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Universal CEO: 'iPod owners are thieves'
by M. Sharp, Insanely Great Mac
November 15th 2006

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Today comes news that Universal CEO Doug Morris is calling iPod owners thieves, a familiar refrain from the RIAA and its music label members. Here's the money quote:

"These devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it, so it's time to get paid for it."

Morris made the statement in a just-published BillBoard magazine interview. And, of course, 'getting paid for it' is a reference to Universal's deal with Microsoft whereby the music label will receive one dollar for each Zune music player sold.

This is a continuing theme from the world's biggest corporations, includingsurprise, surpriseMicrsoft and its CEO, Steve Balmer, who has called iPod owners thieves, as well.

Editor's note: What is the message music buyers are supposed to take away from this?

Reader Comments
Comments are posted live to facilitate a public forum for discussion. Please be respectful of others and keep comments relevant to the article. Comments do not necessarily reflect opinions of Insanely Great Mac or its advertisers. Insanely Great Mac reserves the right to delete any posts deemed inappropriate or irrelevant.

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Posted by Guest Poster #1 on 11/15/06 10:11 AM
Reply to this Comment
Music lables are crookes. The fact they've managed to extort Microsoft only demonstrates Microsoft's desperation.

-
Posted by Guest Poster #1 on 11/15/06 10:14 AM
Reply to this Comment
Thanks for the accusation Doug you worthless piece of maggott infested rotting puke smelling flesh.

Who's the next artist on your list to bribe DJ's to play now that Nickelback is out in the open you slime ball?

Boycott anything Universal and good luck Doug with your piece of crap Zune adventure.

Better yet, buy copies of Universal's latest releases and ship them to friends in China, they'll take care of the rest.

A CEO calling customers thieves, what scum.

- So I'm a thief, eh?
Posted by Guest Poster #3 on 11/15/06 11:34 AM
Reply to this Comment
Come here and say that to my face.

- Email Link to tell Universal what you think of Doug
Posted by Guest Poster #4 on 11/15/06 11:46 AM
Reply to this Comment
Anyone who wants to complain can email Universal directly at the link below. I know I did.
communications@umusic.com

- The Pot calls the Kettle black
Posted by Guest Poster #5 on 11/15/06 11:54 AM
Reply to this Comment
$15+ for CDs, $20+ for DVDs ... who's the thief? Compared to the music industry, we are all rank amateurs.

Boycott Universal.

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Posted by alansky on 11/15/06 12:02 PM
Reply to this Comment
Yesterday's news. But surely this is the pot calling the kettle black!!! The big music companies deserve every bad thing that can possibly happen to them.

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Posted by botox on 11/15/06 12:10 PM
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Music executives themselves are the REAL THIEVES! Look at their obscene salary! To say something like this is LUDICROUS! Why dont they go after 8 tracks, cassette tape player manufacturers as well? I bet they say Zune users are honest people now they can collect $$$$$ for every single turd Zune M$ sells! LOL!

- Slander Suit (Class action)
Posted by Guest Poster #8 on 11/15/06 12:45 PM
Reply to this Comment
I own two iPods and can prove all the music on them was legally purchased by me. How about a good class action law suit.

Any one want in ?

    - RE: Slander Suit (Class action)
    Posted by Guest Poster #25 on 11/16/06 9:04 PM
    I'll take in on it... I've got about $500 invested in legally downloaded music from iTunes. Unfortunately I'm a student so I don't have much to fund such a venture...

- Legalize it ?
Posted by Hauer on 11/15/06 2:22 PM
Reply to this Comment
Honestly, I do not get it: Buying a zune I pay 1 $ that entitles me to what? To be an honest thief and steal 1.01 songs valued at .99 each? If I steal more or nothing at all tis 1 $ does not make sense at all. What is Microsofts motive behind this?
And no matter how much the record companies complain: The iPod put music back in the picture! At least for me. Now that I have 3 iPods in the family I spend a LOT more money on BUYING music than I did before the iPod arrived.
BTW:The music industry still owes me some 3000 songs a had on LPs and bought again on CDs during the last 20 years.
Gerhard

- Fleas
Posted by Guest Poster #10 on 11/15/06 4:15 PM
Reply to this Comment
May the fleas of a thousand camels infest the Zune of your first born.

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Posted by Guest Poster #11 on 11/15/06 5:18 PM
Reply to this Comment
We need a recession or a depression in order to wring a lot of greedy excesses out of the economy. MS can go bust as far as I'm concerned. Same for the music/film industrries.

    - RE:
    Posted by macmikey on 11/15/06 11:09 PM
    Oooookay... maybe it's time to take our medication, Guest Poster #11. I mean, Universal is crazy and MS is for the birds, but calling for a depression? That's Ballmer-level loony.

    You are aware that a depression affects EVERYONE, right?

- Who Pays Doug Morris?
Posted by Guest Poster #12 on 11/15/06 5:47 PM
Reply to this Comment
I think it is the customers, like a lot of us, who have legitimately bought our CDs and load copies to our iPods.

