“The Free Software Foundation has begun an online petition urging Apple chief executive Steve Jobs to remove protections from the iTunes Music Store,” Shaun Nichols reports for vnunet.com.
“The campaign is run by DefectiveByDesign, a branch of the Free Software Foundation that opposes the use of DRM software. The group claims that the technology deliberately cripples software and limits the rights of consumers,” Nichols reports.
“The group filed its petition in response to an open letter from Jobs published in February,” Nichols reports. “Jobs said in the letter that Apple would remove its FairPlay DRM software from iTunes were it not for tight restrictions imposed by the major record labels.”
Nichols reports, “DefectiveByDesign’s Open Letter to Steve Jobs demands that the Apple co-founder make good on his promise by removing FairPlay from iTunes songs by independent artists.”
Full article here.
Related articles:
Is DRM doomed? – March 09, 2007
How Apple’s FairPlay DRM works – February 26, 2007
Windows Vista’s DRM is bad news – February 14, 2007
Monster Cable announces full support of Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ call for DRM-free music – February 13, 2007
Recording Industry Association of America wants their DRM, calls for Apple to license FairPlay – February 08, 2007
Warner’s Middlebronfman: Jobs’ DRM-free music call ‘without logic and merit, we’ll not abandon DRM’ – February 08, 2007
Dvorak: Apple CEO Steve Jobs is dead right about DRM – February 07, 2007
Apple’s Jobs jolts music industry; Zune exec calls Jobs’ call for DRM-free music ‘irresponsible’ – February 07, 2007
Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ posts rare open letter: ‘Thoughts on Music’ – calls for DRM-free music – February 06, 2007
Norwegian Ombudsman: Apple’s FairPlay DRM is illegal in Norway – January 24, 2007
Major music labels ponder DRM-free future – January 23, 2007
I would hope that this group also has another petition going to the major labels or have done so in the past. If not, they should pack up and shut up.
Of course, they have three options they believe Apple can show “it means business”…
1) Drop DRM on iTunes for independent artists
Sounds like a good idea, but John Gruber [aka: genius] notes complexities with this idea: http://daringfireball.net/2007/02/drm_and_non_drm_music
2) Drop DRM on iTunes for Disney movies and video
We could only dream. However, Mr. Gruber mentions the situation with video in this artcle (about halfway). http://daringfireball.net/2007/02/reading_between_the_lines
3) Take a public stand against DRM and legislation mandating DRM by funding a campaign to repeal the Digital Millenium Copyright Act’s (DMCA) prohibitions.
I don’t think Apple gets into the political arena very often, if at all. I doubt they’d start now.
However, this blurb of their petition includes a very interesting nugget of info:
“This is an important action because of the legislative threats we face. Senator Feinstein (D – Calif.), in this congressional session, has reintroduced the Platform Equality and Remedies for Rights Holders in Music Act (PERFORM Act). The Act would require webcasters who stream in MP3 (or other non-DRM formats) to impose DRM. This would include the radio stations currently available through iTunes, which currently rely on MP3 streams.”
Seeing how Senator Feinstein is from CA, I wouldn’t be surprised if the RIAA were pushing her to do this.
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If anyone wants to read the full petition, go here: http://www.defectivebydesign.org/actions/open_letter/steve_jobs
There is a series of funny rants on this issue on the Fake Steve Jobs Diary blogspot:
http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2007/03/free-software-foundation-wants-my-head.html
http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2007/03/open-letter-to-free-software-foundation.html
http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2007/03/fsf-is-corrupt-and-must-be-stopped.html
http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2007/03/talk-about-defective-by-design.html
Senator Feinstein has always been an absolute disgrace, so it’s no surprise that she would be the one introducing something such as that trash. All of you leftists in CA that put her into office now need to flood her senate office with complaints over this.
This petition is pointless. The group has obviously not done it’s homework, their ignorance of the intricacies involved in the nightmare that is being signed to a major label is almost laughable. It has nothing to do with Apple or, hence Steve Jobs letter. The labels themselves can’t even allow it in some cases because they don’t have the proper licensing rights for some of the material (ergo the gaps in emusic, iTines etc. offerings). It is a big fat ugly mess, agreed, but it isn’t the distributors’ fault, nor is it in their power legally to do what this petition asks.
I want President Bush to stop world hunger. And solar flares.
DefectiveByDesign
Accuratly describes the groups founders.
