iTunes DRM Debate Update
We’ve had lots of comments and emails on our story yesterday "Does Steve Jobs Secretly Prefer DRM?". (Keep ’em coming.) A few additional points worth making:
- Despite Jobs’ rhetoric about adding DRM free tracks from labels other than EMI, not one indie we’ve talked to has gotten a target date from Apple or received any of the contracts needed to allow untethered downloads. (CLARIFICATION – It was pointed out to me by savvy Hypebot reader Maura that some indie product via EMI owned Caroline distribution. No non-EMI related indies have been added to iTunes Plus.)
- The average consumer hates DRM in any form not because they’re pirates, but because they want to move tracks around between devices.
- Sure there are ways to get around DRM, but most of us aren’t techies and who has the time?
- Consumers hate having their personal (name and email) info imbedded in anything digital.
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Actually there are quite a few indie labels available via iTunes Plus at the moment — I saw Paw Tracks and Load, among others. The key thread connecting all of them, though, is that they’re distributed by Caroline.
Maura, Thanks for your comments about Caroline distributed acts being up on iTunes Plus. Caroline is owned by EMI and thus was part of the original EMI DRM free deal. No other indies are included as of yet.
Also, you might want to refer this: Jobs says DRM is evil, but only on music. When he refers to the movie industry, he seems to like DRM… Since the issues with DRM remain the same in music and movies, the conclusion one can take is that he’s not really against DRM, but that he claimed so, regarding to music, as a way to get where he wanted to.