Learning with the Fang

Via ReadWriteWeb:

Steve Jobs Asks Record Labels To Abolish DRM
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has posted his Thoughts on Music in the ‘Hot
News’ section of the Apple website. He starts off by explaining the background to Apple’s
DRM on iTunes:

UPDATE:

Prof Lessig (who inspired my little chart below) has posted his response.

If you have been following my work on ‘Read/Write Culture’ you will know that I think DRM is just plain wrong (like any form of business model that treats bits like atoms). If you look at my diagram below you will notice how DRM (and old analog mixtapes) just don’t follow the unstopable flow toward Digital and Read/Write.

My teenage kids are musos and will most likely make a living through their contributions to culture that will be made by publishing digital work via the web. So, when Steve himself says:

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.

The optimist in me gets kinda encouraged. Sure, Apple and the iTunes music store have been the ‘poster child’ for DRM, but Steve’s ‘Thoughts on Music’ explain why. You gotta wonder what kind of ‘tipping’ point can Steve see to go so public on this issue? Could the MSFT Zune be part of the picture? Or is it all about legalese with the ‘Big Four’? I would love to think the tipping point has something to do with music created by people like my kids – who have nothing to do with the ‘establishment’ who won’t control most of the world’s music for much longer. I’m guessing that Steve can see the writing on the wall for his statement:

the “big four” music companies: Universal, Sony BMG, Warner and EMI.
These four companies control the distribution of over 70% of the
world’s music.

Lets hope so.

Fang – Mike Seyfang

technorati tags:apple, drm, ccdrm