[LINK] Music wants to be free

[Kim Holburn]

I love the last 2 sentences.

http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8660389
> Music wants to be free
>
> Feb 7th 2007
> From Economist.com
> Selling digital music without copy-protection makes sense
>
> IT WAS uncharacteristically low-key for the industry’s greatest  
> showman. But the essay published this week by Steve Jobs, the boss  
> of Apple, on his firm’s website under the unassuming title  
> “Thoughts on Music” has nonetheless provoked a vigorous debate  
> about the future of digital music, which Apple dominates with its  
> iPod music-player and iTunes music-store. At issue is “digital  
> rights management” (DRM)—the technology guarding downloaded music  
> against theft. Since there is no common standard for DRM, it also  
> has the side-effect that songs purchased for one type of music- 
> player may not work on another. Apple’s DRM system, called  
> FairPlay, is the most widespread. So it came as a surprise when Mr  
> Jobs called for DRM for digital music to be abolished.

> This week Mr Jobs gave another explanation for his former defence  
> of DRM: the record companies made him do it. They would make their  
> music available to the iTunes store only if Apple agreed to protect  
> it using DRM. They can still withdraw their catalogues if the DRM  
> system is compromised. Apple cannot license FairPlay to others,  
> says Mr Jobs, because it would depend on them to produce security  
> fixes promptly. All DRM does is restrict consumer choice and  
> provide a barrier to entry, says Mr Jobs; without it there would be  
> far more stores and players, and far more innovation. So, he  
> suggests, why not do away with DRM and sell music unprotected?  
> “This is clearly the best alternative for consumers,” he declares,  
> “and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat.”
>
> Why the sudden change of heart? Mr Jobs seems chiefly concerned  
> with getting Europe’s regulators off his back. Rather than  
> complaining to Apple about its use of DRM, he suggests, “those  
> unhappy with the current situation should redirect their energies  
> towards persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM- 
> free.” Two and a half of the four big record companies, he  
> helpfully points out, are European-owned. Mr Jobs also hopes to  
> paint himself as a consumer champion. Apple resents accusations  
> that it has become the Microsoft of digital music.
>
> Apple can afford to embrace open competition in music players and  
> online stores. Consumers would gravitate to the best player and the  
> best store, and at the moment that still means Apple’s. Mr Jobs is  
> evidently unfazed by rivals to the iPod. Since only 3% of the music  
> in a typical iTunes library is protected, most of it can already be  
> used on other players today, he notes. (And even the protected  
> tracks can be burned onto a CD and then re-ripped.) So Apple’s  
> dominance evidently depends far more on branding and ease of use  
> than DRM-related “lock in”.
>
> The music giants are trying DRM-free downloads. Lots of smaller  
> labels already sell music that way. Having seen which way the wind  
> is blowing, Mr Jobs now wants to be seen not as DRM’s defender, but  
> as a consumer champion who helped in its downfall. Wouldn’t it lead  
> to a surge in piracy? No, because most music is still sold  
> unprotected on CDs, people wishing to steal music already can do  
> so. Indeed, scrapping DRM would probably increase online-music  
> sales by reducing confusion and incompatibility. With the leading  
> online store, Apple would benefit most. Mr Jobs’s argument, in  
> short, is transparently self-serving. It also happens to be right.

--
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
Ph: +39 06 855 4294  M: +39 3342707610
mailto:kim at holburn.net  aim://kimholburn
skype://kholburn - PGP Public Key on request

Democracy imposed from without is the severest form of tyranny.
                           -- Lloyd Biggle, Jr. Analog, Apr 1961





--
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
Ph: +39 06 855 4294  M: +39 3342707610
mailto:kim at holburn.net  aim://kimholburn
skype://kholburn - PGP Public Key on request

Democracy imposed from without is the severest form of tyranny.
                           -- Lloyd Biggle, Jr. Analog, Apr 1961