Link This | Email this | Blog This | Comments (0)

Jobs Imagines a world without DRM
February 7, 2007

Yesterday Apple CEO Steve Jobs posted a statement on Apple.com calling for an end to DRM for music, arguing that DRM has done little to stop piracy and noting that most music downloads sold worldwide in 2006 were DRM-free (20 billion DRM-free songs vs. 2 billion DRM songs.)

"Imagine a world where every online store sells DRM-free music encoded in open licensable formats," Jobs writes. "In such a world, any player can play music purchased from any store, and any store can sell music which is playable on all players. This is clearly the best alternative for consumers, and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat."

So would I . But my question for you video people is why not DRM-free video, too? Or maybe you don't even have to go that far - video retail trade group the Entertainment Merchants Association not too long ago called on the industry to make DRM interoperable so that Mac users could watch movies from companies that use Windows Media DRM and so that iTunes downloads would play on non-iPod portables, etc.

I mean, it's a total confusing mess out there for us consumers and something needs to change if more of us are going to even think about downloading movies. Consider the Amazon/TiVo deal announced today. I have a TiVo, so I could log onto Amazon and have movies delivered to my TiVo, which is pretty cool. But that's about all I could do with those downloads since I have a Mac computer and not a PC. I couldn't watch those movies on my computer or transfer them to my iPod because my computer doesn't support Windows Media DRM, which is what Amazon uses. I could alternately download movies from iTunes and watch them on my computer or on my iPod, but not easily on my TV. Sure AppleTV, which streams movie to the TV from the computer is debuting later this month, but that's an additional purchase and box in my living room that I'm not sure I want just yet.

And besides, it all makes me want to scream. Why can't I just buy one download to watch wherever I want? Whyyyy? I have no answers, only frustration. Which means that for now, I'm sticking to DVDs.

Update: Asked about Job's open letter during the Q&A at Disney's investor conference, Disney CEO Bob Iger said "I think he made a lot of valid points." But he also said he hasn't though much about it.

Posted by Jennifer Netherby on February 7, 2007 | Comments (0)