Filed under: Apple Corporate, iTS, iTunes, Steve Jobs, Apple
Steve Jobs posts his thoughts on music (and DRM)
I just finished reading Thoughts on Music by everyone's favorite iCEO, Steve Jobs. Then I read it again.This is big, folks. While the piece is entitled 'Thoughts on Music,' it is really all about DRM (Digital Rights Management). Steve outlines 3 scenarios that the future of online music distribution can take:
- Stay as it is. Each online store using different, and incompatible, DRM schemes to sync with different devices.
- Apple licenses FairPlay to others (spoiler alert: it isn't going to happen).
- The music industry agrees to license their music to online stores without DRM.
I encourage everyone to read this themselves to get a glimpse into what one of the largest music distributors thinks about DRM (and it even has some interesting bits about Apple and the big record labels deal. Did you know that if FairPlay, Apple's DRM, is cracked Apple has a few weeks to fix the problem and if they can't the music companies can pull all of their music from the iTunes Store? Wacky, huh?).
I'm with Steve, let's end DRM and let the music play on all devices!
Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
timothy Broyles said 3:14PM on 2-06-2007
I'm going to point every idiot that bitches at Apple for their DRM to this article. I try to explain that the music industry wouldn't go along with iTunes without it, but they don't seem to get it.
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kaps said 3:32PM on 2-06-2007
This is a really strong statement by steve jobs.
I don't see a change being made in 2007.. but maybe sometime in the distant future
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Mike McGregor said 2:57PM on 2-06-2007
Awesome. Lets hope that both Apple and the consumer can finally beat the DRM machine. Good one Mr Jobs!
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sam said 2:55PM on 2-06-2007
Interesting that option 2 involves Apple licensing their fairplay technology to other companies, but some other standard from some other company, or even some kind of open standard (or, at least as open as it could be) is so laughable that it doesn't even make the list.
Nice one, Steve.
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Matthew said 3:13PM on 2-06-2007
Either I'm caught in the RDF, or that made a lot of sense.
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my_name_is_tudor said 3:49PM on 2-06-2007
'So laughable it doesn't make the list'?
Or maybe he's just speaking as CEO of his company, thinking of whats best for his company and consumers. He does make it quite clear that licensing FairPlay isnt an option, and also that Apple would favour no DRM at all.
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JoshSpazJosh said 3:48PM on 2-06-2007
sam-
there is no such thing as open DRM.
i mean, maybe embracing an open standard would be relevant if it was a discussion of MP3 vs. OGG or FLAC . . . and honestly, if we're going to start talking about things as technical as FairPlay let's start talking about getting something better than mediocre-quality AAC files from iTunes.
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Daniel D said 3:16PM on 2-06-2007
good job there will always be piracy I hope cds continue to sell well so no drm is implemented the day i have to pay for music (with money rather then bandwidth) will be a sad day indeed
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andynahman said 3:31PM on 2-06-2007
Daniel D,
Are your punctuation keys broken?
Andy
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Wheels said 3:27PM on 2-06-2007
That has to be one of the best bitch-slaps that I have ever read. It put's the "Apple is evil for having DRM" crowd in its place, it makes record companies look foolish, and, right at the very end, it slams the Europeans for going after the wrong company (this was my favorite dig because I didn't see it coming). A very nice shot that's going to be heard around the world.
However, I disagree with the 97% vs 3% argument Jobs made concerning downloaded DRM music vs. music acquired by other means. If I suddenly lost 3% of my music collection, I'd be upset in a major way.
And notice that subscription music services were never mentioned.
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dogfriend said 5:47PM on 2-06-2007
I'm with Steve. Hey, RIAA are you listening?
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Daniel D said 3:36PM on 2-06-2007
No I was just typing at an angle and could not devote myself 100% to writing that comment I am sorry for any offence I may have caused to your gentle disposition. If it helps, I am 19 years old and watch MTV an hour a week.
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Sam G. said 4:38PM on 2-06-2007
1) This is clearly a response to what's going on in Norway right now, shifting the blame from Apple to the record labels.
2) I wonder what Doug Morris thinks of Jobs' admission that most of the songs on an iPod aren't from the iTMS.
3) The record labels are much too much too stupid to ever sell DRM-less music. They fear what they cannot understand.
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Aron Trimble said 3:42PM on 2-06-2007
Personally, I don't mind burning 3% of my music collection to CD and re-ripping it to an open state if it means I find a new music player I love MORE than my iPod.
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Jeff said 6:46PM on 2-06-2007
To me, this says that Steve will walk away from those European countries that demand Apple change its business model. He will come back if/when the big "2 1/2" change their approach.
If true, good for him!
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Joe said 3:45PM on 2-06-2007
That was definitely a nice read. I was pretty aware of those points before, but it's good to have them all presented in an easily-digestible format.
I really don't have any hopes that the big 4 will go along with non-DRM music, though. They simply have too many technophobes making decisions.
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Goobimama said 3:54PM on 2-06-2007
How about letting us "outside" folk, the bloody indians (from India), buy some music for a change? Just because I'm not a US citizen, doesn't mean I gotta pirate the music...
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my_name_is_tudor said 5:06PM on 2-06-2007
"it slams the Europeans for going after the wrong company"
Do you know how many European countries there are? Twenty seven. Try not to judge all twenty seven of us on the actions of what? Two?
Bloody yanks.
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Stealth43 said 3:56PM on 2-06-2007
Daniel,
lmao =) very nice.
and Andy... you=owned =)
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Hawke said 5:43PM on 2-06-2007
I'm not bitching about Apple using the DRM, but I think his "Blame the Music Companies" approach does not account for his choice not to license his DRM. It also does not explain why iPods can't use other licensed DRM (see: Real's attempts).
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