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Apple/EMI in deal, but Beatles not included: source
04/01/2007 10:59 PM, Reuters
Kate Holton
Apple Inc. and EMI Group Plc will
reveal a ground-breaking deal on Monday for Apple to sell the
music label's songs free from copy protection limits, the Wall
Street Journal reported on Sunday.
The report said music giant EMI plans to sell "significant
amounts" of its catalog without anti-piracy software, citing
people familiar with the matter, and that the music label is
considering not only Apple's iTunes stores but other outlets.
However, a separate source familiar with the situation told
Reuters a Beatles deal was not the focus of Monday's event.
"There is no Beatles' announcement," the source said.
EMI has acted as the distributor for the Beatles since the
early 1960s, but the Fab Four's music holding company Apple
Corps Ltd. has been a high-profile hold-out from Internet music
services like Apple's iTunes.
Spokesmen for Apple and EMI declined to comment on the
newspaper report.
EMI said earlier on Sunday that the company will hold a
news conference on Monday at its London headquarters, where EMI
Chief Executive Eric Nicoli will be joined by Apple Chief
Executive and co-founder Steve Jobs.
A live Webcast of the event, which will feature "a special
live performance," will be available at http://www.emigroup.com
beginning at 1 p.m. local time in London (1200 GMT).
Earlier this year, Jobs called on the world's four major
record companies, including EMI, to start selling songs online
without copy-protection software, known as DRM, for digital
rights management. DRM software is designed to thwart piracy
but also makes using music cumbersome for many consumers.
Jobs argued that there appeared to be no benefit for the
record companies in selling more than 90 percent of their music
without DRM on compact discs, while selling the remaining small
percentage of music online encumbered with DRM.
Executives at several rival record companies said they
expected EMI to drop DRM but questioned whether EMI had done
sufficient market research to justify the move.
"It's problematic," said one executive. "EMI haven't tested
it enough so they don't know what the market reaction is going
to be to open MP3s."
MP3s are an open audio format that allows digital music
fans to share songs or albums with other listeners. The music
industry has shunned the standard in favor of formats that
require some form of copy protection.
"The issues are will MP3s help expand the market and how
will it affect piracy? We just don't know," the executive said.
All the major record companies have experimented with
digital music sales without anti-piracy with varying results.
EMI's biggest market test was with Norah Jones' single
"Thinking About You" in January, while Sony BMG tested the
market with Jessica Simpson's "A Public Affair" last summer.
In an e-mail to reporters, EMI said the two companies would
announce "an exciting new digital offering." The e-mail sparked
speculation among bloggers and news media that the announcement
could involve putting the Beatles' music catalog online.
(Additional reporting by Eric Auchard, Duncan Martell and
Michael Kahn in San Francisco)
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