Sure their heart is in the right place, but the target of their message is wrong.
Go after the owners of the music and the artists instead who insist on DRM.
Thank you.
These people are idiots.
The record labels control DRM. Steve is on the petitioner’s side, but can’t remove it without the RIAA’s approval.
So, these morons are petitioning the wrong party.
Man, some people are soooo ignorant.
Amazing how misguided they are. The RIAA is fueling this because they want Apple’s version of DRM licensed because it’s the most widely used. The RIAA won’t come out and say that they control the fact that music sold through iTunes has DRM because they require it. They are trying to shift the focus to Apple’s DRM being licensed, so that only hurts Apple, and not the RIAA.
Sen. Feinstein is also one of the biggest opponents of the Second Amendment. Although they take a vow to uphold and protect the Constitution, many of her kind then try their best to take away our basic rights. I wish they would try to ignore their own personal biases and just do what they are paid to do – serve and help the people. I believe the Democratic Party would get more wide spread support if they would look to the average American and quit acting like their only concern are the minorities. At least that is the impression they seem to emit. And I mean no disrespect to any group of people.
Wahhh, wahhhhh …. we want everything free …. wahhhhh, wahhhh … that, that Steve Jobs, HE IS TO BLAME! Wahhhh, wahhhh, I want my rap music free, wahhhhh, wahhhhh.
This is a group of cry baby asswipes. They are greedy, spoiled ‘Entitlement Generation’ types that feel they are entitled to everything fucking thing their way, or they muster up all that courage to send Jobs a petition.
I SAY FUCKEM.
LorD 1776-
I second that emotion.
Typhoon,
Read the article before making ignorant comments. And before calling other people ignorant you might first check your own preconceptions.
They are calling on Steve to remove DRM from INDEPENDENT ARTISTS on iTunes – whose songs already are available DRM-free from other online vendors.
—–
Personally, I suspect Apple’s policy of wanting consistency is at play here – remember how Apple has resisted selling songs at other than $0.99 per track? If some songs are AAC Protected (FairPlay) and others are plain AAC (sans DRM) then there could be some unwanted confusion by customers over music purchases and their rights per same.
I don’t fault Apple for wanting to maintain a consistent, simple business plan. But I’d love to see DRM-free tracks available.
(Sorry to change the subject, but…) I’d also like the ability to charge for podcasts. I’ve got some business clients that would love to podcast for profit…
Thanks for the Gruber links, macNut.
I wonder why he equates DRM-free with MP3? I’d prefer to stay in the MPEG-4 AAC codec instead of the ancient MPEG-1 MP3 format. Why the confusion? You would think a sharp guy like him would know that AAC is an open format with no Fairplay required.
unfettered: “They are calling on Steve to remove DRM from INDEPENDENT ARTISTS on iTunes – whose songs already are available DRM-free from other online vendors.”
And without knowing the specifics in the Apple-Big Labels contracts, how can you be sure that the contracts don’t prevent something like that? It’s not uncommon for contracts to stipulate that the other party must provide some guarantees when dealing with other competitors. IIRC, Apple-Big Labels contracts requires that Apple’s rights are as liberal as those granted to others in the least.
I dislike DRM very much, but trying to corner a guy who is on your side is pretty stupid, especially if you don’t know anything about his obligations.
unfettered,
“(Sorry to change the subject, but…) I’d also like the ability to charge for podcasts. I’ve got some business clients that would love to podcast for profit…”
You can charge for your podcast, but not through the iTunes Music Store – you need to get people to sign up and pay on your own site. The one paid podcast I subscribe to had me paste the podcast address into the iTunes’ “Subscribe to Podcast” dialog box. When I hit return, I was asked for an id and password. iTunes now updates the podcast for me like any other cast.
“Defective by design” is right! Their brains are defective by design!
Dear EFF — If you want to make a difference, send the petition directly to the music companies. They are the ones that control whether or not the music is crippled with DRM.
While the EFF’s goal of no DRM on purchased music is noble and just, until the music companies decide that this is ok it will never happen… no matter how many people sign a petition and send it to Apple. The petition needs to go to the music companies directly.
They should point their arrows at Vista, now that is full of DRM which could impact the customers really badly.
I wonder why aren’t they making pression on Bill Gates and Microsoft….
This the response I wrote to that petition. Unfortunately, in order to leave the comment, I had to sign the petition.
