@Mr eel: Steve seems to be caught between his belief the DRM is pointless and a need to justify Apple's use of it up to this point
It seems pretty clear to me: Apple needs to use DRM to sell mainstream music owned by the record companies. They would be willing to abandon it if the record companies allowed them to do so.
I'm hoping he has some sneaky plans to induce the labels to abandon DRM
I saw some comments similar to this on Digg, and maybe it's even what Norway is thinking, but I think this is highly unlikely. Apple has a lot of pull, but the record companies are unbelievably stubborn. Maybe you have to know bands in the business to fully appreciate this.
If consumers and the governments want results, they have to talk to the record companies. Anything else is a waste of time or, at best, does more harm to consumers than good. If iTunes is forced out of Norway, consumers lose an option to purchase music. I'm fully aware of the implications of buying iTunes music and would not appreciate if legislation took it off the market in the name of helping me. I don't want to have to go to Best Buy and pay $16 for a plastic disc to get a single song.
by Scott Stevenson — Feb 07
It seems pretty clear to me: Apple needs to use DRM to sell mainstream music owned by the record companies. They would be willing to abandon it if the record companies allowed them to do so.
I'm hoping he has some sneaky plans to induce the labels to abandon DRM
I saw some comments similar to this on Digg, and maybe it's even what Norway is thinking, but I think this is highly unlikely. Apple has a lot of pull, but the record companies are unbelievably stubborn. Maybe you have to know bands in the business to fully appreciate this.
If consumers and the governments want results, they have to talk to the record companies. Anything else is a waste of time or, at best, does more harm to consumers than good. If iTunes is forced out of Norway, consumers lose an option to purchase music. I'm fully aware of the implications of buying iTunes music and would not appreciate if legislation took it off the market in the name of helping me. I don't want to have to go to Best Buy and pay $16 for a plastic disc to get a single song.