Steve Jobs on DRM

shudder

Well-known member
promothougthsonmusic20070206.jpg


Apple's CEO on why he doesn't like DRM. Basically an appeal to record companies to allow Apple et al. to sell music w/o it. Wadda y'all think?
 
It would be good if they scrapped it!
People will still buy mp3s.
I was very anti-mp3 when it started becoming popular because I have a label and i watched sales plummet and my tiny profits turn into moderate-sized losses due to illegal filesharing.

But since I put back catalogue online, people have been buying it. They could still go and get it illegally quite easily but a fair number of people don't do that, they are willing to pay to hear music.
Which to me is a pleasant surprise.

I think the people who pay to download music should be allowed to play it on as many computers and mp3 players as they want because they have paid for it, and also because if you mess them about they will just go back to illegal filesharing networks where there is no DRM.
 
N

nomadologist

Guest
dammit! I wish this had come out in time for my paper on DRM last semester....
 

shudder

Well-known member
Edward: good to hear the perspective of a small label owner.

Is it me, or is this a bit of a bold move from Jobs?
 
Yes it seems quite bold of him doesn't it?
I guess Apple are a big deal these days in MP3 land and physical formats are on their last gasp really.
 

gek-opel

entered apprentice
Well, the crux of his argument rests on the fact that its still something like 90% physical WITHOUT DRM vs 10% digital WITH DRM.
 

aleksy

Active member
I don't see how the legal mp3 industry can be anything more than a 'optional donation' system while it coexists with de facto unlimited free music.
 

noel emits

a wonderful wooden reason
I wonder if he was upfront all along with the record companies - "Yeah Ok, this is the agreement but I want you to know that given half a chance I will scrap DRM on iTunes all together motherfuckers!"
 
Funny innit?
I am amazed if 90% of music is sold on physical formats and only 10% on downloads.
I mean I'm not disputing it but I am amazed.

I'd really like to know what percentage of music consumed is illegally downloaded or copied, cos I saw my CD and vinyl sales go through the floor from 2004 onwards.

I suppose my experience is skewed because my label is electronic music - exactly the kind of people who are going to be aware of P2P filesharing possibilities, compared to your average Robbie Williams fan who might be less likely to get into that sort of thing.

I sell MP3s without any DRM.
It had never occurred to me to use it. I guess that shows yet again what a useless businessman I am.
 

DJ PIMP

Well-known member
Bugger DRM, its a joke.

I used to download a lot of stuff illegally and barely bother any more; morality aside, paying for it is quicker, easier, with better quality guaranteed. Oddly enough its more likely to be mainstream artists that I warez, because they're not carried by any of the dancey/electronic download sites I frequent.

p.s. Ed, my ex and her sister were well into their electro and mad about your stuff. You were one of their techno heart-throbs :) Fans in New Zealand...!
 

mms

sometimes
Funny innit?
I am amazed if 90% of music is sold on physical formats and only 10% on downloads.
I mean I'm not disputing it but I am amazed.

.


it's a difficult areas to quantify but it's much higher than that in the states maybe up to 50% for some releases, lower on other places.

i'm sure it's different for lots of releases but the how many are downloading illegally is the difficult part to know too.

having no drm does actually put apple at a massive advantage to their competitiors. altho guys like bleep have never had drm on their mp3s.


i'm not sure about the value of mp3's not sure if i'd ever really buy them over vinyls regardless of the price. thats me tho.
 

Martin Dust

Techno Zen Master
There's a bit of anti Vista spin but he is right, drm will never work.

Like Ed, we spent a lot of time worrying about downloads but while it won't replace our vinyl or cd's it is useful in many ways...
 

Rambler

Awanturnik
No one else spot the huge anti Europe spin too, just as Norway, France and others are putting together cases to declare iTunes illegal?

If Jobs is talking about removing DRM from iTunes, then great, but he should remember that it's iTunes that forces Fairplay onto labels (hence why you can get some indie stuff that they list on eMusic without any DRM - not all the labels are insisting on it).
 

leamas

Well-known member
No one else spot the huge anti Europe spin too, just as Norway, France and others are putting together cases to declare iTunes illegal?

If Jobs is talking about removing DRM from iTunes, then great, but he should remember that it's iTunes that forces Fairplay onto labels (hence why you can get some indie stuff that they list on eMusic without any DRM - not all the labels are insisting on it).

Right, Apple's much more bothered about selling iPods than music from iTunes, but closed systems have always been apple's forte and they don't want a precedent ruling in any of those european countries forcing them to open up fairplay.

I think that the record labels, especially the majors, could be persuaded to drop the existing drm restrictions, but only if they can keep track of who's downloading and listening to the mp3s for marketing purposes (no doubt by some evil and underhand programming). None of the ad-funded services are going to work because the labels all want too much money and most won't even make it to launch. This model doesn't really work for smaller labels though.
 

mms

sometimes
None of the ad-funded services are going to work because the labels all want too much money and most won't even make it to launch. This model doesn't really work for smaller labels though.

spiral frog is already in huge financial trouble making the classic 90's startup fuckup of running before they can walk.

apple have succeeded in making record companies look like baddies again when they make the music .
 

Chef Napalm

Lost in the Supermarket
spiral frog is already in huge financial trouble making the classic 90's startup fuckup of running before they can walk.

apple have succeeded in making record companies look like baddies again when they make the music .
What about bleep? How's it doing?
 
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