Jobs Calls For An End to DRM

In a (not so) quietly published article posted on Apple’s website, entitled, “Thoughts on Music,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs discusses the background of iTunes’ controversial FairPlay system and fleshes out his vision for the future of DRM. It’s a really interesting piece, especially if you’re interested in intellectual property rights or corporate ideology (in this case, Apple’s). For those that want a debriefing, here’s a summary of what he said and why I think it’s so important:

In his open letter, Jobs gives three possible alternatives for the future of Digital Rights Management. The first option, he states, is to continue operating under the current “top to bottom” proprietary systems for selling, playing and protecting music, so essentially only songs from the Zune store can be played on the Microsoft Zune, only songs from iTunes can be played on the iPod, etc. He seems to suggest that the current system, while flawed, does work, and doesn’t lock users in as much as one might think.

The second alternative is to license Apple’s FairPlay DRM technology to competitors of Apple so that there is greater interoperability between various company’s players and music stores. While the idea seems like a good one (according to him — I happen to think it sounds an awful lot like a Microsoft-esque tactic), if one digs below the surface, he claims that by sharing the secrets of how the DRM works between many companies, it perpetuates the speed with which the DRM gets cracked, due to an increase in possible sources of leaks. Very true.

And then he drops the bomb. “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. 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. Every iPod ever made will play this DRM-free music.

While it may sound like the mad ramblings of some ignoble open-source programmer coasting off the trails of an LSD flash back (and as an aside: Steve Jobs used to ask potential Apple employees about their experiences with hallucinogenic drugs so he could surround himself with like-minded people), it makes quite a bit of sense:

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.

As Jobs notes, 90% of all music sold by the so-called ‘big four’ comes DRM-free (through the purchase of music on CD). I would argue that by using terrorist tactics (in the original sense of the word) to frighten 10% of consumers into a literal DRM lock-step, it has actually alienated a much larger segment of their consume base, thus increasing the likelihood of a user resorting to piracy, which has become a way to empower the individual to take back the means of production from the overbearing record companies who seem hell-bent on restricting the free trade of information, an attempt that seems rather ridiculous given the vast scope of the internet.

Jobs ends his letter with words of agitation:

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.

This is the type of corporate responsibility consumers want to see from the record companies, but instead it’s coming from the middle man, Apple. I absolutely agree with the Apple philosophy towards DRM-free music, and am so happy to see that they have finally taken a few small steps to clear the air about FairPlay and the future of DRM (from their perspective). However, I would argue that it’s not Apple’s job to act as a consumer advocacy group and I think most people would agree with me. The only way for there to be change is to unabashedly support the anti-DRM movement and protest the strict-licensing of thoughts and information.

For those interested, here are several websites you should check out: The Digital imprimatur, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Boycott-RIAA.com, Free Culture, Defective By Design and Stop DRM.