A bite off an Apple?

Okay, I’ve got to weigh on this since Apple is threatening to start behaving like its evil nemesis, the dreaded Microsoft. For those not aware, RealNetworks has figured out a way around Apple’s FairPlay Digital Rights Management software that will allow iPod owners to buy music from RealNetworks and play it on their devices. This is a major change in the marketplace because previously, iPod owners were forced to get their music exclusively from iTunes and RealNetworks only sold music playable on their single designated device. As a consumer, this is excellent news because nothing sparks innovation and a price war like competition.

But, alas, Apple is having nothing to do with it and is threatening to force iPod users to upgrade their software such that RealNetworks tunes will no longer work on their devices. They’re also threatening to investigate DMCA charges since it seems RealNetworks might have hacked (and I use this term lightly) their way around Apple’s FairPlay DRM software. Of course, the latter will probably fail since reverse engineering for competitive purposes is excluded from charges in the DMCA, but it’s a viable tactic none the less. As to the former, Apple’s behavior is clearly anti-competitive and smacks of similar behavior that Microsoft has been so heavily chastised, sued, and fined for. For all you state attorney generals and DOJ attorneys who are reading this, “hello, are you seeing this?”

Of course, there’s a writer here who says that Apple should do whatever it can to protect its exclusive business model because it’s in their best interest (duh?). He also claims that the music industry might justify this exclusivity, but his only reasoning for this is because Apple is the first company to make this into a profitable business (in other words, they deserve the exclusivity because they’re the first to market, essentially). Since this argument hasn’t worked for Microsoft or for any of the phone companies (remember AT&T?) I’m not sure why it’s relevant here. Also, the reason the download music industry hasn’t taken off has more to do with the RIAA and their strict licensing requirements than with the companies trying to offer the service. As a consumer, this is a step in the right direction. Next, can I request having access to ALL songs from ALL music providers that is available from multiple providers, in multiple formats, that I can play on any device I own, at any time, as many times as I want, with the exception that I only listen to it on one device at a time? Is that too much to ask, really?