Comments on: Steve Jobs: Don’t Blame Apple for DRM, Blame The Big 4 http://www.freeculturenyu.org/2007/02/06/steve-jobs-dont-blame-apple-for-drm-blame-the-big-4/ Free Culture @ NYU's own weblog ... information on events, meetings, and goings on in the free culture world Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:50:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: cavecavedeusvidet http://www.freeculturenyu.org/2007/02/06/steve-jobs-dont-blame-apple-for-drm-blame-the-big-4/#comment-3992 cavecavedeusvidet Wed, 07 Feb 2007 00:57:25 +0000 http://www.freeculturenyu.org/2007/02/06/steve-jobs-hates-drm-sort-of/#comment-3992 This is a shrewd but ultimately empty move by Jobs. Of course, he doesn't control what music gets DRM encryption, or how any of that content gets produced, but by saying he is against DRM he is scoring points with the youth market by positioning Apple on 'their side' against the evil record companies. In reality, Jobs could use his power over the material he does have control over- itunes, ipod- to leverage some sort of industry changes (by refusing to carry DRM recordings) but of course he won't do that, because that would adversely affect his revenues. As it stands, his comments put no real pressure on the industry to change nor do they really obligate him to do anything about it, while at the same time they give his company the appearance of being progressive. This is a shrewd but ultimately empty move by Jobs. Of course, he
doesn’t control what music gets DRM encryption, or how any of that
content gets produced, but by saying he is against DRM he is scoring
points with the youth market by positioning Apple on ‘their side’
against the evil record companies. In reality, Jobs could use his power
over the material he does have control over- itunes, ipod- to leverage
some sort of industry changes (by refusing to carry DRM recordings) but
of course he won’t do that, because that would adversely affect his
revenues. As it stands, his comments put no real pressure on the
industry to change nor do they really obligate him to do anything about
it, while at the same time they give his company the appearance of being
progressive.

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