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- Oddly, Jobs Has Nothing to Say About Video DRM...
Before I became a blogger, I followed Apple for years. Never once in the 12 years I've observed Apple's foibles online have I encountered anything as baffling as Steve Jobs's Thoughts on Music essay that created such a buzz today....Before I became a blogger, I followed Apple for years. Never once in the 12 years I've observed Apple's foibles online have I encountered anything as baffling as Steve Jobs's "Thoughts on Music" essay that created such a buzz today.
If you haven't seen it, give it a read and then come back. I'll be waiting. OK. Notice anything weird? That's right. Steve's entire argument rests on the idea that digital rights management is ineffective at stopping music piracy, but he has nothing to say about video. Ponder that, then meet me after the jump.
Just how self-contradictory is Steve's argument? Consider this paragraph:
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.
But not a word for video, which was released in an accessible format, VHS, before the CD went mainstream, and whose copy-protection is minimal. People did and still do "illegally" copy video off their TVs. They then can be uploaded to the internet via DVD. Isn't this an argument against video DRM?
Apparently not, because commercial DVDs were invented with copy-protection built in. Which makes it more effective, or something. I can't say I get it.
Maybe -- and I know this is a big assumption, but just maybe this isn't about DRM for music and DRM for video. Maybe it's about Steve's relationships to both industries and the overall health of the industries. The iPod and iTunes are king of the heap for digital music. Record sales are down and there hasn't been a super-breakout artist in about five years. Steve can push on them.
The home video market is booming better than ever before. Apple, despite its movie and TV download sales, is a niche player at best in the market. The iPod isn't a killer app for this market (though the Apple TV might be). Either way, it seems a little bit weak of Steve to go for the jugular in music and pretend that DRM isn't an issue in the video market. Or even acknowledge that the video market exists.
Pete Mortensen - Apple Inc. and Apple Corps Settle -- iTunes Still Beatles-Free
As with any Apple rumor, there was just a glimmer of truth behind the buzz that Apple would announce a partnership with the Beatles' Apple Corps during the Super Bowl. The recently sparring long-separated Apple siblings today announced a new...As with any Apple rumor, there was just a glimmer of truth behind the buzz that Apple would announce a partnership with the Beatles' Apple Corps during the Super Bowl. The recently sparring long-separated Apple siblings today announced a new licensing agreement. It seems pretty beneficial for the boys in Cupertino, with nothing for the Liverpool crowd. Read on for more:
Technorati Tags: apple, apples
Under this new agreement, Apple Inc. will own all of the trademarks related to "Apple" and will license certain of those trademarks back to Apple Corps for their continued use. In addition, the ongoing trademark lawsuit between the companies will end, with each party bearing its own legal costs, and Apple Inc. will continue using its name and logos on iTunes®. The terms of settlement are confidential.
What is not clear, however, is whether the Beatles are iTunes-bound. As of now, only two albums on iTunes currently have performances by the Beatles, one of which is the Tony Sheridan tapes they lost control of in the 1960s, the other of which is a spoken-word thing.
This does lend a lot of credibility to buzz that Apple will bring out Beatles content to coincide with Valentine's Day. With the Cirque du Soleil/Beatles album "Love" as a lead-off. Tomorrow's Tuesday, so stay tuned. Maybe the widescreen Beatles iPod rumor was even true. I'll be stunned if it is, but Apple's been weirder before.
Apple Inc. and The Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd. Enter into New Agreement
Pete Mortensen
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