Apple would ditch DRM ‘In a Heartbeat’
by DJ Neawedde | 6th February 2007
There’s been lots o’ pressure coming from France, Norway, Germany and the Dutchregarding Apple iTunes DRM issues. So Steve Jobs published an open letter, “Thoughts on Music,” in which be says Apple would get rid of digital rights management technology “in a heartbeat” if only record companies would let them sell unprotected music.
Jobs gives three ways for the digital music industry to be progressive:
- The industry could stick with the current model, with DRM technology “protecting” media and irritating consumers.
- Apple could license FairPlay to competitors, potentially enabling them to build devices and services compatible with protected media purchased from iTunes.
- The industry could get rid of DRM entirely and sell music in open, licensable formats.
An interesting point that Jobs brings up is, as Digital Trends states, “only about three percent of the content on an average iPod is purchased via iTunes, and the record companies’ mandate for protection has essentially shown that DRM systems don’t work as a way to combat music piracy.”
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