When buying on iTunes who gets the money, artist or label?

musicismylife78

Who gets the majority of the money when you purchase an album on iTunes or buy a few songs from an artist on iTunes?

I know when you go to your local cd store, and pick up a physical copy of a record, the band gets something like $1 of the $20. The rest goes to the record label.

So is the rate of exchange (or exploitation) the same in terms of buying an album online? When you buy so and so's album on iTunes, does the label get the majority of the money, with the artist recieving precious little of it?

mavi

Did some research:

Apple takes a 35% cut from every song and every album sold, a huge amount considering how little they have to do. Record labels receive the other 65% of each sale. Of this, major label artists will end up with only 8 to 14 cents per song, depending on their contract.

http://www.downhillbattle.org/itunes/

http://www.futureofmusic.org/itunes2.cfm

SolarWorld

Apple takes a 35% cut from every song and every album sold, a huge amount considering how little they have to do.

I'm no Apple apologist but that is just an absurd statement. Who else has the install base and provide an artist's music to millions day one? Who has spent decades creating a rabid fan base that blow their loads at every mention of a new product? My friends have their albums on itunes and while they don't sell many copies or make much on each sale, they are happy to be selling albums that they might not have sold at retail. Apple/iTunes haters amuse me. So since artists only get 8 to 10 cents a song steal their music instead? Pay for your music you fucking thieves.