DRM-free iTunes and People Still Whine
There is an oft repeated quote by Abraham Lincoln that seems to apply to many areas of life: “you can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”. This has never been so true as in this day and age, especially when it comes to Apple. Apple managed to create one of the most popular music players to ever exist (the iPod), and pioneered a method of filling said music player with cheap, legal, and easily-obtained music through the iTunes store. The iPod can of course play many other music formats (instead of 2 like a certain other “popular” player), so if you already have a library of music then you can play it without having to purchase it again.
.. and here come the whiners. First, people were peeved that they had to use iTunes to purchase the music. Then they complained that for $0.99, they should be able to get DRM-free music and play it on as many computers and devices as they could find. I’m not fan of DRM, and I think it does more harm to the legitimate consumer than the pirates, but people need to realize that Apple is stuck in a tough spot: they want to take care of their customers, but they also can’t risk running amok of the music industry.
DRM in iTunes exists because the music industry demanded it, not because Apple or Steve Jobs wants to take advantage of their “fanboys”. Steve wrote a very thorough essay on why DRM exists the way it does in iTunes, and why it can’t be changed in the foreseeable future. Basically, if iTunes is to exist at all, Apple needs to agree to take reasonable measures to protect the music from rampant piracy. Johnny Pirate can get away with leeching a handful of songs from his buddies on P2P networks, but Apple can’t stay under the radar when they’re pushing millions of songs a month to iPod users.
The DRM whining has settled down in recent years, until now. Apple finally finds a way to get DRM-free music to their users, and the first thing you hear is “we have to PAY for this??” Yes, it costs $0.30 to remove DRM from tracks you already purchased. Why would Apple charge AGAIN for the same song you already bought? First, you can bet that the big four music companies required some sort of kickback if they’re going to risk their music getting copied. Second, this requires quite a bit of development time on the part of Apple to make it doable: changes to the music store, changes to iTunes itself, and updating iPod firmware.
So, before you start moaning about DRM in iTunes, or lack of DRM in iTunes, consider why it is there in the first place. DRM is generally evil as it makes honest consumers jump through hoops and limits what they can do with their own content. Don’t blame Apple for putting it there in the first place, or blame them for charging you to take it off. They are just passing along the cost that is imposed upon them by the music companies. If you dislike Apple and iTunes that much, chuck your iPod and go buy a Zune.
HAHAHAHA
