Yahoo Music exec agreeing with Jobs' DRM-free sentiment?

It's not everyday that you see two rivals agreeing on a subject where they become the vast minority in a horde of DRM-enforcing media protectors, but it seems like this parallel universe isn't so far out after all. According to an interview by SiliconValleyWatcher, the head of Yahoo Music (Dave Goldberg) seemed to agree with Steve Jobs that ridding music of DRM was best for sales. The exec even stated that he had "long advocated removing DRM on music," and noted that an internal research study found that sales of DRM-free tunes were greater than those laced in protection. Interestingly, it seems that Mr. Goldberg was aiming his comments at questions regarding the general difficulty for the average consumer to get purchased music "off the PC" and into places like DAPs and vehicles, but insinuated that stripping digital tracks of DRM was at least a reasonable option to a challenge in which he "didn't know the best solution." C'mon Dave, do a bit of fast talking in order to throw DRM to the wind and set a new standard for others to follow, pretty please?

[Via Macworld]

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 13th 2007 10:13PM]

Let's hope it actually happens and isn't just all talk.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 13th 2007 10:43PM]

It's great to see the big guys finally take a subtle stand against the recording companies. If major music sellers put light but firm pressure on the moguls, they might eventually see the DRM-free light.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 14th 2007 11:38AM]

Down with the record companies!!!

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 13th 2007 11:35PM]

Yahoo! has always actually pushed for DRM free music sales. They've done a couple trials but the records have given them horrible songs to sell DRM-free.

This is not Yahoo! saying "me too!" to Apple as you make it sound, Yahoo! has been talking about this for over a year now. Look at their Yahoo! Music Blog for evidence of that.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 14th 2007 1:09AM]

Dave Goldberg has been anti-DRM for quite some time. In fact, simply sticking "dave goldberg drm" in google nets you this page as the first result..

http://ymusicblog.com/blog/2006/02/25/dave-goldberg-to-record-labels-no-drm-please/

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 14th 2007 2:06AM]

Truly amazing. This guy has been pushing for DRM free music for at least year and somehow Jobs toothless RDF missive gets the credit. Nothing like an informed blogger.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 14th 2007 2:37AM]

Uh, gee, since Yahoo, Apple and Google love each other so much, did it occur to you lepers that this guy probably talked Jobs into it over dinner recently?

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 14th 2007 3:20AM]

Someone call Cory Doctorow. The man seems to be a fount of alternate, DRM-free business models for music. Check out his first 2 or 3 novels.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 14th 2007 3:47AM]

And now he's quit Yahoo Music:

http://www.forbes.com/digitalentertainment/2007/02/13/yahoo-goldberg-music-tech-media-cx_lh_0213yahoo.html

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 14th 2007 12:08PM]

Yeah agree with the above comments, if Anything Jobs is taking a page from Goldberg, not the other way around.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 14th 2007 3:50PM]

It sort of irks me that Steve Jobs is now getting credited for being the first to speak out against DRM, completely overlooking the fact that he was preceeded not only by this guy, but Bill Gates himself.

Despite Job's claim that Apple derives no benefit from FairPlay, Apple has refused to license the technology to others. Why?

Of course opening up FairPlay doesn't eliminate DRM, but it would be in the best interest of those music consumers he's pretending to be concerned about.