One of the big three music labels may be preparing to pull out of iTunes. It’s a move that could see the likes of Beyonce, Tool, and Pearl Jam drop out of iTunes. Sony is apparently still upset over Apple’s rejection their ebook reader app from the App Store a few months ago.
In an interview with The Age Sony Executive Micheal Ephriam criticized iTunes as a platform for music delivery:
“If we do [get mass take up] then does Sony Music need to provide content to iTunes?” Mr Ephraim asked. ”Currently we do. We have to provide it to iTunes as that’s the format right now. Publishers are being held to ransom by Apple and they are looking for other delivery systems, and we are waiting to see what the next three to five years will hold.”
Sony launched their subscription based Music Unlimited a few months ago in the UK and Ireland as a rival to iTune’s dominate share of the digital music market.
However, the big winner of this fall-out may be music subscription service Spotify. Sony, in what appears to be another anti-iTunes maneuver, have already committed access to their vast music library to Spotify.
Spotify, dubbed an “iTunes Killer”, seem to be waiting for the remaining big two labels, EMI & Universal, before taking a stab at the US market.
If Sony were to pull out of iTunes, the biggest loser would be the fans of artists that are signed to Sony.
