Numero Group is a record label best known for reissuing forgotten Soul and R&B gems. And now they’ve made it known they don’t like Apple’s new iTunes Match feature, choosing to opt out of the service.
“We feel that a great risk is being taken by Apple and the major labels that have accepted the terms of this new product wholesale with not a thought beyond the 150M those so-called “big four” will probably divide and pay to their top executives. By that, we mean that laws that protect compositions and copyrights for songs are, more or less, being trampled under these agreements.”
Ars Technica says that Numero, along with other digital music companies, believe that the $US25/year service which matches your existing library (however it was acquired) with the tracks that exist on their server “legitimises piracy”. Some argue that this new service is beneficial because Apple is actually getting pirates to pay for the music they’ve stolen. But the Numero Group insists that royalties will be far too small to matter. It will be interesting to watch this argument evolve as the service launches and more labels get to see the service in action. Surely, Numero won’t be the only label to back out. [Numero via Ars Technica]