“It’s impossible to believe that you don’t understand the dynamics of the content providing industry. Do you really think that Apple can simply drop a contractual obligation it has? What do you think would happen if Apple announced that it would break its contracts with those owners?
Do you think they would simply stand by and allow it? Of course not! They would sue, and get an injunction against Apple, preventing them from selling anything on iTunes.
You think that the content owners would suffer more, but you have no proof of that, only wild speculation.
What you should be doing, is to write these letters to the companies who REQUIRE the DRM. Convince them, and you will have succeeded. If not, forget it, because it won’t happen without their cooperation.
If you really want to confront a company who plans to benefit from DRM who is not a content owner, then write a letter to Microsoft. While they only have a miniscule market in music, their content player, and DRM, is the major one at this point in time. MS plans to use it for their benefit. You MIGHT remember that Gates once said that his dream was for MS to charge for every bit that ran over a network. I doubt that his dream has changed.
See their reaction.
Apple’s DRM is the most liberal one going. When it first came out, it was hailed as being the only fair one available. That still holds true.
Also, remember that the vast majority of the public couldn’t care a whit about DRM, so you are walking upwind. You need to convince them first. Money talks, as the expression goes. This will only work if the public stops buying products with DRM. That would include DVD’s, as well as later formats, such as Blu-Ray and HD-DVD.
Fail to do that, and you will see the lack of support for your idea. Succeed, and it will be a different story.”
The politics of the open source crowd is all over the map. Remember, Apple’s OS X is based largely on open source and Apple makes real contributions back to that community. But the Free Software Foundation is Richard Stallman’s baby and Richard is a left wing loonie. Just ignore the ranting chanting leftoid morons. Let ’em move to Venezuala to live their lefty dreams under the tender auspices of their hero, Hugo Chavez. Soon, they will be starving and demanding that the US Marines come in and rescue their sorry asses.
I second your second.
I am also on the same page with the rest of you–this petition is targeting the wrong parties. I guess the RIAA’s methods of distraction are pretty effective. Holding Jobs or any other distributor of music accountable for RIAA greed and bufoonery is ludicrous. Some people just aren’t happy unless they’re angry, I guess.
Is FSF a branch of PETA? They sound just a bad.
Amazing how the right wing lunatics and fanboys start slithering out of the woodwork on a Saturday afternoon.
You don’t have any idea how stupid you sound, with all your ranting and raving and foaming at the mouth.
You’re all so stupid that you can’t figure out that the EFF isn’t the same as the FSF. Even worse, you can’t figure out that INDEPENDENT artists aren’t covered by the contracts Apple signed with the major music labels.
How can you knuckledraggers be so ignorant? Can’t you read? And why on earth do you bother posting here, only to confirm to all the world what a fool you really are?
Oh sure, you’re in love with your own ideology. Of course you are. So what? No one else cares. We don’t want to hear about your ideological proclivities
Now why don’t you try blow smoke up your own ass for a change?
You know who you are – I won’t mention any names. (Isn’t that right, LinuxGuy, TowerTone, LorD 1776, ActNow?)
Just go away. Go back to sleep in your coffins (say hi to Dick Cheney while you’re there, will you?) and leave the rest of humanity alone.
@Wingnuts Go Away
first off, I don’t know if who you named are as conservative as me, so you might have stepped on a few toes.
second, the good thing about being a wingnuts-at least we have nuts…
“and leave the rest of humanity alone.”
seeing how consevatives are a majority in America, be they (mainly) Republican or Democrat, that statement puts you in a small crowd. And yes, there are MANY Democrats who don’t agree with the fringe left, they are what’s left of the party that JFK headed.
What did I say that was so partisan? Your statement looks MUCH more devisive than anything I said. I agreed with someone making a very constructive analysis.
Even the Democrats are getting fed up with their ‘stepchildren’ leftist.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obey-berates-woman-over-war-funding-later-apologizes-2007-03-09.html
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2007/Mar-10-Sat-2007/opinion/13078877.html
As a software engineer, I get very hot under the collar when “users” tell me what they think is “easy” to do. Why do they assume that it’s so simple to change the iTunes system so that this song has FairPlay DRM, but that song doesn’t? It’s very likely that this would blow the complexity of the software through the roof. I believe Daniel Eran came to the same conclusion in one of his Roughly Drafted articles.
iTunes is well-designed, easy to understand, and easy to use. Let’s not f*** with it.
seeing how conservatives are a majority in America
This is a myth, at least as far as GOP-style conservatism is concerned. The nation breaks down just about 1/3-1/3-1/3 GOP-Dem-independent these days, and the independents are leaning Democratic.
