Holdout Bands Give In to iTunes
source Wired News
Associated Press
posted 2006-08-20
Bob Seger turned the page, and Metallica finally found justice for online fans. Now, only a few remaining big-name musical acts refuse to make their songs available on Apple Computer’s popular iTunes Music Store.
Analysts say the online holdouts—including the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Garth Brooks, Radiohead and Kid Rock—probably can’t avoid iTunes forever as fans flock to the internet to buy music.
But the artists argue online distribution leaves them with too small a profit. And, they say, iTunes wrecks the artistic integrity of an album by allowing songs to be purchased by the track for 99 cents. Some bands, such as AC/DC have released albums on other, more flexible sites, but not iTunes.
“We’ve always thought certain artists put out albums that aren’t meant to be compilations with 50 other artists,” said Ed “Punch” Andrews, manager for both Seger and Kid Rock. “We’re hoping at some point albums become important again like they were in the past 30 years.”
There are other reasons bands avoid cyberspace. In some cases, various parties that own or control older music catalogs can’t agree to a distribution contract. Others have avoided the internet altogether out of piracy concerns. (Most online stores, however, use rights-management technology to protect against unauthorized distribution.)
