News Archive for 07/02/06

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Norway responds to Jobs

02/06, 6:20pm

Norway responds to Jobs' open DRM letter

Senior advisor Torgeir Waterhouse of the Norwegian Consumer Council has responded to Apple CEO Steve Jobs' open letter concerning digital rights management and free music, which the executive published earlier today. "We're happy to see Steve Jobs take on the responsibility that follows from Apple's role as one of the leading companies in the digital sphere and comment on the complaint issued by the Norwegian Consumer Council," Waterhouse told MacNN, referring to Jobs' letter. "Our concern is of course that it's Apple and [the] iTunes Music Store [that] should be addressing the issue of record companies and DRM themselves if it needs to be addressed - and as we've stated earlier it's iTunes Music Store that's providing a service to the consumers and therefore has the responsibility to offer up a consumer friendly product."

Preloaded iPods inbound?

02/06, 4:35pm

Apple to preload iPods with music?

Following the resolution of the dispute between Apple Inc. and record label Apple Corps, users may soon be able to buy many iPods preloaded with music, according to blog posts by some commentators. Wired's Leander Kahney notes that with the end of the conflict, Apple Inc. is no longer subject to a clause which prevented it from selling "physical media delivering prerecorded content." The effect of this was most clearly seen with the debut of the U2 Special Edition iPod, which only offered a voucher for U2's music through the iTunes Store. Not only will the U2 iPod have preloaded music, Kahney says, we will soon bear witness to products like a rumored "Yellow Submarine" iPod, preloaded with the Beatles catalogue and shipping on Valentine's Day.

Jobs embraces free music

02/06, 3:00pm

Jobs would offer DRM-free music in a 'heartbeat'

Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a letter to the world at large has openly embraced DRM-free music, but says his company cannot remove digital rights management (DRM) protection until the big four record labels agree. "Imagine a world where every online store sells DRM-free music encoded in open licensable formats," said Apple's chief. "In such a world, any player can play music purchased from any store, and any store can sell music which is playable on all players. This is clearly the best alternative for consumers, and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat." Jobs says if the big four music companies would license his company their music without requiring that it be copy-protected, Apple would switch to selling only DRM-free music on its iTunes store. The executive also notes that every iPod ever made will play DRM-free music, and questions why the big four music labels refuse to let Apple follow this path. [updated]

Wal-Mart dwarfs iTunes

02/06, 10:20am

Wal-Mart digital video store dwarfs iTunes

Wal-Mart today debuted its new Video Downloads store, representing the company's first video download service. The retail colossus also announced that it has successfully negotiated licenses with the six major American studios -- including Apple's close iTunes partner Disney -- giving it the largest catalog of any online video service. The store's launch will see an estimated 3,000 movies and TV shows, dwarfing the 600 available via Apple's iTunes Music Store. Wal-Mart said that it would keep its prices in line with its DVD catalog, and that costs will vary depending on launch dates as well as the profile of the release: new releases sell for between $12.88 and $19.88, while older movies will sell for $7.50. TV shows will sell for $1.96 per episode, essentially matching Apple's $1.99 TV show pricing.