Steve Jobs to kill iTunes Store DRM?
Posted by trm96 | Filed under Apple News, Technology News
Ever since Apple launched it’s very popular music service iTunes the content you downloaded form the music store has been copy protected using Digital Rights Management (or DRM) allowing you to only use the files you download in certain ways(i.e. copy to an iPod burn onto an audio CD). That might all change, that is if Mr. Jobs has anything to do with it.
Jobs already had to stand up to major recording companies wanting Apple to charge more than 99¢ per song. As talks about the abolishment of DRM ramp up this month it may open the door to Apple having to charge more for songs with out DRM. Jobs contends that would “tear down the walls” by allowing consumers to play music they buy at Apple’s iTunes store on any digital music player, not just the company’s iPods.
Although these talks are really creating contraversy over the whole matter Jobs says “by the end of this year, over half of the songs we offer on iTunes we believe will be in DRM-free versions. I think we’re going to achieve that.” and Jobs pointed out what’s obvious to us, the consumers, but isn’t obvious to the music industry — “People want to own their music.”
Last month, Britain’s EMI Music Group PLC, home to artists such as Coldplay, Norah Jones and Joss Stone, agreed to let iTunes sell tracks without DRM. The DRM-free tracks cost 30 cents more than copy-restricted versions of EMI songs and feature enhanced sound quality. In my opinion this is a step in the right direction, and may open the door to more people legaley acquiring music and thus may convince more artists to do the same thing and ultimately may convince consumers as a whole to stop (or maybe at least slow) their piracy… Just something for the RIAA and record labels to think about.
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