Quote:
Originally Posted by DawnFalcon
It's also easy to see EMI as the driver in getting iTunes to go DRM-free, and Apple piggybacking on the publicity when it wasn't really want they wanted (since it ends their lockin for the iPod)....
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Hm, not really the way I remember it, so I did a quick search and found this:
EMI, Apple partner on DRM-free premium music
"... In February, Jobs released an open letter to record companies, encouraging them to abandon DRM restrictions and claiming that Apple had only implemented the controversial system because the four major record labels would not have otherwise signed up with iTunes.
In the recent past, EMI has put forth some initiatives in digital-music distribution that could be considered somewhat experimental, most notably offering its music catalog to peer-to-peer services like Mashboxx and iMesh. But until this point, DRM-free music had been largely the domain of services like eMusic, with songs limited to those from independent labels.
"This is something that Apple wants, but it's something that EMI needs," McQuivey said.
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Together with the RIAA, (EMI) was one of the loudest voices among the labels sponsoring the aggressive lawsuits against people who were file-sharing music," McQuivey said of the Recording Industry Association of America's persistent legal battles against music pirates using peer-to-peer networks. "It's not to say that you can't aggressively pursue file sharers and develop a digital strategy, but they didn't. They chose to focus on the lawsuits, hoping to keep the CD business alive." ..."