Steve Jobs against DRM?
The WSJ is touting a breaking news item that “Steve Jobs calls on music companies to drop antipiracy software.” This would place the onus directly on the labels but still allow Apple to continue business as usual. You’ll know more when we do.
Turns out the Jobs’ comments are in a statement posted at Apple.com. He calls it Thoughts on Music but it’s more like the Jobs Manifesto. I’ve never seen anything like this from him but Apple-ologists will know better.
Here’s the gist of the DRM gosopel according to Steve: iPods already play DRM-free music but music sold on iTunes has to have DRM because the major labels want it that way. If the majors didn’t demand DRM, we wouldn’t have it and the Europeans wouldn’t have to pass laws demanding interoperability. He points out that “two and a half of the big four music companies” are European: “Convincing them to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace. Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly.”