This day in Engadget: Steve Jobs calls for an end to DRM
By Laura June 
posted February 6th 2010 6:11PM
posted February 6th 2010 6:11PM
Welcome to 'This day in Engadget', where we crack open the archives and take a whimsical look back at the memories and moments of our storied past. Please join us on this trip down random access memory lane.
On February 6th, 2007 Apple CEO Steve Jobs published his "Thoughts on Music" letter. iTunes was by then the major player in online distribution, and the iPod had become the widely recognized face of portable music. DRM was controversial and pretty much universally disdained, and Jobs took the opportunity to write a letter pinpointing what he thought were the three options moving forward in the digital music distribution model. Essentially, he felt Apple (and the rest of the music loving world) had three choices: stay the course (DRM intact), move to the company's FairPlay licensing model, or envision a future which was DRM-free. Jobs made no bones about it: he and Apple hoped to "embrace" the end of DRM (under pressure from the EU, of course). Arguing that DRM hadn't stopped piracy, he conveniently called for the major labels to license their music to Apple DRM-free. On January 9th of 2009, Apple did announce that some of the music in its iTunes store would be purchasable DRM-free, though it still makes use of FairPlay for apps and video. Jobs will have to continue fighting the good fight, we suppose.
Also on this date:
February 6th, 2009: The Kindle 2 seemed like it might be leaking (it was), Roku moved into private beta with Amazon Video on Demand, and Microsoft denied it was making a phone.
February 6th, 2008: Ford announced it would offer its F-150 with an in-dash computer (amongst other things), a bunch of undersea cables were reportedly cut leaving much of the world with no internet and no Engadget, and the Xbox 360 HD DVD player hit an all-time low price of $130.
February 6th, 2007: Apple asked the FCC to keep its iPhone secrets confidential until the 15th of June, Hasbro recalled nearly a million Easy Bake Ovens to the dismay of little girls everywhere, and Sony Ericsson officially outed its W880 (Ai) Walkman musicphone.
February 6th, 2006: The PSP was officially rumored to be getting both email and GPS, LG outed its F3000 cellphone which went 'vroom vroom' whenever you got a text, and Mobile ESPN went live.
February 6th, 2005: The world was a flutter with the news of how to unlock a GSM Treo 650, while signing up for a year of Napster to Go brought with it a free iRiver H10.
February 6th, 2004: Hey, Engadget didn't exist yet!
Also on this date:
February 6th, 2009: The Kindle 2 seemed like it might be leaking (it was), Roku moved into private beta with Amazon Video on Demand, and Microsoft denied it was making a phone.
February 6th, 2008: Ford announced it would offer its F-150 with an in-dash computer (amongst other things), a bunch of undersea cables were reportedly cut leaving much of the world with no internet and no Engadget, and the Xbox 360 HD DVD player hit an all-time low price of $130.
February 6th, 2007: Apple asked the FCC to keep its iPhone secrets confidential until the 15th of June, Hasbro recalled nearly a million Easy Bake Ovens to the dismay of little girls everywhere, and Sony Ericsson officially outed its W880 (Ai) Walkman musicphone.
February 6th, 2006: The PSP was officially rumored to be getting both email and GPS, LG outed its F3000 cellphone which went 'vroom vroom' whenever you got a text, and Mobile ESPN went live.
February 6th, 2005: The world was a flutter with the news of how to unlock a GSM Treo 650, while signing up for a year of Napster to Go brought with it a free iRiver H10.
February 6th, 2004: Hey, Engadget didn't exist yet!
Sounds fair after making millions of dollars. Let's get rid of it! Gud Job Mr Jobs.
@(Unverified)
And then came the iPhone and the iPad, and DRM became pervasive ): Microsoft even beat Apple to offering DRM free music. Oh well, at least Apple doesn't have Microsoft's software validation crap (iWork >>>>> Office).
I have bought many albums from iTunes, how can I tell if they are DRM free or not? Never really bothered before, but there's no iTunes on Linux...
@Rob22 Wat is DRM??
Oh god the day they take DRM of the video on itunes is the day I will fall inlove with itunes.
@Mobious
Forget iTunes, DRM-free video anywhere. For some reason video seems to be getting away with it right now. I guess people for some reason don't see music as being as valuable as video.
@Mobious
Talk to the movie studios. They're the ones demanding DRM for their movies. Same with XBox Marketplace, Netflix streaming, you name it, it all has DRM. It's because of the movie studios.
Hey hey !!!
http://web.archive.org/web/20040305002602/http://www.engadget.com/
@SuperCharly Err, that's March 2004, not February 2004. Anyway, this is about as far back as you can go: http://www.engadget.com/archive/03.02.04
@SuperCharly
Wow, even back then they had crapgadgets:
http://web.archive.org/web/20040305121138/www.engadget.com/entry/0028247582524458/
@SuperCharly
Wow, that layout was really elegant. What happened?
