Apple announced today that 8 million songs on iTunes will be DRM-free, and by the end of this quarter all 10 million will be.
Between Apple and Amazon (who are already DRM-free), we may have just witnessed the beginning of the end of music DRM. No one offering DRM’ed music will be able to compete. I hope this trend continues as the savvier companies realize that DRM punishes lawful consumers far more than pirates.
Update: My mistake. It’s the iTunes Plus library that’ll be DRM-free. Well, it’s a start. I still think they’re idiots for clinging to DRM at all, even though I understand why they do.
Hi Chris,
What’s your take on Steve Jobs and the rumor surrounding his illness? Is Apple really at risk without Jobs?
I agree with John Gruber, who basically says: Jobs has come forward about his illness (which caused the weight loss) and revealed that it’s being treated. I think the whole thing is blown out of proportion because Jobs is Apple for most of the world. And I think Apple will be hard-pressed to continue succeeding as it has without his singular leadership. However, they’re clearly working to put other faces on Apple. I hope it works for them, but you can count me as an optimistic skeptic.