Steve Jobs: Apple Would Love to Sell Unprotected Music

Picture by tj scenes Steve Jobs is calling on the music labels to drop DRM copyright controls and sell unprotected music online. In a rare open letter posted to Apple’s site entitled Thoughts on Music, Jobs writes: “Imagine a world where every online store sells DRM-free music encoded in open licensable formats. In such a […]

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Picture by tj scenes

Steve Jobs is calling on the music labels to drop DRM copyright controls and sell unprotected music online.

In a rare open letter posted to Apple's site entitled Thoughts on Music, Jobs writes:

"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."

He continues:

"Why would the big four music companies agree to let Apple and others distribute their music without using DRM systems to protect it? The simplest answer is because DRMs haven’t worked, and may never work, to halt music piracy. Though the big four music companies require that all their music sold online be protected with DRMs, these same music companies continue to sell billions of CDs a year which contain completely unprotected music. That’s right! No DRM system was ever developed for the CD, so all the music distributed on CDs can be easily uploaded to the Internet, then (illegally) downloaded and played on any computer or player."

The note seems to be partly in response to European governments' attempts to force Apple to open iTunes. Jobs says their efforts are should be targeted at the music labels.

"Much of the concern over DRM systems has arisen in European countries. Perhaps those unhappy with the current situation should redirect their energies towards persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free. For Europeans, two and a half of the big four music companies are located right in their backyard. The largest, Universal, is 100% owned by Vivendi, a French company. EMI is a British company, and Sony BMG is 50% owned by Bertelsmann, a German company. Convincing them to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace. Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly."