SanDisk pulls a 180, applauds Amazon's DRM-free music store
We've seen companies hop the fence on occasion before, but SanDisk is making absolutely sure that we all know that it's seriously changing its tune (ahem) on this one. In a bizarre statement that proudly "applauds Amazon and EMI on the launch of its newfangled unprotected music store," the company goes out of its way to proclaim its "excitement for Amazon's DRM-free music download portal," and moreover, cranks up the contradiction further by stating that the firm is a "consistent advocate of consumer choice that believes this launch is an important step forward." While we try not to read too much into that, there's a pretty stark difference between these adoring comments and the ones just months ago that aimed to "protect content creators and the long-term health of the industry" by utilizing DRM on digital downloads. Regardless, it has become fairly clear that SanDisk probably just goes with the flow and hopes to put blinders on everyone else rather than actually saying what it means, but as of this moment, we're felicitous that SanDisk is seeing the light.[Via Electronista]
Filed under: Portable Audio
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Admiral @ May 17th 2007 10:08AM
It just goes to show that money talks and DRM-free is where the money is, not DRM where sandisk thought it was
phi @ May 17th 2007 10:33AM
sandisk = ho fo sho
John Stracke @ May 17th 2007 10:57AM
Wasn't SanDisk behind the creation of SD, the standard that reserves part of our storage space for DRM keys?
Sandisk @ May 17th 2007 11:11AM
"Sandisk really doesn't have a dog in this fight"
Uh, sure they do. Are you joking?
They have MP3 players that compete against Apple. Of course they blew off Apple's announcement of DRM free music at the time.
ajneil @ May 17th 2007 11:43AM
Hmm someone needs a dictionary: this sentence makes little sense:
"...we're felicitous that SanDisk is seeing the light."
Do you mean "hopefull"?
The closest definition of this word that makes any sense would be "marked by good fortune"
Aaron @ May 17th 2007 12:44PM
they're only behind this one because their players can actually play mp3's, not the AAC that iTS is offering (someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I briefly perused sandisk's horrible website)...it's much easier to be against that which isn't even offered to your customers
crescentdavid @ May 17th 2007 1:14PM
Whatever the reason, it's good to see Sandisk changing its tune. Also, if you're a consumer, it really doesn't matter why Apple made the move it did, beginning with EMI. It's of benefit to all of us and Jobs is to be commended.
Mark @ May 17th 2007 2:27PM
It barks, it wags its tail.. http://store.rhapsody.com/pls/enetrixp/!stmenu_template.main?complex_id_in=1785571.1790505.1790505.1790702.page
Steve S @ May 17th 2007 5:11PM
The worlds on fire about this Amazon announcement (which might be appropriate) but haven't old services like eMusic.com and new ones like Grooveshark.com and We7.com been fighting to get into this game for quite some time now?
Sandisk seems to jump at the bit when the big players speak, maybe they should have tried to forward think a bit more.
tekdroid @ May 17th 2007 11:02PM
sammy b, you're talking too much sense. You must be silenced.
How is the industry supposed to make money off the gullible masses while essentially eliminating all costs related to physical goods? ...and offering sub-par, sub-CD lossy audio in the process?
http://flac.sourceforge.net