In this interview with Wired magazine, Universal Music CEO Doug Morris talks candidly about the effects that digital music has had on a company that was once a seven billion dollar a year profit machine. After reaping large margins during the CD boom years, Universal and the rest of the music industry has faced an unforeseen onslaught from the digital age. In 2006, CD sales fell ten percent and twenty-two percent of all music in the United States passed through Apple'''s iTunes, Morris, who once called iPod users ''"thieves,''" has embraced a bold strategy to reverse Universal'''s fortunes in the changing music market.
Morris'''s take on the events in the music industry are fascinating. As an iPod user and a CD buyer that skinned for my share of those margins, part of me wants to say that most people (and industries) get what they deserve in the end. The happy ending, however, is obscured somewhat by Morris'''s take on iTunes. Though his version on the DRM encoding story might be a case of sour grapes, the fact remains that a significant amount of music consumers are now beholden to their iPods. There are at least fifteen albums I would have to repurchase if I decided to switch over to a Zune (or other media player). Strange how Morris, who once sought to lock music up, has been forced to jump the fence into the DRM-free zone. [Wired]