Harry C. Johnson wrote: > --- In [email protected], Eugenio Perea <euge...@...> wrote: >> Also, I'm pretty sure Apple never wanted DRM in iTunes. I believe it > was >> a requirement of the record companies in their neverending quest to >> infuriate their customers. Now that Apple is the leading distributor of >> music on the planet, they have enough clout to force the removal of DRM. > > Not true. Apple has been sued and criticized by the consumer > protection groups of several countries and the EU for their > monopolistic use of DRM to tie the iPod to iTunes and their lack of > willingness to allow others to license their DRM. They also went so > far as to invoke the DMCA to sue RealNetworks for providing software > that would allow the iPod to download music from Real in addition to > iTunes. Apple loves iTunes and DRM and its likely because of legal > action that they are allowing DRM removal. > > I provided links to related stories in an earlier post. If your > curious I can repost those or you can just do a google search.
They just dealt with this on NPR/Fresh Air yesterday. Of the $0.99 that iTunes gets for a song, Apple gets $0.22, and the record company gets the rest. Apple is indeed making money on volume, but their real interest is in selling more iPods -- where there is a greater profit margin -- than in selling songs. The DRM forces users to buy iPods instead of competing units in order to continue to play the songs. It is indeed legal action -- and competition from DRM-free, legal and non-legal sources -- that has created the pressure for DRM removal.
