Steve Jobs has written a 2000+ word essay, posted on the Apple, Inc. site regarding his feelings about DRM (digital rights management) on the iPod platform and in general. After a history explaining how we got to where we are today, this is the paragraph that makes the article worth it’s weight in gold:
“The third alternative is to abolish DRMs entirely. Imagine a world where every online store sells DRM-free music encoded in open licensable formats. 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. If the big four music companies would license Apple their music without the requirement that it be protected with a DRM, we would switch to selling only DRM-free music on our iTunes store. Every iPod ever made will play this DRM-free music.”
His thoughts only get more interesting from this point as he clearly states why it makes total sense for the mucis corporations to ditch DRM. Read it and give copies to all your friends.
