Apple Hides Behind DRM
Poster: Rich
Posted on February 7, 2007 at 1:43:27 PM
Steve Jobs has a point. But I really don't think that he's trying to be noble. I think that he knows that record labels will never scrap DRM unless forced. This way he can keep iTunes music strictly on iPods without looking like the bad guy. I don't think that Europe is going to buy it and will continue to pressure Apple to make their downloads compatible with other digital media players.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17013250/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17013250/
Quote
"The essay, dubbed "Thoughts on Music," cited the anti-piracy technology as the main reason music sold through iTunes can't be transferred to other portable players besides the iPod. If not for the DRM safeguards, Jobs asserted that Apple would be able to create a more flexible system that would allow iTunes music to work on other devices, such as Microsoft Corp.'s recently introduced Zune. Jobs suggested that consumers unhappy with the status quo should urge the world's four largest labels — Universal Music Group, EMI, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group — to sell their online catalogs without the DRM restrictions. Those four labels distribute more than 70 percent of the world's music. "Convincing them to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace," Jobs wrote. "Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly.""