iTunes Radio v. indies

A DOUBLE STANDARD? Apple is playing hardball with the indie labels, Digital Music News reports, According to several indie label sources, Apple is now sending pre-filled, inferior contract terms to them for inclusion in iTunes Radio. "They will not make much in the agreement negotiable, if anything," said one label source. Another revealed that indies are being handed "significantly less favorable terms than what the majors are reportedly receiving," with little wiggle-room for negotiation. "The deal terms are basically what they are, that's the way Apple's been doing it from the beginning. I think it's really just the majors [getting their deals] and then everyone else." The terms have been judged "substantially inferior" to deals forged with the majors, with no advances, say DMN’s sources, while per-stream and ad-sharing components are lower than the rates secured by the majors. What remains unclear is the leverage of larger indies like Glassnote and XL Recordings, which have consistently put points on the scoreboard. (6/18a)