Two years after angering the recording industry with its "Rip. Mix. Burn" ad campaign, Apple Computer Inc. has won its cooperation in creating the Internet's least restrictive commercial music service yet.
The iTunes Music Store announced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs on Monday draws from all five major labels in offering more than 200,000 songs at 99 cents a download - and includes some big name artists who previously shunned online distribution.
Apple lets customers keep songs indefinitely, share them on as many as three Macintosh computers and transfer them to any number of iPod portable music players. No subscriptions are necessary and buyers can burn unlimited copies of the songs onto CDs.
How generous. 99 cents and Apple will let you keep the songs indefinately, vs free and I do whatever I want with them. Hmm. Obviously they didn't hear about the ruling on Friday. It gets better.
"There's no legal alternative that's worth beans," Jobs told reporters and industry analysts at San Francisco's convention center.
Jobs has intensely courted music industry executives, who have been leery of digital music downloads and have aggressively used lawsuits and lobbying to stem the illegal copying and distribution of copyright works. That wariness has hamstrung other online music distribution models, keeping most of the best new music offline. (Oh really. The best new music is kept offline? News to me.)
Morris, attending Monday's launch, called it "a defining moment in the music business." (me thinks he needs to get over himself)
By allowing people to do pretty much as they please with their digital copies, Apple and the music industry are acknowledging that, due to digital technology, online file-swapping can't be eradicated. (I pretty much do what I want now, so thanks.)
"You can't stop piracy, so you have to work with technology, and you have to get into the rhythm of it. That's what Apple has done here," said the musician Seal, who was at the announcement.
"It's not stealing anymore. It's good karma," said Jobs (so THAT'S where all this bad karma came from)
"I think it'll change the world a little bit," Leigh said. (your world must be very tiny if this is going to change it)
Until now, most music found online lacked the blessing of the major labels - BMG, EMI, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal and Warner. (I lack the blessing and I feel just awful)
Excuse me, I have music to steal...
