Steve Jobs calls for end to DRM
Hippocratic Oaf
THE SPIRITUAL leader of the Apple cult, Steve Jobs, has called on the four major record companies to dump DRM and start flogging music without copy protection.
That is right, the bloke who nobbles his iPods so that they can only play musical content that spouts from the iTunes digital jukebox has presumed to lecture other DRM advocates on the merits of dumping the practice. In a statement posted to the Apple site, Jobs said there was no benefit to the record companies to continue to sell more than 90 per cent of their music without DRM on compact discs while selling the remaining small percentage of their music encumbered with a DRM system.
He claimed that if DRM was removed then the music industry might experience an influx of new companies willing to invest in innovative new stores and players.
So that would not apply to Apple of course. Its Fairplay DRM is a nice Parisian Sunrise coloured DRM which which prevents users from making multiple copies of music they have paid for. Jobs may be making his statement as EU countries start hunting down Apple and its pastel colour of DRM. On January 25 Norway's consumer ombudsman said Apple must open access to iTunes by October 1 or face legal action.
Jobs says that the consumer protection people should redirect their energies toward persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free. The way we understand it, that is exactly what they are doing. Jobs firmly believes that he can do no wrong, while there are others in the industry following the same business model who are obviously completely evil.
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37469
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Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaks out on DRM
Apple's boss would welcome DRM-free online music sales
Apple CEO Steve Jobs today published his thoughts on the state of the online music industry on the company website.
Jobs discusses - in detail - the way that iTunes sells tracks which are protected by technology to prevent them being stolen or misused.
The company's leader states that when iTunes launched Apple was forced to apply such technology - digital rights management (DRM) technology - on songs purchased through the service.
He states that the main protagonists in this demand were the major music labels: EMI, Universal, Warners, Sony and BMG.
Jobs also talks about interoperability within an environment in which online music service providers must repair any flaws that may emerge within their DRM systems "within weeks".
If music services fail to meet any challenges to their DRM systems within set time limits, labels reserve the right to withdraw their entire catalogue from the music stores, he explains.
Jobs answers critics who slam his company for limiting iTunes purchases for playback on devices which support iTunes DRM. He observes that licensing DRM systems to others would place any existing DRM systems at risk of being broken - leaving any services dependent on that DRM at risk of closure.
But that's not what he wants.
Apple, states Jobs, would welcome any move by major labels toward selling tracks without such systems applied.
"Much of the concern over DRM systems has arisen in European countries. Perhaps those unhappy with the current situation should redirect their energies towards persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free," he writes.
Apple is currently under attack by Nordic EU countries over the way its DRM system stops iTunes songs being played on devices other than an iPod.
"For Europeans, two and a half of the big four music companies are located right in their backyard. The largest, Universal, is 100 per cent owned by Vivendi, a French company. EMI is a British company, and Sony BMG is 50 per cent owned by Bertelsmann, a German company," Jobs explains.
"Convincing them to to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace," he states.
"Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly," Jobs concludes.
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=17141
THE SPIRITUAL leader of the Apple cult, Steve Jobs, has called on the four major record companies to dump DRM and start flogging music without copy protection.
That is right, the bloke who nobbles his iPods so that they can only play musical content that spouts from the iTunes digital jukebox has presumed to lecture other DRM advocates on the merits of dumping the practice. In a statement posted to the Apple site, Jobs said there was no benefit to the record companies to continue to sell more than 90 per cent of their music without DRM on compact discs while selling the remaining small percentage of their music encumbered with a DRM system.
He claimed that if DRM was removed then the music industry might experience an influx of new companies willing to invest in innovative new stores and players.
So that would not apply to Apple of course. Its Fairplay DRM is a nice Parisian Sunrise coloured DRM which which prevents users from making multiple copies of music they have paid for. Jobs may be making his statement as EU countries start hunting down Apple and its pastel colour of DRM. On January 25 Norway's consumer ombudsman said Apple must open access to iTunes by October 1 or face legal action.
Jobs says that the consumer protection people should redirect their energies toward persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free. The way we understand it, that is exactly what they are doing. Jobs firmly believes that he can do no wrong, while there are others in the industry following the same business model who are obviously completely evil.
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=37469
------------------------------------------------------
Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaks out on DRM
Apple's boss would welcome DRM-free online music sales
Apple CEO Steve Jobs today published his thoughts on the state of the online music industry on the company website.
Jobs discusses - in detail - the way that iTunes sells tracks which are protected by technology to prevent them being stolen or misused.
The company's leader states that when iTunes launched Apple was forced to apply such technology - digital rights management (DRM) technology - on songs purchased through the service.
He states that the main protagonists in this demand were the major music labels: EMI, Universal, Warners, Sony and BMG.
Jobs also talks about interoperability within an environment in which online music service providers must repair any flaws that may emerge within their DRM systems "within weeks".
If music services fail to meet any challenges to their DRM systems within set time limits, labels reserve the right to withdraw their entire catalogue from the music stores, he explains.
Jobs answers critics who slam his company for limiting iTunes purchases for playback on devices which support iTunes DRM. He observes that licensing DRM systems to others would place any existing DRM systems at risk of being broken - leaving any services dependent on that DRM at risk of closure.
But that's not what he wants.
Apple, states Jobs, would welcome any move by major labels toward selling tracks without such systems applied.
"Much of the concern over DRM systems has arisen in European countries. Perhaps those unhappy with the current situation should redirect their energies towards persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free," he writes.
Apple is currently under attack by Nordic EU countries over the way its DRM system stops iTunes songs being played on devices other than an iPod.
"For Europeans, two and a half of the big four music companies are located right in their backyard. The largest, Universal, is 100 per cent owned by Vivendi, a French company. EMI is a British company, and Sony BMG is 50 per cent owned by Bertelsmann, a German company," Jobs explains.
"Convincing them to to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace," he states.
"Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly," Jobs concludes.
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=17141
Comments
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic/
i think he sells it quite well too, really waving some nice $$$ notes in their faces
"If the big four music companies would license Apple their music without the requirement that it be protected with a DRM, we would switch to selling only DRM-free music on our iTunes store. Every iPod ever made will play this DRM-free music."
"In 2006, under 2 billion DRM-protected songs were sold worldwide by online stores, while over 20 billion songs were sold completely DRM-free and unprotected on CDs by the music companies themselves."
*yes, i am aware that by using this terminology, i am showing that i am now an aging parent