@SuperCharly I FOUND WALDO!!!!
@hq
héhé!
So tomorrow you will look back and show that Windows Mobile 6 was announced in 2007?
@Musicman247 When I saw this in the rail of the archived page of Engadget I got super excited and thought "whoa, this was a truly awesome news day!" Then I saw it was the 7th! We're not planning on doing them every day, I'm just going to look at the archive every day and see what kind of cool stuff happened! :)
@Laura June :
I think it'd be a really cool column to do.
As often as you can, heh.
Also, great job on your Apple Rumour Roundup thing. We need to do this for every hyped launch, it'd be awesome.
@Kirtay I definitely really enjoyed researching and writing it, and I hope to do more things like that. I'm seriously into the history stuff -- totally fascinating.
@Laura June
Here is a good one:
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/17/nokia-prepping-n97-multimedia-computer/
@Musicman247
i'm sure they will... not
@Laura June
Laura Junes is Josh's wife.
Arrrrrgghh IE6! :|
@CreepinJesus
IE6 Can be described as a DRM browser as it restricts modern standards
@OCEAN CLAK So true. IE6 (well, actually up to v8) is what I'd call a bag of hurt. It's the only/best reason I can think of to justify remote software kill-switches. It would be so freakin' cool, to see every single subIE9-IE-browser out there suddenly disappear or being updated (by force) when IE9* launches :)
This would push the limits so much. It really makes me sad it's not going to happen.
*(estimating MS will not fail again - at least not as much as with earlier IE-versions. The rumors about potential SVG-support in IE9 may let us hope here. JS-Engine, HTML5- & CSS2/3-Rendering aside - proper PNG-Alpha-handling when handled by JS-animations was my wish for improvement to microsoft's IE-Dev-Team, if anyone asked me. But the list of improvements and bug-fixes these poor guys have to deal with must be so damn long, I shouldn't confuse them with additional bug-reports.. .)
@CreepinJesus
Internet Explorer (that's taboo). Hopefully no one uses IE these days.
wou wou wou hold on for a second,
does this mean that Internet Exploder caters also the "mysterious archiver of ancient Engadget screen shoots fetish guy" user base? That may explain the majority market share!
like the DRM Psystar was sued over? that kind Steve?
@acme64 Actually, to be fair, Psystar used an EFI modifier to essentially crack OSX to run. There's a slight difference between doing this and just allowing a movie you purchased to be played anywhere you want.
@savarese04 whats the difference between playing a movie you purchased anywhere you want and using an operating system you purchased anywhere you want? I just don't see it
@creimusc The difference is actually purchased, and did not modify and re-distribute.
Even if there was no DRM on movies, I don't think you would be in the clear to add your own chapter in the middle of it and resell it.
@acme64 I fee ya man. Apple is an enigma rapped in bacon.
@acme64 I'm no fan of DRM, but the DRM claim in the Psystar case was like, just another nail in the coffin. Psystar was sued and lost for pure and simple copyright infringement - you can't take someone else's work, modify it, and resell it. You'd get sued if you started a business selling books with notes you made in the margin too. Or DVDs with re-recorded soudtracks - that's why RiffTrax sells their CDs seperately.
@iPaul
wrap everything with bacon instead of DRM. Sales would soar
So when are you guys gonna say something good about Balmer? Now THAT will be a story to talk about.
@M3 We love Ballmer! Perhaps you didn't see Engadget Show 002? http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/23/the-engadget-show-002-steve-ballmer-droid-nook-and-new-mac/
@M3 Agree. 100%.
@M3. I too must say say that Baldmer is a great character. If Engadget have ever said anything bad about him it was probably a joke. :). His youtube vid will go down in history though.
@PATRICKmcnicholl You mean like this?
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/22/steve-ballmers-shocking-autograph-of-macbook-pro-caught-on-vide/
Guys I found some scarily eerie hints at the iPad in a post from engadget in 2006. In it Darren Murph says 'Slated to be built in Business Bay, the "iPad residential tower". Here is the Article "http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/22/dubais-new-luxury-tower-to-resemble-an-ipod/" Slated,iPad. That was one hell of a clue. :)
@engadgetcomexcludeengadget That's my favorite post I've ever written. Don't tell me you don't find it funny?
@Joshua Topolsky
Josh, if it makes you feel any better, I loved that article.
I can't believe you wrote this without mentioning that Jobs did this under some threat of having the iTunes/iPod connection being broken up by European governments. The truth is Jobs lied about having DRM forced on Apple by all labels.
@Marbles
Shuuush
Hail oh mighty and righteous Steve slayer of DRM and savior of us all.
