Italy joins movement against iTunes, DRM

After all that letter had to say, they just don't get it. Its called a free market people! If you do not like the iTunes Store, don't use it.

Last time I was in Europe, they still sold shiny little discs even they call CD's. Take those home and RIP them (yes, an American term used for converting the music on a CD to a digital format for use on a PC) and put them on your player of choice.

Maybe next, the EU will force MS to develop Office for Linux?

How come Apple (whose software works on both Macs and PCs) is being slammed by the European countries when the other stores don't even WORK on Macs? How does that make any sense? Everyone can keep a closed system, but Apple can't, when Apple's system is the only one that is truly cross-platform. Good job, Europe.

i wonder why nobody came out and attack MS or any other stores that only offer music for windows only. And why no WMA support on mac platform. At least itunes is available on mac/pc.

I'll tell you why they are attacking Apple...

Apple is on top of the hill. If you knock down the king of the hill, it's up for grabs (and not necessarily for MS who they'll knock down too).

So, all these politicians who are pushing for a change are in somebody's back pocket... and that somebody is poised to run up the hill and make a lot of money.

It's as simple as that. If you took money of the picture, they could care less about the DRM.

As a note, if Apple folds before the others (MS, Napster, Wal-Mart, whoever), somebody makes a lot of money filling the vacuum. If Apple stops selling in that country, somebody makes a lot of money filling the vacuum. If ALL the companies open up their DRM or there is no DRM at all, everything stays the same... people keep buying iPods, people keep using the ITMS—as long as it stays the best music store, competition is good and Apple is very good at it.

I hope this gets into a law that removes all digital media DRM, on music, games and movies.

All gaming consoles are closed and MS is the biggest player with online DRM'ed Movies. Why only bitch on Music and Apple?

Attacking Apple is the wrong way to fix this. They are bound by contracts to have DRM by the MUSIC LABELS! Apple can't change what they are doing without the approval of the Labels. That's who they need to attack. Pass a law saying no DRM, and that the labels still must sell songs online. End of story.

I gotta think at this point that deal has the right idea. They want to force Apple to either pull out of Europe, or open up so much that someone else can try to steal their lunch.

I just can't think of another reason for this much focus on Apple, who isn't even responsible for the DRM requirement.

Well, if Apple can find labels that don't want DRM, and offer those tunes as non DRM'd tunes, I would buy an iTunes gift card and start buying whatever appealed to me from that list. If Apple is smart, they will go this route, and let the consumer send the big 4 a real message they can't refuse to hear.

just a thought...

Do these country's want Apple to licence the FairPlay DRM to other companys? So Apple has to SUBSIDISE everybody else's crappy players when THERE customers get the tracks from the iTMS. The iTMS is run as a SERVICE for iPod customers, not an open store for everybody.

Attacking Apple is like getting bitchy with a cop for pulling you over for speeding. The cop isn't responsible for the law (or the fact that you broke it), only for enforcing it. We have to change the law (the music companies) to get the results we want.

And while we are at it, how about we abolish the regional distribution system? What is this nonsense where in this day and age of globalization and digital delivery, can I not purchase some music from a band in Germany while I'm here in the US? All it does is hurt bands by limiting their appeal to local markets unless they are big enough to get distribution deals everywhere.

i wonder why nobody came out and attack MS or any other stores that only offer music for windows only. And why no WMA support on mac platform. At least itunes is available on mac/pc.

They're not complaining about the Windows Only problem. They're complaining about the Itunes/iPod only problem (amazing how few people seem to understand this stuff).

As for attacking MS and the "windows only" stores, the music at most of these stores play on most other players (you have choice from where to buy and what to play it on). If you get it from Apple, your choice is an iPod. If you want an iPod, your choice is iTMS.