Despite assurances otherwise from Napster, the talk at MIDEM seems to be Napster's near-certain demise amid a larger shakeout of digital music services and continued label heartburn over Apple's flat-rate pricing.
Given that CD sales are continuing to plummet (I guess that ROI on consumer and p2p service lawsuits is the proverbial "check in the mail") and digital music sales are far from covering the gap, Big Music might want to consider a strategic investment or two in the services. If a near-monopoly like iTunes is considered a loss-leader, then you can almost smell the cash burning at totally undiversified plays like Napster.
Still, you almost have to admire the almost blinding '90s nostalgia espoused by some label execs:
"It's inconceivable that others wouldn't come in (to challenge Apple)," EMI Chairman Eric Nicoli told Reuters. "To talk about dominance this early in the game is short-sighted. It's not a five-year game, it's a 30- or 40-year game."
Uh, Eric? You know all those p2p services you'd rather sue than do a deal with? They're hosting about three times as many files at any given moment as all the so-called legitimate services sold in all of 2005. Perhaps it's time to have somebody from biz dev, rather than legal, give them a call.