Comments on: Parsing Steve Jobs' alternative views of the future

Attorney Eric J. Sinrod says Jobs' proposal for a DRM-free world is a clever gambit that puts the onus on the big music companies.

[bond co. stooge]

Nonsense is abundant

Good article, but two things really bother me about this whole deal.

First, nobody seems to be willing to talk about what this quest for interoperability really is--lowdown dirty grubbing by the also-rans. That's all. Make a better product, and people will buy it.

Second, and forgive the crudeness of this, but someone should ask the porn industry if selling downloads without DRM has hurt them. I'm guessing not.

I have a hard time deciding which industry is dirtier--music or skin. Probably music.

[dclaryjr]

What about subscription music?

Does a DRM-free world doom the subscription model or would providers have to maintain sometype of protected contact as well as the DRM-free tracks?

[jones_8099]

Has subscription music?

Has subscription music services been successful at all? I honestly
don't know. I'm asking because I would never consider subscription
over purchase. So I guess my real question is, is there enough
money in subscription music services to even worry about those
companies?

[open-mind]

Second Paragraph Almost Completely Wrong

"Jobs wrote that Apple has been asked to open its FairPlay DRM system."

Correct.


"That would mean music purchased from the iTunes Store could be played on non-Apple digital devices,..."

Incorrect. Music purchased from iTunes store can ALREADY be played on non-Apple digital devices. It can play on any Windows PC. With an inexpensive transmitter/sender you can stream that music from your PC to any radio in your house. Burn that music to CD, and you can play it on any CD/DVD player. Rip the music from CD back to MP3, and it can be played on any MP3 player. That's billions of non-Apple devices.

"...while protected music bought from other online music stores could work on iPods."

Incorrect. Licensing Fairplay would allow other players to play music from iTunes, if (and only if) the other vendors subscribe to that license. Music protected by other DRM systems (Plays For Sure, Zune, etc) will still not play on iPod.

[stupid_browner]

You are actually the one who is incorrect

On your first point please focus on the word "digital". The music that comes from the iTunes store is digital. What you are proposing is converting it to analogue then converting it back to digital. There are two issues with this. First of all, that process involves changing the format of the music, which then changes it so that it is not really the music that was purchased on iTunes (as well as being an illegal process). Secondly, you are converting it to analogue, loosing some of the quality provided by digital and therefore the word "digital is controversial in your procedure.

Your third point is even more incorrect. Although it would be a completely different licensing, Jobs was also talking about the possibility of licensing FairPlay for the sale of music on other websites. This would be the same DRM that Apple uses and would therefore be compatible with the iPod.

[eric.meyerson]

Why I'm still buying CD's

The current DRM system is what's keeping me from purchasing tracks for download.

Recently my iPod was stolen at the airport. If I had been purchasing music for download from iTunes, I would have basically forced myself to buy another iPod. But since all my music was ripped from CDs (or downloaded during the Napster/Morpheus/Kazaa heyday), I actually had a choice beyond the case color. I chose to purchase a Sandisk Sansa, and I'm glad for it.

Also, I can rip the CDs as many times as I want, burn a mix for a friend, and even email a track I like without having to worry about restrictions.

Until the music industry fixes the DRM system, I'll keep buying used CDs, which doesn't earn them a penny.

[RShea78]

Smart beginings, unwise endings...

I am with you purchasing CDs and so on but I would leave it at that for personal use.

Anything beyond personal usage is what lands people in trouble with the Copyright watchdogs. Now of course, publicly bragging about it, is a sure way to attract attention.