Apple Wants More Music Exclusives; Does This Hurt the Consumer?

If Apple has its way, you might not be able to stream new albums from your favorite artists through services like Spotify.
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Dan Leadbetter
BY:
DealNews Contributing Writer
Additional contributions by Jeff Somogyi and Louis Ramirez.

Last year, Beyoncé surprised the world by releasing a previously-unannounced album directly onto iTunes as an exclusive. Then she double-surprised us by keeping it off of music streaming sites and out of retail outlets for days, if not weeks. It turns out that Apple really likes this idea and wants to do more of it. The record labels like it, too, because it should drive album sales.

In this brief — yet lively — video, our experts discuss if music store exclusivity is a good thing for the consumers, too, or just the record industry.

What about you, readers? Tell us your thoughts on music store exclusivity in the comments below!

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Dan Leadbetter
DealNews Contributing Writer

Dan Leadbetter was a Staff and Features Writer for DealNews. He enjoys comedy, playing drums, watching horror films, fine cigars, and Absinthe.
DealNews may be compensated by companies mentioned in this article. Please note that, although prices sometimes fluctuate or expire unexpectedly, all products and deals mentioned in this feature were available at the lowest total price we could find at the time of publication (unless otherwise specified).

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3 comments
As a musician, I for once agree what the labels are trying to do but for different reasons. It's not only the labels trying to make more than .002 cents per stream- its Artists as well!

At what point did .99 for a song become too much to ask? You should see what 15,000 streams gets you? Its pathetic. Barely a night at the movies for 2. Labels & Independent Artists like me both have to force the consumers hand into supporting art because the whole income stream has been hollowed out.

You want the record now? SUPPORT the artist and I suppose the label too :).

Streaming, for the most part, is a flawed model.

-Dion
Fire and the Romance
March 13, 2014
Twig
Anytime a "producer" and a "seller" collude to limit access to a product, it's not good.
Will the CD price be discounted since the expense associated with the production and distribution of a CD is not incurred?
I buy CD's because I want ownership and control when I buy my music.
BTW: After my local outlet, who may or may not have what I'm looking for, I prefer Amazon for my CD purchases.
March 13, 2014
A person with questions
Right off the bat I say that it is bad for consumers. Personally I like to listen to the complete song before I buy it. I would rather go to AOL or Pandora, etc. and be able to listen to the song, decide if I like it, and then possibly buy it. And I would wait too. I wouldn't just think "oh, ya know, I guess since I can't listen to it elsewhere I will just have to buy it"...NOT A CHANCE. I would wait several weeks if they made this change. But some people simply have to have the latest album from their favorite artists as soon as they come out. So, I don't know, depending on how many people fit into each category, it could be good or bad for the industry and the consumer. Although I don't see anything good on the consumer side, lol. That's just my 2 cents.
March 13, 2014