![]() Just look at the list of the top selling songs on iTunes in the picture below. Most would agree that this isn’t Apple’s fault - it’s the record labels - but it’s still a glaring problem. ![]() 2008 is coming to a close and that goal still hasn’t been reached. Jobs said last May that half of all iTunes’ songs would be DRM-free by the end of 2007. Though iTunes is the dominant online music store and the iPod is by far the dominant music player with over 73 percent of the market share in the U.S., not everyone has or uses them. They won’t play on Windows Media Player or on SanDisk MP3 players for example. You see, by buying DRM-protected music from iTunes, you are locking yourself in to using iTunes and iPods to play those files. It also, however, creates a barrier to entry for some users. ![]() DRM stands for digital rights management, it’s a data security system that stops users from illegally distributing copyrighted material. ![]() But…there’s a “but.”ĭespite promises by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs himself, iTunes still is lagging badly in bringing DRM-free music to its store. After seeing how well it worked during the hands-on session following Apple’s “Let’s Rock” event, I asked an Apple representative if they expected the feature to spur iTunes sales? His smirk and chuckle were telling. ![]()
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