Apple's Jobs calls on music industry to drop DRM
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NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO  - Apple Inc.   Chief Executive Steve Jobs on Tuesday called on the four major  record companies to start selling songs online without copy  protection software to thwart piracy known as digital rights  management (DRM).
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A recording industry group fired back Wednesday at Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs, suggesting his company should open up its anti-piracy technology to its rivals instead of urging major record labels to strip copying restrictions from music sold online.
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Apple has activated previously-announced plans to close its Music Store to users of earlier versions of iTunes. The company revealed its intent last month, when iTunes users accessing the
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Apple and four of the biggest record companies this week must submit written responses to antitrust charges that they restricted online sales of music in Europe.
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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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It's bad for business Column The DRM walls are crumbling. Earlier this week, Steve Jobs called on the major record labels to allow online music sales unfettered by digital rights management restrictions.â¦
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Apple Inc.'s recent rollout of songs without copy protection software at its iTunes Store has given consumers new flexibility, but questions have emerged over the company's inclusion of personal data in purchased music tracks.
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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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(InfoWorld) - Web music stores have taken off with such gusto that now everyone wants to get in on the online media action, and the next battle ground is the digital movies and TV shows aimed at your living room. What users need to beware of amid the headlong rush to build digital music, movie and TV libraries is the terms of the digital rights management (DRM) attached to the files they're buying, which control the use of the files in various ways, including by restricting usage to a certain number of devices. DRM technology was developed to protect the music industry from illegal downloads, but it can also lock users into choosing one device, or family of devices. The fight may appear to have just started, but with portable media players such as the iPod so dominant, and their new appeal as view screens for downloaded movies and TV shows, its a decision users will have to make quickly. The time will soon come when it will be too expensive for a user to switch from, say Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod/iTunes/iTV platform to a rival platform because the DRM would ensure they have to buy a whole new music and movie collection. A future where users are stuck in one company's back pocket could be avoided if DRM licenses are broadly shared. But DRM appears to be on the verge of becoming a weapon to lock users in. "We see no consolidation of formats in the foreseeable future. It is Fairplay and Windows Media DRM for now and that may not change although the jury is still out on video as we are early on in the game for video. For audio the game is over," said Van Baker, vice president of media industry research for Gartner Inc. Fairplay is Apple Computer Inc.'s DRM technology. Songs purchased at the iTunes Store, for example, are meant to be used on only two devices, such as a computer and an iPod, and Fairplay helps enforce such rules. Microsoft Corp. has its own Windows Media DRM, which isn't compatible with Fairplay, so users, for example, cannot use Windows Media files on their iPods. And while Microsoft has been far more open to licensing its DRM than Apple, even creating a PlaysForSure logo to let users know which devices and files are compatible with Windows Media files, it may change its tune regarding such licenses. The company's new Zune media player is not compatible with PlaysForSure. That fact alone highlights how important Microsoft must view the Zune and Zune Marketplace, because in one fell swoop, it became a competitor to online music store partners and to PC and mobile phone makers that sell rival digital music devices. RealNetworks Inc. and Sandisk Corp. also joined the fray recently, highlighting the tight-fisted approach companies are taking. Users buying a Sandisk Sansa e200 series portable music player get RealNetwork's Rhapsody media service bundled inside, and a chance to pay a monthly subscription for music downloads. But if users cancel the subscription, the next time they connect to the Internet, Rhapsody will delete the songs from the music player and their PCs. Individual songs purchased on Rhapsody won't be deleted in such an instance, but since the songs will be tagged with RealNetworks' Helix DRM, users will have to make sure any new music playing software or hardware they buy supports Helix. The question of technology companies controlling the content users buy so enraged the French government that in June, it passed a law requiring companies to provide enough information about their DRM technology to enable competitors to create interoperable systems. There is also an industry group that could play knight in shining armor. The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), which boasts hundreds of tech companies, including heavyweights such as Intel Corp., Sony Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Lenovo Group Ltd., is working to select and promote an industry standard DRM to ensure digital files can be used on a wide range of devices companies make. Others are also hard at work on the issue, including groups intent on creating open-source DRM technologies, as well as hackers already figuring out ways to beat DRM. In the thick of what will likely end up a promotion and marketing fight, users will have to keep their heads about them and make up their minds. It could be wise to sit out this round of DRM controversy and wait to see which standard wins out, or to stick to traditional media and create digital files by ripping songs from CDs, for example. But it's definitely a time to pay attention. Nobody wants to build a library of favorite movies and songs, only to find that by switching to another computer or software makes it unusable. Â
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Or dearer. Or disappear? So last year's " Future of Musicâ¢", the DRM-encumbered digital downloads model pioneered by Apple, has stalled. What now?â¦
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InfoWorld - The head of Warner Music Group defended the use of DRM (digital rights management) with digital music on Wednesday in an apparent response to&#160;recent criticism from Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
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In a blog post, Steve Jobs calls for an end to anti-piracy restrictions.
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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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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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Apple has taken another step toward selling DRM-free tracks from EMI and other labels through its new iTunes Plus service.
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Apple Inc.'s iTunes Store started selling thousands of songs without copy protection Wednesday, marking the trendsetting company's latest coup and a model for what analysts say will likely become a pattern for online music sales.
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The recording industry is beginning to respond to a proposal made this week by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs calling for an open music system that would allow songs to be played on any device.