Apparently, the record labels—that would be Universal, Warner, EMI and Sony—actually went to Apple with the CMX digital album format idea a year and a half ago, and Apple said shno. As Apple is wont to do after expressing a total disinterest in an idea, they promptly went to work on their own version, which rumor has it, is called Cocktail, which we'll see in September at the annual iPod event. The records labels' format won't hit until November.

This CMX deal sounds like a glorified version of the tragically awful Flash programs that shipped on some CDs back a few years ago, actually: It "opens and it would have a totally brand-new look, with a launch page and all the different options." Yeah, gross. U2 will be soft-launching it. Grosser.

Oh yeah, did I mention the records labels are going up against Apple, the biggest seller of music in the country on their home turf? It's not the first time Apple's tense relationship with the music industry has resulted in digital fisticuffs, but we all know the eventual result of the last war: Apple pretty much got what it wanted—completely DRM-free music—yielding the relatively minor concession of flexible pricing. The labels are doomed in this fight.

We're all probably better for it, anyway, since I have the feeling the record labels' album product will be markedly inferior compared to Apple's. Which won't be great either, since the whole digital album thing just seems silly, like trying to put a genie back in a bottle after the genie ate a whole pig with deep-fried ribs and a mountain of custard and washed it down with 14 gallons of beer. Some shit just doesn't work like that. Even Radiohead's given up on the album. [Times Online via Guardian via BBG]

The New York Times' account of the behind-the-scenes negotiations that led to iTunes going totally DRM-free, getting downloads over 3G and variable pricing is fascinating for several reasons. One, it reveals that while Jobs said he was taking the holidays off to spend time with his family instead of preparing for Macworld, he was plenty busy making record executives cry. The Christmas Eve call, the Times says, "ricocheted around the music industry."

Two, it reveals that Apple and iTunes have reached a tipping point since becoming the number one music retailer in the world: iTunes is now a more powerful institution than the record labels themselves. Just 18 months ago, Universal was flexing its muscles to show that iTunes still depended on the record instury, not the other way around. But in this round of negotiations, "several high-level music executives" told the Times (anonymously, of course) that "they operated in fear of Apple’s removing a label’s products from the iTunes store over a disagreement, even though that has never happened. The labels do not have much leverage in negotiating with Apple."

Sony was the lone dissenter, which resulted in the "particularly tense" Christmas Eve chat. And well, we all know how it turned out. [NYT]

AppleInsider cites a Dec. 3 story from the French publication Electron Libre that says iTunes will remove DRM from Sony BMG, Universal and Warner tracks on December 9th, like it already does with EMI and indie content. The story doesn't say what percentage of tracks from the major labels, or what the cost bump for the new tracks might be, if any, though it seems to say the thing might cover every single album and track on iTunes. In fact, check out this rather ungraceful machine translation of the French story for yourself:

...The signals are clear today. iTunes should offer catalogs of three majors Universal Music, SonyBMG Music and Waner [sic] rid of technological protection measures next Tuesday, Dec. 9. The transition to DRM Free should be at a global level...

With that opener, it almost reads like a fortune. I for one hope this fortune comes true. [Electron Libre via AppleInsider]

"In response to purely speculative figures announced in the press regarding the number of downloads and the price paid for the album, the group's representatives would like to remind people that, as the album could only be downloaded from the band's website, it is impossible for outside organizations to have accurate figures on sales."

Good point. I would like to think that Radiohead fans aren't as cheap as we have been lead to believe. But my question is when are we going to see some official numbers? [e-consultancy via Pocket-Lint]

Meanwhile, the site is still up and running, gleefully noting that iTunes revenues have decreased by 65% and wishing all a Happy New Year. Beatles songs, DRM-free, for $.17 each? Sounds like a good deal. – Charlie White

RIAA sues AllofMP3 for $1.65 trillion [Zero Paid]