Apple just posted an article written by Steve Jobs, describing the DRM situation with iTunes, as he sees it. It’s a fascinating read:
www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic
So out of character for Steve and Apple to provide explanations like this, when they are usually so tight-lipped. I find it refreshing.
I’m very glad that Steve wrote this letter and made it public. It does not answer all questions but is generally well thought out.
I now hope that Apple tries to build some momentum against DRM. For example it could remove DRM from music from independant artists and actively promote these as DRM free therefore giving a competitive advantage to DRM free music. Additionally it seems that as the largest shareholder at Disney, as well as a member of its board he could persuade them to try to sell TV shows and movies without DRM. If they have concerns about piracy can they not use one of the watermarking technologies which is invisible to the human eye but allows videos/music to be traced to its owner.
I bet this isn’t going to change anything overnight. This is strategic– for the European lawsuits as much as the philosophy behind the business.
My guess is that Apple has a plan to deliver extra content with a download– lyrics, cd inserts…