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Lessig to Steve Jobs: If you want to open DRM, start with CC music like Colin's
February 11, 2007
It is a special week indeed when Lawrence Lessig mentions my music in the same paragraph with Steve Jobs. He writes:
The Net’s ablaze with talk about Steve Job’s call for the end of DRM for music. That is really fantastic news and contrary to what many of us had believed he believed. For one feature (from Apple’s perspective) of DRM is that it ties iTunes to Apple devices. No DRM would end that tie as well.
So bravo to Apple and Steve Jobs. About this I am happy to be proven wrong. But then here’s a simple next step: There are artists on iTunes whose creative work is Creative Commons licensed. Colin Mutchler is one. When his stuff first went into iTunes, he requested the DRM be turned off. The request was refused. But if no-DRM is Apple’s preferred policy, then let them begin here.
He's right that I had emailed iTunes requesting that they turn off the DRM for the Premixed album on iTunes. I received an email response essentially saying no (unfortuntely, the actual email has been lost when my laptop was stolen), but that I should contact another department about it, which I haven't done.
So hopefully Steve Jobs and iTunes will take Lessig's challenge seriously and accept the opportunity to highlight non DRM'd music on iTunes for all of us at Magnatune, CCmixter, Splice Music, and other collaborative music communities that enable releasing albums of CC licensed music.
Posted by Colin at February 11, 2007 3:00 PM
