Steve Jobs hates the Man

By Lucian Tucker
Collegian Editor
February 21, 2007

Many music buyers purchase their music in retail stores such as Best Buy and FYE, but a growing number are acquiring their music online. Such online music stores include Napster, Rhapsody and Urge, with the most popular online store being Apple’s iTunes.

For an iPod user, iTunes is the only online music choice. Consequently, anyone who purchases music using iTunes is forced to buy an iPod. Like other online music services, iTunes music is encrypted with digital rights management (DRM) protection, which helps stop thievery.

European countries such as France and Norway are demanding that Apple open its DRM technology to its competitors — locking iTunes and iPod users violates European consumer rights.

In response, Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently posted an open letter on Apple.com, stating, “Since Apple does not own or control any music itself, it must license the rights to distribute music from others, primarily the ‘big four’ music companies: Universal, Sony BMG, Warner and EMI.”

When Apple approached these companies, which control 70 percent of the music in the world, they agreed to license the music under the condition that Apple used DRM protection, only “allowing users to play their DRM protected music on up to five computers and on an unlimited number of iPods.”

The issue here, as Jobs points out, is these four big labels. Until they are willing to allow online music stores like iTunes and Rhapsody to sell music without DRM protection, there is not much Apple can do.

Apple could license its DRM technology to its competitors, but Jobs believes that doing so will inevitably lead to the production of “software programs available as free downloads on the Internet which will disable the DRM protection so that formerly protected songs can be played on unauthorized players.”

The best alternative would be to get rid of DRM protection altogether.

“In such a world, any player can play music purchased from any store, and any store can sell music which is playable on all players,” Jobs said. “Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat.”

Since this letter’s release, many music execs have responded. While the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) suggests Apple licenses out its DRM technology, at least one of the big four music companies, EMI, is considering DRM-free music. Such a move could be profitable for record companies as well as online music stores.

Interestingly enough, Jobs mentions in his letter “only 22 out of 1,000 songs, or under three percent of the music on the average iPod, is purchased from the iTunes store and protected with a DRM. The remaining 97 percent of the music is unprotected and playable on any player that can play the open formats.”

Jobs also states that, while record companies insist music from online stores be protected, these labels do not protect music on CDs in retail stores. Therefore, “all the music distributed on CDs can be easily uploaded to the Internet, then (illegally) downloaded and played on any computer or player.”

While the road to DRM-free music seems to be leading nowhere, the fact that there is an open dialogue shows hope for light at the end.

tuckerl1@lasalle.edu