A message from Steve Jobs entitled Thoughts on Music was just posted on Apple.com. In it, he outlines three possible scenarios for the future of music, one of which is to do away with digital rights management (DRM), the system which limits how many and which devices music purchased from an online store can play on.

He argues that DRM doesn’t really stop piracy, more music is sold without DRM (over 20 billion songs) than with DRM (under 20 billion songs), and the record companies still make the lion’s share of their revenue from non-DRM music so all music should be sold without DRM. Why? It’s very expensive to develop, maintain, and “fix” DRM systems when people find ways around them, and there are aren’t any benefits to consumers. Furthermore, removing DRM could create new opportunities for online stores and players to emerge. He finishes by saying that European countries who are criticizing Apple for selling music protected by DRM should redirect their energy toward convincing record companies (2 and a half of which are European-owned) to license music without DRM, and Apple will wholeheartedly support this.

I couldn’t agree more. This message demonstrates that his thinking comes from a balanced perspective that includes everyone – consumers, artists, record labels, and online music distributors – and his conclusion is the only one that really makes sense.
(Image credit: Apple, Inc.)