Steve Jobs' essay "Thoughts on Music," posted on the Apple.com website yesterday has unleashed a fury of discussion on the future of digital rights management or DRM.
Steve Jobs writes, “With the stunning global success of Apple’s iPod music player and iTunes online music store, some have called for Apple to ‘open’ the digital rights management (DRM) system that Apple uses to protect its music against theft, so that music purchased from iTunes can be played on digital devices purchased from other companies, and protected music purchased from other online music stores can play on iPods. Let’s examine the current situation and how we got here, then look at three possible alternatives for the future.”
This rather low key essay resulted in a front page story on today's Financial Times, was discussed on the Economist website, and was the lead story on PRI's Marketplace morning report--among other places.
Not only is the topic of discussion important and potentially transformative, the mode with which this discussion has developed is itself intriguing. Jobs, famous for his theatrical presentations, posted his thoughts on a webpage with little fanfare. This meme was then picked up by numerous sources in the "traditional media." It will be interesting to watch this story develop and see if it has any affect on the use of DRM technology in the music industry.
Stay (i)tuned.
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