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Apple, Microsoft in talks to cooperate on music DRM

updated 01:15 am EST, Mon February 2, 2004

Apple, MS working on DRM


Billboard reports that the music industry is pushing Microsoft and Apple to between the companies' digital music formats: "Hardware makers and digital format developers, including many traditional adversaries, are engaged in private talks aimed at meeting the music industry's goal of compatibility among competing digital music devices by 2005. [However], at a minimum, the companies behind the leading format standards would have to cut licensing deals to allow for the conversion of content and transfer of DRM rules -- something the companies have been loath to do so far."


by MacNN Staff

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  1. MacNN.com Reader

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    02/02, 01:28am | report spam | Reply |

    yeah right...

    This should be fun to watch...

  1. MacNN.com Reader

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    02/02, 06:43am | report spam | Reply |

    Apple is the Bad Guy?

    Why does Apple have to allow M$ to be able to decode their ACC files to work with WMP. We know who has a better security record, and most likely the RIAA should be able to figure it out? (Oh! wait they are also the bad guys? Suing the kiddies like that!) We should find out which is the best quality for compression and make that the standard.

  1. MacNN.com Reader

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    02/02, 07:26am | report spam | Reply |

    Standards

    Maybe the music industry could force Microsoft to accept, support and deploy standard formats, instead of pushing their bloated tripe.

    MS software seems to have evolved into nothing more than an extremely efficient system for spreading viruses, spam and p***. AND finacial gain for the folks who somehow manage to keep it all limping along, by milking the victims of... I mean... USERS of MS systems.

  1. MacNN.com Reader

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    02/02, 07:37am | report spam | Reply |

    re: Standards

    I agree. In one corner we have an open standard wrapped in DRM. In the other corner we have a proprietary format wrapped in DRM. The choice seems clear cut to me.

  1. MacNN.com Reader

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    02/02, 08:28am | report spam | Reply |

    Good for the Fruit

    This can ONLY mean good things for Apple. Meaning folks can still buy at stores other than the iTMS and BUY a iPod. Means those that already have one of the other players (sales already lost and gone) can buy from the iTMS.

  1. MacNN.com Reader

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    02/02, 09:52am | report spam | Reply |

    Of course

    there will be whiners. Now that apple has an ace in their hole with the file format, everyone is upset, because everyone is running windows. Yet nobody got pissed when microsoft repeatly undercut competetors by imposing their own version of "standard" on them. Take WMA. Most people say it's complete c*** in terms of quality. So why in the world do so many players use it? Same reason why so many people use IE when there are a zillion better browsers out there that are better. Microsoft imposed it on everybody.

    Now people say apple is doing the same thing with their protected AAC format. However, it's more about apple's competitors whining because there's no decent music store other then apple's. On top of that, the iPod works with windows, so it's not like windows users are locked out like mac users have typically been with WMA products.

    It's kind of funny how this turned out, with microsoft and other companies upset at apple's "proprietary" standard. AAC is based on MPEG4, which is already a standard. Is Rio just too lazy to figure out how protected AAC works so they can make it play on their players?

  1. MacNN.com Reader

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    02/02, 10:32am | report spam | Reply |

    It's all B.S.

    None of these "other" legal download services existed until AFTER Apple proved it could be done. Now these "other" services are whining because they suck, they know they suck and they know they can't compete with a quality service like iTMS. The iPod is a no-brainer: consumers aren't buying iPods just because they want to use AAC, they buy them because the iPod blows away the competition in every respect, and just happens to work with the iTMS which also blows away the competition in every respect. Apple would be foolhardy to cripple the iPod and iTMS by allowing these ankle-biter competitors to become compatible. Compatibility exists: the iPod and iTunes works on Mac OS and Windows OS. Leave well enough alone and let the whiners be whiners. Eventually the whiners will close their doors and the whining will cease.

  1. MacNN.com Reader

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    02/02, 03:54pm | report spam | Reply |

    And this whole mess..

    ...could've been avoided if the IDIOTS AT THE RIAA HAD GOTTEN OFF THEIR *FAT ASSES* IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!

  1. MacNN.com Reader

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    02/02, 04:11pm | report spam | Reply |

    hah!

    Hopefully, this means that apple will force Microsoft to use AAC and an industry standard for once!

    I think what the music download services want is for the iPod to play WMP so they can get a foothold on it...maybe Microsoft is asking the licensees for its WMA/WMP format to whine, just to see if they can get Apple to care, and drop AAC for WMA..I'm sure Apple using AAC is a big sore that Microsoft can't stand, with the success of iTMS and Microsoft not getting a piece of the action.

    The expected outcome out of this should be for Microsoft to support AAC, and maybe license the AAC DRM from Apple ;-)

    Maybe Apple can get MS to bundle Quicktime on Windows.

    codeonezero

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