Piper Jaffray disputes report of weak iTunes sales
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Digital music sales surged at Apple  Computer Inc.'s  iTunes service over the first nine  months of 2006, Piper Jaffray said on Wednesday, contradicting  a report that sales collapsed in the first half.
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(InfoWorld) - Apple and four of the biggest record companies have until Wednesday to submit their written response toÂ antitrust charges that they restricted online sales of musicÂ in Europe. The deadline originally expired at the beginning of June, but was extended by two weeks at the request of Apple and three of the record companies, European Commission competition spokesman Jonathan Todd said Monday. The Commission is still waiting for replies from these four companies. The one record company that didn't request an extension has already submitted its written response, Todd said. The Commission has declined to name the record companies involved but they are assumed to be the four majors: Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music, and EMI Group. "We have every reason to believe that the remaining companies will reply by the new deadline," Todd said. Downloads from Apple's iTunes Web site are priced differently in different countries in the Union but consumers are prevented from shopping around and have to make their purchases of music from the iTunes site in the country they are based. The Commission said that in the single European market the distribution agreements between the record companies and Apple could amount to restrictive practices. Apple claims it has always tried to operate a single pan-European iTunes store accessible by anyone from any member state but has been prevented from doing so by the record labels and publishers.ADVERTISEMENTIBM Information On Demand 2006Industrial Industry Leaders, please join us at IBM's premier information management global event, IBM Information On Demand 2006, October 15-20, Anaheim, CA. More IBM business and technical solutions content in one place than ever before! Select from  over 800 sessions. Register today!
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Apple Computer stock hit a four-year high today following the release of a report from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who expects Apple's stock price to hit $100.
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Apple&#39;s iTunes Music Store is causing a bit of a stir by refusing to sell the charity Band Aid song &quot;Do They Know It&#39;s Christmas?
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Apple Computer&#39;s iTunes Music Store sold its 150 millionth song on Thursday, another key milestone in the Cupertino firm&#39;s push to stay ahead of digital music rivals like Microsoft and Dell.
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Analysts' price breakdown of device indicates Apple may be focused more on iTunes profits than unit sales of the set-top box.
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Research firm NPD Group says that, while Apple Computer&#39;s ITunes service remains the clear market leader in the sector, the number of paying customers using such services has declined since April.
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The great unbundling A new report suggests that Apple and Tesco, not P2P file sharers, should take the most blame for the woes of the British music industry.â¦
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A&#160;class-action suit filed against Apple&#160;alleges the company unfairly uses technological restrictions with its iPod line and iTunes Music Store to beat out competitors.The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, is the latest one to accuse Apple of unfair business practices. Apple is facing similar legal actions and scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe.The suit was filed Dec. 31 by Stacie Somers, a resident of San Diego County, California, who bought a 30GB iPod from Target, a retail store. Others who bought an iPod or content from Apple&#39;s iTunes store after Dec. 31, 2003, may join the suit.The suit calls for Apple to forfeit money it earned from the unfair practices and pay the plaintiffs damages.It alleges that Apple has constricted the market by not enabling iPods to play content in the Windows Media Audio (WMA) format, Microsoft&#39;s copy-protection technology. Further, Apple sells songs on the iTunes store with its own copy-protection technology, FairPlay, which is incompatible with music players other than the iPod.The suit contends iPod-owning consumers can only buy music from iTunes, an unlawful tie-in that violates U.S. antitrust laws. Apple could license the WMA format for as little as $0.03 per iPod, or for a total of $800,000 based on Apple&#39;s 2005 iPod sales, the suit reads.The suit may quickly become less relevant as many online music retailers, including Apple, expand their offerings of music free of copy-protection restrictions, also known as DRM (digital rights management).DRM-free tracks offer the advantage of being compatible on a wider range of devices. In May, Apple began selling songs from the label EMI without DRM. Also,&#160;Amazon.com now sells song in MP3 format, and Universal Music Group has tested selling DRM-free music.&#160;
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MacCentral - Apple Computer Inc. confirmed for MacCentral on Wednesday that the Canadian iTunes Music Store has been delayed. Company representatives declined to comment on a specific timeframe for the store, but said in a statement that it would be very soon.
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On its latest earnings call (7/14/04), a question was asked about the profitability of iTunes, and management responded by stating that it made just a small profit.
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Collapse? What collapse! Besieged by hedge fund managers and anxious Apple stockholders, research outfit Forrester today sought to distance itself from reporting of its research into digital download sales at Apple's iTunes Store.â¦
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An analyst for investment banking firm Piper Jaffray warned Wednesday that Apple's European iPhone launch "may be delayed." Analyst Gene Munster claimed the planned European wide roll-out later this year may face problems. "European wireless carriers are citing strict terms of the partnership with Apple," Munster said.
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Collapse? What collapse! Besieged by hedge fund managers and anxious Apple stockholders, researcher outfit Forrester today sought to distance itself from reporting of its research into digital download sales at Apple's iTunes Store.â¦
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Apple Computer Inc. confirmed for MacCentral on Wednesday that the Canadian iTunes Music Store has been delayed. Company representatives declined to comment on a specific timeframe for the store, but said in a statement that it would be very soon.
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Someone activate the reality distortion field Apple reported its best quarter ever, as sales of iPods, Macs and iPhones lifted profit by a staggering 57 per cent. But unexpectedly low guidance for the current quarter, combined with flattening iPod sales in the US, sparked analyst concerns that a flagging US economy might dampen Apple's future.â¦
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A New York Times story published yesterday cited a report from Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff, which inferred that since the ratio of iTunes songs sold per iPod sold has been steadily rising, a disconnect could be occurring between the two products in a changing portable media market.