Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, posted an open letter on the Apple website stating that Apple does not want to continue towing the Digital Rights Management (DRM) line for the Big Four music labels. Three analysts -- two with JupiterResearch, one with Shore Communications -- offer different perspectives on whether this is a PR/image stunt, public posturing for upcoming private Big Four negotiations, or simply a case of well-timed and well-intentioned transparency.

The JupiterResearch blogs offer two different takes on Jobs' and Apple's motivations. David Card gives Jobs the benefit of the doubt, in the post, "Jobs Says: Let My Music Free!". An excerpt: "Jobs joins Yahoo Music's David Goldberg among others in suggesting the music industry give up on DRM and distribute unprotected digital music. Just like they do on CDs. His main argument: it doesn't work anyway. He's right. We at Jupiter have long been saying no DRM is uncrackable. But it's not quite that simple."

Mark Mulligan takes a different view in the post, "Steve Jobs Hates DRM, It's Official". An excerpt: "So now that Jobs has laid out his ideological store Apple will have both a better defence against EU groups and a better positioning among the Apple hard core aficionados, who (as influencers) will ultimately trickle down the message to the masses via blogs etc. (And of course mass media coverage of the letter will help)."

Those speculating that the "long tail" should save the day will benefit from Mulligan's conclusions in a January 12 post on EMI: "No so much long tail as amputated tail-stump."

Meanwhile, John Blossom analyzes Jobs' position for the benefit of the publishing industry, which has its own interests and agendas with DRM and the digital economy, in Shoreline Communication's Contentblogger. He points out that Jobs' open letter offers very little in the way of innovative thinking or options for moving forward. Blossom advises all types of content publishers to think about new business models.

An excerpt from his post, "Jobs DRM Bombshell: A Real Stance or an Opening Position?": "If publishers move in the direction of accelerating rather than slowing down user-managed distribution channels, they are far more likely to build online revenues than if they had dragged their feet. Instead of wringing their hands about lost revenues from online distribution, music publishers could be focusing on how to harvest the best music that the online world has to offer and to package it for physical media such as CDs and other platforms most effectively. Just as print publishers are thriving with custom printing, music publishers can begin to build a new industry profile by using their CD production capabilities to build more high-end products tailored for individualized tastes."

Find the complete Jobs letter, "Thoughts on Music", at http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic/.

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