D.I.Y.

Does Steve Jobs Secretly Prefer DRM?

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Steve Jobs achieved hero status a few months ago for calling on record labels to remove copy restrictions from downloads. It is a stance that is hugely popular with the media, in the tech community and with consumers. If actions speak louder than words then Jobs and the company that he leads are sending a very different message.

After some delay, iTunes has added DRM free tracks from EMI, but if Steve Jobs truly cared about consumer choice and freedom:

  • Why is iTunes tagging the purchaser’s name and email address onto every download?
  • Why is Jobs effectively forcing consumers to choose what kind of tracks they want to purchase in advance instead of offering more expensive DRM free tracks alongside cheaper tracks with DRM?Itunes
  • Why isn’t Jobs following Amazon’s lead and using his considerable clout to encourage labels to remove copy protection?
  • Why aren’t millions of tracks from indie labels offered DRM free elsewhere for sale on iTunes? We know he’s been saying differently of late, but the fact is that iTunes has yet to even set a  timetable for removing copy-protection from more tracks.

Or Does Jobs secretly prefer DRM?  Is the real truth that he has nothing to gain and much to loose if record labels remove copy protection?  After all, untethered downloads purchased from other store are playable on the iPod opening the previously closed iTunes/IPod ecosystem.

Bruce Houghton on 06/04/2007 in D.I.Y. | Permalink | Comments (7)
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7 Comments

  1. I don’t think Jobs really cares about DRM. What he likes is the higher price of DRM free tracks. Within a couple of years all tracks will be DRM free and $1.29. People don’t buy a lot from iTunes anyway and I think the higher price won’t change buying habits. Check out the Ad-Supported Music Central blog:
    http://ad-supported-music.blogspot.com/

  2. No, Steve Job prefer “AAC”. The DRM is really irrelevant.
    – iPod sale is slowing down in some market.
    – in order to expand Steve needs to compell people in previously out of reach market. But those area are not covered by iTune store (for copyright/license reason) Remember the magic of iPod is in the pairing of iTune/iPod.
    – So by dropping DRM, people outside the iTune store can now also enjoy iTune download from other buying zone.

  3. 1 – I’d assume this is because some kind of technical reason, but it could very well be “passive-aggressive DRM.” I’d rather not have it, but I can’t say that this bothers me much.
    2 – I think that if you’re the kind of person who prefers the DRM free music you won’t be upset having this as your buying preference. You can always set it back.
    3&4 – They project that half of the music they offer will be DRM free by the end of the year. Watch tomorrow be another day of store slowdowns caused by iTunes Plus upgrading. It hasn’t even been a week yet. They have to start somewhere. At the end of the day it’s up to the labels to provide their music – and with the amount of coverage EMI is getting (plus a WHOLE SECTION of the store that’s pretty much just EMI music right now) I’d hope that other labels recognize the value that iTunes Plus provides them.
    The REAL thing that upsets me is that you can’t upgrade individual songs and albums – it’s either all or nothing.

  4. I’m assuming that Jobs and Apple cares about collecting data–I’m not sure if they have a specific plan about DRM free tracks and what they’ll do with it in the future. You have to realize, though, that the data they collect has value, and they probably could put a dollar figure on it.
    I’m assuming, though, that they have a timetable for removing copy-protection from more tracks–even though they might not publish it directly or make it publicly available at this point.

  5. The “FairPlay” (iTune DRM) has been broken years ago. Anybody can download a tool to get rid of the DRM.
    But iTune only offers AAC. And AAC for all practical purposes only play on iPod. There are only few negligable brands that also play AAC.
    here is the blurb. (I am surprised people are still pretending iTune has DRM all this time, since it’s been hacked ages ago. Of course nobody really cares about iTunes except few teenagers and clueless boomers. Everybody else rip from CD or d/l. Plus 128 doens’t sound that good.)
    http://www.drmwatch.com/drmtech/article.php/3492676

  7. DRM-free is not Freeware

    There is a lot of discussion now about DRM-free music downloads from iTunes and Amazon. The misconception is that DRM-free implies that the music is sold without any restrictions at all. That is not true. The restriction against copying always

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