@Marbles
Sorry, but I'd love to see you prove that. It's a pretty well known fact that Jobs has been fighting the record labels for years to get their music DRM free, and in fact the only reason the iTunes store had DRM music was because it was a specific condition of the labels agreeing to let Jobs sell the music on the store.
Additionally, It's also a fact that Jobs had to concede to raising prices on the iTunes store to get the labels to allow him to sell the music without DRM. Furthermore, you know why Amazon was allowed to sell music DRM-free? Because they agreed to higher prices right up front. Since day one, Amazon's MP3s have cost up to $1.29 per song.
Apple was the only holdout staying at $.99/song which is the specific - and the only - reason it took so long for Apple to be able to sell the music without DRM.
Suggesting that Jobs was lying about the labels forcing DRM is really ignorant, since it's been well documented for years exactly what Jobs has had to go through with the labels.
You're talking about the situation with the three major labels that held out long after the others decided DRM wasn't working for them. Jobs continued to claim ALL labels were forcing DRM on Apple when they weren't. Apple loved DRM when it helped them keep their music ecosystem closed but chose to negotiate their way out of it because that was preferable to having iTunes and the iPod separated.
If you are not aware of the role European governments played in all this then the ignorance is yours.
@Marbles
Not even close. You appear to be ignoring the simple facts that I already laid out for you. Saying Apple "loves" DRM is ignorant in and of itself. Again I'll ask: what possible reason could Apple have to promote DRM? How is it possibly in their best interest? What does Apple gain from having DRM? They don't own the content, they only sell it. You are basically saying Apple prefers to make things difficult for their customers, which frankly borders on real stupidity.
You'll also note that the instant that one record label agreed to let Apple sell their music DRM free, they DID. It took longer for the other three labels because they wanted more money. At no point did Apple ever continue to sell music with DRM on it when they had the option to sell it DRM-free.
The European governments had nothing to do with the record labels' greed, and that was the specific - and only - reason the iTunes store had DRM on it at all. Denying THAT is ignorant in every sense of the word.
@Jack
Apple DOES prefer to make it more difficult for their customers to use their content on the products of other companies and DRM has helped them do that in many areas of their business. That's why you can't sync Palm products with iTunes.
Apple did NOT drop DRM as soon some labels dropped their demands. It was a scandal then and Jobs has been criticized for it many times since.
You simply seem to be unaware of the historical facts and are filling the gaps with your own assumptions.
@Marbles Bullshit. The library file is written in human-readable XML and several companies have written software that synchs with a user's iTunes music no problem. Palm just took a lazy, hack-job approach, not to mention they were in violation of the USB-IF rules re: vendor IDs.
You're completely wrong again about the timing of Apple's DRM-free offerings. The music store didn't move to an entirely DRM free, variable pricing structure until 2009:
http://www.tuaw.com/2009/04/07/itunes-drops-all-drm-adds-variable-pricing/
A full two years earlier, an agreement with EMI allowed for DRM-free 256kbps tracks.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/02/emi-music-on-itunes-now-drm-free/
For someone who claims to be so versed in the history of this issue, you make some extraordinarily ignorant statements. Apple moved to drop DRM entirely, rather than share the technology they invested in (and still use to this day) to appease the concerns of other shortsighted media industry executives.
As soon as EMI was willing to play ball, Apple delivered. Amazon was used as a tool by the other labels to force Apple into a variable pricing structure, and unfortunately, they won. We now have DRM-free tracks, but Apple had to concede the $0.99 pricing model.
As to your EU red herring, why in the world should Apple be obligated to share a technology they developed? I don't see any other company opening up their proprietary media encoding schemes for free use by all and sundry. Until the old-guard media execs get their collective heads out of their asses or get replaced by new blood that understand the digital age, Apple has every right to keep their tech to themselves.
@Cromagazine
You need to re-read the discussion. You start by missing my point, then go on to support it.
@Marbles
You CAN sync Palm products with iTunes. The reason the Pre keeps getting blocked is because they're doing it WRONG by making the Pre impersonate an iPod. That's because Palm are really being idiots. iTunes uses a standard XML file that ANY DEVELOPER can use to sync their product to iTunes. The fact that you appear to be ignorant about that too is just adding to long list of Apple-related facts you seem to be ignorant about.
DRM hasn't helped Apple at all.You know what would have helped Apple even more? If all the songs on the iTunes store had been DRM free right from the start. Why wouldn't Apple want that? You have yet to answer that question.
Yes, Apple DID drop DRM as soon as the labels didn't require it. I'm not sure what planet you're writing from, but as soon as Apple finalized the deal, the music went DRM free. Do you just have a bad memory or something? What is your problem?
As soon as you'd like to stop making things up and have a real discussion, let me know. Until then, I'd suggest you do some research.
@Marbles "The truth is Jobs lied about having DRM forced on Apple by all labels."
A simple link corroborating what you're asserting would go a long way.