Apple and DRM

by Honda Wang • 02/07/2007 at 08:56 AM

Finally, Steve Jobs made the best announcement to come to music ever since it went digital, calling for the end of DRM.
To those unfamiliar with the situation, DRM (or, Digital Rights Management) is pretty much software made to restrict your freedom to use media that you buy. The iTunes store currently has Apple’s own FairPlay DRM in every song sold, which means that you can only play songs you buy from iTunes on your iPod. It’s the same with Microsoft’s Zune Market Place and Sony’s Connect store, you can only play their music on their respective MP3 players.
Now before all you Microsoft fan-boys complain that Bill Gates said that he hated DRM way before Steve Jobs, I concede that point, but that doesn’t change the fact that the iTunes Music Store is the largest online retailer of digital music. Bill Gates didn’t quite call for the end of DRM, but when Steve Jobs does so, he really means it.

"Convincing them to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace.  Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly."
-Steve Jobs

I’m positive it took some guts to rally against the "Big Four" of the music companies, because you usually don’t mess with the big bad bullies in the room, unless you’re a rebel. Jobs has gone against the formulaic "solution" to piracy, DRM, saying that he is in favor for a DRM-free market where somebody can buy a song and play it whenever, wherever and however they want it.
Let’s face it, DRM has already been proven useless. Jobs has even said it himself, "...there are many smart people in the world...who love to discover such secrets and publish a way for everyone to get free (and stolen) music. They are often successful in doing just that..." Another interesting fact: there were over 20 billion songs sold last year...without DRM. You know how you can get them? They’re called CDs. Music CDs are completely legal, and this DRM-free way of purchasing music surely isn’t bringing the music industry down to its knees from piracy.
If we look at the facts, it’s probably not piracy that is costing companies millions of dollars in losses. In fact, it’s probably DRM. The software used to power DRM and control media is expensive and needs to be frequently updated and, even then, it’s cracked over and over and over again. As long as there are crackers, as long as there is a "DVD Jon," DRM will be fought against and DRM will lose.
So what are we going to do now? We’re going to wait and hear if the big players of the music industry will listen. We’re going to wait and see if Warner, Sony BMG, Universal, and EMI have seen the light. We’re just going to have to wait and pray that these "Big Four" have heard the industry leaders’ calls against DRM.
In the end, it’s all too much of a shame that the final decision is left to these corporate monoliths that have been in power long past their expiration date. Even though the words of Steve Jobs are strong, the ultimate decision goes to those who demanded DRM in the first place, those people in charge of the music.
Read what Steve has to say here. Then, discuss it in the Macteens forums!