Doug can come over and pay a visit and check my iPod out against the CDs.

If Morris keeps on like this it won't be long before Universal goes down.

- What a Surprise.
Posted by Guest Poster #13 on 11/15/06 8:18 PM
Reply to this Comment
I have managed to get through 68 years of life without anyone thinking I'm a thief. I only have one thing to say to the CEO. BITE ME.

- Here We Go Again
Posted by Guest Poster #14 on 11/15/06 9:31 PM
Reply to this Comment
It is because of the arrogance and ignorance of the record industry that they are in the trouble that they are in. Price gouging and threats have alienated the end-user from the short-sighted companies that once held us captive. Every stupid comment only reinforces the resolve of the people who actually love music. While they complain, technology will progress, and they will (again) fall further behind the curve (giving them something to complain about in the future).

- Get real:
Posted by Guest Poster #16 on 11/16/06 3:48 AM
Reply to this Comment
How about suing this guy? In Europe where I live I, a single iPod user, could sue him, as a person, for what he said and get him heavily punished as the penalty he would have to pay if sentences would be adjusted to his income. He also would be forced to pay for publishing in assorted media that he lied. The l;egal process would be very simple, I would have to prove he said it general enough as to include me and further proof that there's only legal paid content on my iPod. Whammo.

I'm sure it's a bit more trickey in the US but rewards would be bigger too. Go ahhead guys, let's go Class-Action! What the heck if the lawyers will take 70-80%, let that guy bleed through the nose!

    - RE: Get real:
    Posted by Guest Poster #17 on 11/16/06 6:14 AM
    Cheers :)

- I'm sick of this crap!!
Posted by Guest Poster #18 on 11/16/06 8:25 AM
Reply to this Comment
Let's see LP's then 8 track then cassettes then CD's and next....
How many times do I have to buy "Hotel California" before it's mine?? Before I'm honest. How about I but it once and then just pay the media cost on each new storage media to come along?

What a jerk we as in ipod owners need to call for his resignation NOW!

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Posted by alansky on 11/16/06 3:52 PM
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The guy's an idiot. You'd think no one owned even a single CD before the iPod was invented. Moron!!!

- What a tosser
Posted by Little Fairy Princess on 11/16/06 6:57 PM
Reply to this Comment
The music (or rather 'audio entertainment products') that Universal puts out is a bunch of grey, near identical sounding cookie-cutter drek made by interchangeable puppets.

- What a tosser
Posted by Little Fairy Princess on 11/16/06 6:58 PM
Reply to this Comment
The music (or rather 'audio entertainment products') that Universal puts out is a bunch of grey, near identical sounding cookie-cutter drek made by interchangeable puppets.

- UMG Cashing In on M$
Posted by Chyron on 11/16/06 6:59 PM
Reply to this Comment
So the Zune has been available for two days now. I guess that means that Universal has made about $24 on Zune sales.

- UMG CEO Comments
Posted by Guest Poster #23 on 11/16/06 8:02 PM
Reply to this Comment
I've had an iPod for several years and have never loaded it with any songs that I haven't purchased from either the iTunes store or on a CD. As far as I'm concerned, UMG doesn't need my business. I'll check any CDs I buy from now on; this guy is a loser. Maybe he thinks we want to buy his company's CDs for $18.99; well, he's wrong!

- I spoke out
Posted by Guest Poster #24 on 11/16/06 9:01 PM
Reply to this Comment
OH I emailed Universal about this via their contacts page....they're all a bunch of bastards. I agree boycott anything Universal.

- Thieves
Posted by Rip Ragged on 11/16/06 11:07 PM
Reply to this Comment
I've bought the Beatles White Album (just to name one) on vinyl, cassette, and CD. I've paid for the right to hear that music. I have purchased, in one form or another, every frigging song on my iPod.

Come on over to my house, Dougy Boy. You don't know what a thief is, and I can't explain it to you. But I'll be happy to show you the connection between "iPod owner" and "ass kicking."

- BURN UNIVERSAL
Posted by theanimaster on 11/17/06 1:55 AM
Reply to this Comment
Anyone wanna set up a boycottuniversalrecords.com site?

- I'm sending Universal a dollar
Posted by iPhred on 11/17/06 9:20 AM
Reply to this Comment
What I'm hearing from this deal is that the cost of covering piracy is $1/unit. So, if you send Universal Music Group a dollar, you can pirate all the music you want from them. Shweeeet!

- This just in....
Posted by eyerhyme on 11/17/06 9:33 AM
Reply to this Comment
"Universal Music Group's planned acquisition of BMG Music Publishing for $2.09 billion."

Yes Doug... you're really hurting... I say lawsuit! Count me in.
eyerhyme@golden.net

- Microsoft is the thief
Posted by Guest Poster #30 on 11/17/06 3:09 PM
Reply to this Comment
All windows users are thieves, and everyone that has bought a mac in the last 25 years should thousands of dollars from microsoft.
I want my money. A thousand for each mac I've owned in the last 3 decades.

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