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If you're not a member of the iTunes majority, you may not know that songs, television shows and movies purchased from Apple's iTunes store can only be played back on iPods, cellphones with iTunes software, or iTunes on a computer. Of course, if you aren't a member of the iTunes majority this limitation may be the very reason why you're bucking the trend. Wired News has an article about how the recording industry, and its newfound fondness of DRM-free music files could break, or at least weaken, Apple's stranglehold on the online music sales market.
I wrote about Amazon.com's plan to launch a DRM-free digital music store in December, Wired took a look at what has caused the shift in philosophy by the studios. Basically, CD sales are taking a nose dive, so the studios are faced with a decision. Either let Apple control the monopoly on music sales through iTunes, or open it up to other companies by allowing the sale of unlocked songs. Apple filled a need for the studios back when they claimed that piracy was cannibalizing their business. Apple had a heavy-handed DRM which pretty much guaranteed that only the people who paid for the songs would be allowed to play them back. Apple controlled file-sharing. But there was a tradeoff. Apple realizes the position it is in, so could demand certain things, like flat pricing, which the studios were against. By opening the market, the studios can tier the prices of songs by popularity or whim.
Wired also pointed out that Apple may be forced to tear down its DRM scheme by a lawsuit which is grinding its way through the legal system as we speak. In the grand scheme of things, a shift away from DRM would be great for the consumer, but wouldn't kill the iPod or iTunes. What it would do, most likely, is force Apple to start selling songs which play on any device. — Brian Ward
Technorati tags: music, itunes, drm.
In contrast, movies bought at Movielink, CinemaNow, or Amazon Unbox can be played only on a Windows PC, and, err, only on a Windows PC, and music purchased at Zune can only be played on a Zune and a Windows PC running Zune software, and music purchased with Rhapsody can only be played on WMA enabled players that no one has purchased.
"....can only be played back on iPods, cellphones with iTunes software, or iTunes on a computer."
Not true. They can be converted to mp3 using Apple's own iTunes software and a CD. They play fine on my Sansa Express MP3 player. Plus they play fine on most CD players, car and home. In fact Apple recommends that they be saved to CD in case of a HD crash.