Universal Music CEO: iPod owners are thieves

The CEO of Universal Music has called iPod owners thieves. In explaining that Universal required Microsoft to pay it vig on the sale of each Zune, Doug Morris said, "These devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it."

Yesterday, Microsoft agreed to share revenue from Zune sales with record labels and artists. Forcing the issue was Universal Music Group, which at deadline is the only label named in the program. UMG refused to license its music to the Zune unless it could receive a percentage of each device sold, in addition to standard music licensing fees for downloads and subscriptions.

"These devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it," UMG chairman/CEO Doug Morris says. "So it's time to get paid for it."

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(Thanks, Xeni!

Update: Josh sez, "I gathered a few resources for finding out what artists and labels fall under the UMG company so they can be easily avoided."