Did you hear the rumor that Apple is going to release Beatles songs which have yet to be released. Big news in and of itself, but the real kicker is that they plan to do this without DRM attached. The article that I read, which was actually on Schwab.com, said that Jobs is planning to start a new revolution without DRM.
You have to wonder why Apple Corp made such grand statements after the Apple/AppleCorp deal. From the article on Schwab.com they said:
This week, Apple Inc. and the Apple Corps Ltd. announce an agreement bringing this statement from the Beatles music company manager, "The years ahead are going to be very exciting times for us." (This is also the guy who would have the new tracks from the vault.)
I am going to do some wild speculation here and say: It sounds like Apple Corp may become the record company which supplies Apple with DRM free music. You know that Apple must have offered something really big for Apple Corps to make such a bold statement about the future. I don't think just providing Beetles music on iTunes would have prompted this type of response. If Apple Corp does go this route maybe this will prompt some musicians to sign with Apple Corp which will free Apple from the DRM stranglehold. You can tell that Jobs is very unhappy about how the labels are forcing the DRM on them. Plus with all of the latest lawsuits, the writing is on the wall. Apple's agreement with the record companies says that if there is a breach in the DRM system Apple has only a few weeks to fix the problem or the record companies can pull out all of their music libraries. Am I nuts? Apple has always said that they don't make the money with iTunes, its the iPod that brings in the cash.
2 comments:
One other thing I forgot to mention is that Apple Corp gave up the name of Apple to Apple Inc. With the Apple Inc. licensing back the name Apple to Apple Corp. Why would Apple Corp give up exlusive rights to their name without getting something big, really big.
Stitch, that would truly be revolutionary! I would think people like ourselves along with hoardes of Beatles lovers would punce onto iTunes, gobbling up tons of downloads! The key is - people like us are more likely to respect the rights of the artists. I am more likely to buy music I really, really want than try to scam my friends for the free music. In fact, I'm more likely to buy Beatles music online than I am through CDs (although that may be unique to me). It would be so cool to see something shockingly revolutionary happen again through this alliance.
I hate to say it, though, that I think it's unlikely. Apple corps strikes me as being rather traditional in the sense that the record companies are traditional. They have held out this long just to make their music available for download WITH a DRM! I would be shocked and awed if they actually did something like this!
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