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September 21, 2007

music

Puttin’ the “DRM” in “drama”, day 228: Bronfy shows his softer side

Posted Sep. 21, ’07, 10:46 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Music

Edgar BronfmanWhen Steve Jobs unveiled DRM-free downloads on the iTunes Store back in May, he boldly claimed that, by the end of the year, half of the music on iTunes would be available in DRM-free formats. We’re still a long way from the end of the year, it’s true, but we’ve yet to see another label sign on. Sure, Universal is trying its hand at DRM-free downloads, but not on iTunes. And the other major labels, Sony and Warner, seem to be holding out.

But soft, what’s this? A crack in the facade of notable DRM-lover Warner CEO Edgar “Bronfy” Bronfman, Jr?

“DRM is here to stay, whether it’s here to stay on every business model in the music business is open to question,” [Bronfman] said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference.
Well lob me a chunk of brimstone and call me Beelezebub. Okay, as facade cracking moments go, it doesn’t exactly register on the Richter scale, but this is Edgar Bronfman we’re talking about. The man who said that Steve Jobs’s push to drop DRM was “without logic and merit.” Perhaps he’s seen the logic and merit of cold hard cash.

There’s still three months and change left in the year for Steve Jobs’s oracular statements to come true. But in order for that to happen, at least one major label is going to have to crack. Or Universal will have to bring its DRM-free tracks to the iTunes Store. Or, and here’s a crazy thought, Apple’s going to have to start working with the indie labels who have been pushing for DRM-free music. Chop chop!


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