Re: News Flash
On Tue, Feb 06, 2007 at 18:53:01 -0500, Roberto C. Sanchez wrote:
> On Tue, Feb 06, 2007 at 03:19:17PM -0800, Baz wrote:
> > Steve Jobs is promoting the idea of ending DRM. Read at
> > http://blogs.marketwatch.com/bambi/2007/02/apples_jobs_has.html
> >
> Here is the original essay:
>
> http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic/
>
> I'd say that "promote" is a bit of a strong word. In particular, he
> said that Apple would embrace DRM-free music. He said nothing that
> implied promition, other than saying that users/customers of the big
> music comapnies can convince them to change.
>
> Don't forget, if Apple themselves are preceived as promoting something
> the music companies perceive as a threat to their revenue stream, they
> could decide to take their toys and go home.
>
> It is still a bold step, though.
It seems to me that Steve Jobs likes DRM very much, as long as it makes
it difficult for competitors to interoperate smoothly with iTunes and/or
the iPod. (I know that the end user has relatively easy ways around
these restrictions, but this is still not as convenient as using the
100% Apple solution.) However, Steve Jobs also knows that DRM tends to
annoy customers and that locking together different products is frowned
upon by many regulatory authorities. The insistence of the big record
companies on DRM simply provides him with a convenient scapegoat. He is
still laughing all the way to the bank, but he is probably getting
worried that certain countries might force him to fully unlock the iPod
for competing online music stores and/or to license his DRM-format to
the manufacturers of other portable music players.
--
Regards,
Florian
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