Apple: Record labels should drop DRM
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Apple Inc. indicated it would open its iTunes store to other portable players besides its ubiquitous iPod if the world's major record labels abandoned the anti-piracy technology that serves as the industry's security blanket.
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Steve, you're so smart The RIAA has seized on the weakest part of Steve Jobs' anti-DRM manifesto by banging on Apple to license its FairPlay technology to other companies.â¦
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Apple made good on its promise to offer DRM-free tracks on Wednesday, launching iTunes Plus with AAC tracks from label EMI.
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'I want WMA on my iPod', squeals Hogmanay bellyacher Steve Jobs has received a New Year nastygram from a woman who is upset that iPods won't play Microsoft DRM-crippled songs as well as Apple DRM-crippled songs.â¦
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Apple's iTunes Store is convenient, cheap and cool. But its music downloads can come with nagging worries driven by the copy-control software behind the iTunes Store -- which generally limits playback to Apple's iTunes software and iPod music players.
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Sony BMG Music Entertainment, the  world's second largest music company, will this month become  the last of the big four majors to drop copy protection  software on music downloads, also known as digital rights  management (DRM).
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Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman isn't singing the same tune as Apple Inc. Steve Jobs when it comes to protecting digital music. Jobs wants to end digital rights management; Bronfman flat out rejected the idea yesterday.
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Then charges back out again The world's biggest record label is touting a scheme that would permit internet users to swap DRM-free music under a blanket license, according to a report. Universal Music Group's "TotalMusic" program would allow customers of ISPs who signed up to the program to exchange files freely - but only if the ISP signed up.â¦
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Europeans, you've picked the wrong target Steve Jobs today called on the music labels to license their music free of Digital Rights Managment (DRM) to Apple and others, to create a "truly interoperable music marketplace".â¦
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Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs  on Tuesday called on the four major record companies to start  selling songs online without copy protection software known as  digital rights management (DRM).
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(InfoWorld) - Apple has taken another step toward selling DRM-free tracks from EMI and other labels through its new iTunes Plus service. The company released an update to iTunes (version 7.2) Wednesday that introduced support for new DRM-free music sales, a move first promised by Apple CEO Steve Jobs and EMI CEO Eric Nicoli in early April 2007. "With iTunes 7.2, preview and purchase iTunes Plus music -- new, higher-quality, DRM-free music downloads from participating music labels," Apple urges in notes accompanying the software. The company explains, "The first time you buy an iTunes Plus song, you specify whether to make all future purchases iTunes Plus versions (when available). You can change this setting by accessing your account information on the iTunes Store." However, it's not yet clear where users can find the new DRM-free songs within iTunes. When it comes to introducing new DRM-free music, Nicoli said in April, "Our goal is to give consumers the best possible digital music experience. By providing DRM-free downloads, we aim to address the lack of interoperability that is frustrating for many music fans. The updated iTunes is available for Mac and for Windows systems. A 29.6MB download, it is available through Software Update or for direct download from Apple's support website.
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In a surprising online jeremiad, Steve Jobs urges the Big Four record labels to ditch digital rights management schemes. Will it work?
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Steve Jobs posted an open message to record studios, asking them to do away with security software that prevents music bought online from playing on different types of MP3 players.
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Apple chief executive Steve Jobs yesterday called on record companies to let online music stores sell digital music files without anti-piracy controls, an idea that some analysts say has merit.
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Warner Music rejects Apple's idea that record firms should drop copy protection software from music downloads.
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A&#160;class-action suit filed against Apple&#160;alleges the company unfairly uses technological restrictions with its iPod line and iTunes Music Store to beat out competitors.The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, is the latest one to accuse Apple of unfair business practices. Apple is facing similar legal actions and scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe.The suit was filed Dec. 31 by Stacie Somers, a resident of San Diego County, California, who bought a 30GB iPod from Target, a retail store. Others who bought an iPod or content from Apple&#39;s iTunes store after Dec. 31, 2003, may join the suit.The suit calls for Apple to forfeit money it earned from the unfair practices and pay the plaintiffs damages.It alleges that Apple has constricted the market by not enabling iPods to play content in the Windows Media Audio (WMA) format, Microsoft&#39;s copy-protection technology. Further, Apple sells songs on the iTunes store with its own copy-protection technology, FairPlay, which is incompatible with music players other than the iPod.The suit contends iPod-owning consumers can only buy music from iTunes, an unlawful tie-in that violates U.S. antitrust laws. Apple could license the WMA format for as little as $0.03 per iPod, or for a total of $800,000 based on Apple&#39;s 2005 iPod sales, the suit reads.The suit may quickly become less relevant as many online music retailers, including Apple, expand their offerings of music free of copy-protection restrictions, also known as DRM (digital rights management).DRM-free tracks offer the advantage of being compatible on a wider range of devices. In May, Apple began selling songs from the label EMI without DRM. Also,&#160;Amazon.com now sells song in MP3 format, and Universal Music Group has tested selling DRM-free music.&#160;
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(InfoWorld) - Just because three major online music retailers bind their music stores to specific portable players doesn't make it acceptable, a Norwegian consumer group leading the charge against Apple's DRM (digital rights management) policy says. "ITunes Music Store and others are unfair to consumers no matter how many download services follow the proprietary approach," wrote Torgeir Waterhouse, a senior advisor at The Norwegian Consumer Council, in response to a letter written by Apple CEO Steve Jobs andÂ posted on the Apple Web siteÂ on Tuesday. Jobs examined why DRM exists and discusses alternatives to the current set-up in his open response to calls for Apple to allow users to buy songs from the iTunes store and play them on any device. Norway's consumer representative hasÂ threatened legal action against AppleÂ for violating Norwegian law by limiting iTunes customers to playing their music only on iPods. Consumer groups in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, France, and Germany haveÂ joined Norway's complaintÂ against Apple. Jobs points out that Microsoft and Sony also sell music that can only be played on their players, supporting a model that serves customers well with choice and a continuing stream of innovative products. He also suggests that groups like Waterhouse's "redirect their energies" toward convincing the music labels to sell music without DRM, technology that aims to restrict how buyers can copy or use the music. The four biggest record labels forced Apple to employ a proprietary DRM system as a condition of the agreement that allows Apple to sell their music, he said. Ideally, he said, the labels wouldn't require DRM. "This is clearly the best alternative for consumers, and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat," Jobs wrote. While Waterhouse agrees that the record companies carry some fault for the situation, the iTunes music store and others like it are ultimately responsible. "They're still the company that's selling music to the consumers and are responsible for offering a fair deal according to Norwegian law," he said. Still, with his letter, Jobs' appears to have stirred up some additional pressure on the record labels to change their DRM policies. EMusic.com Inc., which claims to be the second largest music download site, only sells DRM-free music from thousands of independent labels. But the site would like be able to sell music from the four biggest labels. "We are hopeful the remaining four will one day join [the independent labels] by licensing their complete catalogs and reap the benefits of consumer demand," David Pakman, president and CEO of eMusic, wrote in a response to Jobs' letter. Even though Jobs didn't hint that a solution might be impending, Waterhouse appeared to see a glimmer of hope. "If this means that Apple is willing to the kick the lock in technology from the [iTunes/iPod] combination this is really good news -- news that should be put into action as soon as possible to bring us all one important step closer to a well functioning digital society," he wrote.