If you ask people “Do you consider yourself ‘conservative’ or ‘liberal’?”, “conservative” will win out, only because the right have succeeded in making “liberal” a dirty word. Ask the same people their stance on individual issues, and the “liberal” side wins almost every time.
TowerTone, pray tell what does the 2nd Amendment has to do with DRM?
Lest you protest, I will remind you that you were seconding LorD 1776, who brought that subject up.
This is what I mean: injecting your ideological fetishes (you’re a gun nut, right?) into totally unrelated discussions.
And what on earth is so hard to understand about asking Apple to remove DRM from INDEPENDENT artists, who are not a party to any contracts Apple has with major music labels?
You might construct a technical argument (e.g. as LordRobin tries above), or perhaps a marketing argument (e.g. customer confusion) against having some tracks be DRM-free.
But no, you and your fellow cretins insist on making an IDEOLOGICAL argument against a petition for DRM-free songs.
That’s what I call totally stupid and a colossal waste of time. There’s no other way to describe it.
So please – I beg of you – please either learn to stay on topic and make intelligent contributions to the topic at hand. If you can’t do that, then why don’t you go away and blow your ideological smoke somewhere else?
LordRobin-
I’m not speaking of GOP style.
I’m speaking of the common sense type.
There is still a little bit of that in both parties.
WGA-
I agree with 1776 mainly about reforming the Democrat Party.
I don’t even own a pellet gun.
I generally leave politics out (save for some humor) but will jump in when I feel like it.
Why don’t you include the libs in your rant? Is it OK for them to inject their ideas? (I certainly think so)
TowerTone, I don’t see too many Paul Krugman clones in this forum arguing in favour of a single payer medical system in a discussion about multitouch screens. If they did, I’d ask them to go away too.
But, for some unknown reason, this forum seems to attract far more than its fair share of right wing lunatics. And they should go away.
Ever heard of Always Right?
Cubert?
G Spank?
ChrissyOne?
These are all good(hearted) lefties.
Not to be confused with
SidneyStephen
Frank
Stuart
These may be good people too,
But I lock my doors at night
just in case…
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How did Jobs’ letter inspire their online petition when it’s obvious they did not read the fuckin’ letter.
If they had they would be petitioning The Labels, not Steve Jobs, in an effort to remove iTunes Music Store DRM.
WGA –
“lunatics, fanboys, slithering, stupid, ranting, raving, foaming at the mouth, stupid, knuckledraggers,Can’t you read? fool, No one else cares. We don’t want to hear, blow smoke up your own ass, sleep in your coffin, leave the rest of humanity alone.”
Sounds like someone has some anger mangement issues. Maybe when you are done as the offical spokesperson for humanity, you might want to look into getting a little help.
TT –
If you ever need some suppressing fire, let us know. We’ll cover you till you can get safely away ……
Lets looks the real reason the major Lables want DRM online
Also why Apple doesn’t offer cd quality downloads.
The Labels want to support the cd empire and prevent a mass revolt.
1: cd’s give higer quality music.
2: real cover art.
3: no drm.
And my point was, Apple is catering to the Labels in this regard by making all music DRM.
Apple is also laying the groundwork for managed content by slowly getting consumers accepting DRM.
Sure Steve says DRM won’t work, but it will if it requires a particular little DRM decoding chip that’s flashed at the factory.
How many average joes will be able to reflash their TPM chip?
Unfortunately Steve Jobs doesn’t have the power to do that. Only the record labels can authorize that. And we all know how they feel about it. You can moan and whine all you want about getting rid of fairplay DRM but it won’t help unless the record industry does something about it. Steve Jobs cannot period.
Look at me, i’m a political genius. I am going to post on boards and rant about other people’s beliefs even though I do not truly understand the words and meanings i am using.
wooo. Look at me save the world by arguing about politics that matter to the children being abducted in Africa and being murder, and being so worried about what a bunch of jackasses do with their time.
I think its time we get over these little issues, lets sort them out quickly and fairly and move our focus on the truly important things. *sigh*
@ Alice.
Too true.
@ TT.
I’m with you bro … i don’t like the cut of WGA’s jib …
@WGA.
