.

    the urge to dump was too strong.

    the urging was uncontrollable and he made a dash for the toilet.




    ultimately, MTV's urge to dump was way too strong and they made a dash for real.
  • Reply 13 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jpellino View Post


    MTV told some exec they wanted to create an online music store to compete with iTunes, and once that person stopped laughing, he were able to choke out "Get real!"



    So they did.



    MTV / VH1 stopped being about music a long time ago. What can they offer - purchasable videos of the same things they recycle on a half dozen 24-hour channels of road rules, real world, cribs, sweet 16, hulk hogan...?





    And lots of "Pimp My Ride"
  • Reply 14 of 91
    jasongjasong Posts: 31member
    Didn't MTV join forces with MS? I"m so confused. Oh wait, I mean MTV is so confused.
  • Reply 15 of 91
    yes, if there's one thing that can snuff out itunes, it would be the joined forces of the most respected music television network combined with the most incredible media player technology at realnetworks.
  • Reply 16 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Apple will be more challenged by EMI and Universal's decision to sell DRM-free songs at Walmart.com for just $0.94 per track.



    ? http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070821/...walmart_mp3_dc



    Yeah, all the kids are going to be flocking to WALMART.COM to save 5 cents.



    Sorry EMI, Universal, Walmart, MTV & Real - GAME OVER!
  • Reply 17 of 91
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    The only way anyone can compete with iTunes is to provide music that can play on the iPod. Its difficult to see thses highly paid people at Real or MTV will be stubborn enough or ignorant enough to miss this point.
  • Reply 18 of 91
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella View Post


    Yeah, all the kids are going to be flocking to WALMART.COM to save 5 cents.



    Sorry EMI, Universal, Walmart, MTV & Real - GAME OVER!



    Um, "more" doesn't say or imply that it will bring down the iTunes behemoth, merely that a DRM-free, non-proprietary codec will be more popular than what MTV and Real have in mind.



    PS: Apple's DRM-free songs cost $1,29, not $0.99, so the cost difference is $0.34 per track for 256kbps MP3s.
  • Reply 19 of 91
    bdkennedy1bdkennedy1 Posts: 1,459member
    I believe the last time they showed videos was in 1997.



    You see, they moved their videos to MTV2 so they could show music news and reality TV programs. Because those were so jaw-dropping successful, MTV moved them to MTV2 and the videos to MTV3 so they could dedicate the whole original MTV channel to the 12 days before and 12 days after the MTV Video Music Awards.



    Real Networks filled up their diaper a around the same time as MTV.



    Both of them together remind me of 2 crotchety old ladies planning a trip to Six Flags for the last time.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NerdimusPrime View Post


    Didn't MTV used to have something to do with music once upon a time?



  • Reply 20 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella View Post


    Yeah, all the kids are going to be flocking to WALMART.COM to save 5 cents.



    Sorry EMI, Universal, Walmart, MTV & Real - GAME OVER!



    Actually after I read this sorry the next one I ran across was Walmart announced they are going to start selling DRM free mucic. Yeah it was like .94 per track or 9.22 per album.



    I don't really see any of this as a bad thing, while I don't believe they will be able to take over itunes its nice to know that some competition is starting to form. It keeps prices in check, which is always good for the end user.
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