In a statement released February 6th, Steve Jobs, chief of Apple, Inc., fired a shot across the bow of the “big four” record labels–Universal, Sony BMG, Warner and EMI. Jobs says that if he had his way Apple would sell music on the iTunes Music Store with no DRM. It’s a surprisingly firm statement, a response from public complaints about the lack of interoperability between various music stores and MP3 players (music purchased on the iTunes Music Store can only be played on an iPod for example). Jobs also points out that much of the DRM fuss has happened in Europe where “two and a half” of the big four are based.

He lists three options for the future:

1 - Continue as usual (Apple, Microsoft, Sony keep proprietary system).
(Advantage - big four are happy. Disadvantage - messy, consumers suffer)

2 - Apple licenses it’s DRM system (FairPlay) to everyone
(Advantage - easier for the consumer. Disadvantage - unrealistic, not secure)

3 - The record labels allow music to be sold DRM free
(Advantage - consumers win big. Disadvantage - labels lose profits to piracy)

Always a politician, Jobs clearly favors #3, which puts him in a face-off with the big four, but makes him a champion for the consumer.

Curiously, the statement comes one day after an announcement that Apple, Inc. has settled with the Beatles’ record company Apple Corps, although there is no mention of the settlement in Jobs’ statement.