Hey dude! get off my patch, I’ve got the “ponce” license here.
@r.
That so frick’n sums it up, nice one.
Hmmm…
Although the FSF online petition mentions Independent artists, I’d not take them seriously or give them much credence unless they also insist on online petitions to the main music labels, Microsoft and every other company/website that sells music with DRM.
Anything else is just jumping on the Apple DRM bandwagon, using free publicity and suspiciously going after an ‘easy’ target – not really wanting things to be level or really talked about.
The whole issue of DRM is finally getting into the public eye, and public discussion can only be a good thing – it’s only got this far because most people never knew about it and its effects/restrictions until a long time after it became entrenched [iTunes DRM has been around since the beginning, but people are only complaining about it now].
Whether Apple does DRM is almost irrelevant, as MS really has the power and market control – they own most of the computers in the world and they actually have much more impact.
After all, every MS box insists on DRM/restriction for virtually everything and for everything they come into contact with.
So with that in mind, who’s really pushing for DRM acceptance and intrusion into our lives ??
Just my thruppence worth.
Wish these same people would get as worked up over free gasoline.
Yesterday I paid $2.75
MacArch,
Blush…. In the light of a new day, you are absolutely right that I’ve turned into a potty mouth.
I hereby apologise for my harsh and inappropriate language.
Yes, this is a genuine apology. I still believe that injecting politics, religion, or ideology into discussions where it isn’t warranted is rude and inappropriate.
But I behaved inappropriately myself by using such brutish language, and it behooves me to avoid cheapening our public discourse.
Thank you MacArch for that reminder. Much needed, and lesson learned.
This smells of big Electronics backing. How much do you want to bet that Sony, Microsoft, Creative, and a few others are behind this group and the EU’s attempt at ‘forcing’ Apple to concede marketshare to the greedy manufacturers (who have restrictions of their own on their own technology)
Andrew Hamilton
Video Production Las Vegas
http://www.hiproductions.com
Something may parents taught me was never to discuss politics and religion (unless the people on the group are willing to). When I was a kid, I never totally understood it. But now I know why:
Politics and religion carry too much passion and not always too much common sense.
No matter where you lean, when people go to extremes, regarding of the side, the talk is always stupid, the discussion is always bitter and the opinions are mostly stupid.
I don’t believe all liberals are stupid (or smart). I don’t believe all conservatives are stupid (or smart). I rather filter people by their brains than by their political affiliation. And one of the ways you measure people’s brains is, well, their capability of debate.
I don’t want to disrespect anybody. To be free to say what we think is perhaps the most valuable thing a free society has. And to respect other’s people way of thinking (despite of how much we would disgree) is also part of leaving in a free world.
The price we all pay for living in a free society is to deal with (and accept) issues we don’t agree with. The advantage we have is that, if we don’t agree, we can express it and fight it without being punished for it. And we might win or lose, but we can always take a stand.
I say this, I support this, and when I say this, some people call me “liberal”, some people call me “conservative”. I don’t really care. It’s about the principles, not the politics.
So, how about we all shut up about politics and talk technology?
Curious: MDN Word: enough
As a long time Linux user (before my first Mac), I respect Stallman for what he has done for free software, but I disagree with him in many ways.
Whle I believe if free software, I also believe in the CHOICE between giving it up to the community OR making a profit out of an invention (and, yes, a program IS an invention.)
In that sense, I believe in the choice of musicians to post their music with or without DRM. How much of a technical challenge would that be for iTunes? I really don’t know.
But the bottom line is, it should be about choice.
Am I talking nonsense?
Thanks.
Stallman seriously disappointed me when he went to Cuba and was feted by Castro.
As for “liberal” being a dirty word, I’ll quote Will Rogers: “I can remember way back when a liberal was one who was generous with his own money.” So apparently liberals had made their own bed for quite some time.
Honestly, the war on poverty and other big-government styled programs are miserable failures. Medicare gets defrauded of millions of dollars every year. Social Security (a huge scam — created by FDR to pay out at 65 when the average age of death was 60) was not even designed to be solvent. Even Clinton admitted as such when he reformed welfare.
The beauty of iTunes is its simplicity. You can get indie artists somewhere else if you don’t want to go through iTunes, right? Emusic anyone? What’s the problem here, really?
Morons. It’s the labels they need to push, not Apple. Didn’t they read Steve’s open letter to drop DRM?