Napster to SEC/Investors: Apple's DRM Is Killing Us

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last month, Napster complained that it cannot sell (most) major label music to iPod or iPhone owners — a state of affairs that continues to crush efforts on the part of non-iTunes music stores to gain market penetration [as one reader pointed out, this wasn’t a […]

Napster
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last month, Napster complained that it cannot sell (most) major label music to iPod or iPhone owners -- a state of affairs that continues to crush efforts on the part of non-iTunes music stores to gain market penetration [as one reader pointed out, this wasn't a random complaint, but rather part of a standard summary of business risks].

Although Apple's iTunes sells un-DRMed music from EMI that can play on certain non-Apple devices, the iPod and iPhone only support one form of DRM: Apple's FairPlay. In the filing [PDF], Napster stated,

"Our software is not compatible with the iPodmusic player, the current equipment market leader, nor do we expect itto be compatible with the iPhone cell phone... If we cannotsuccessfully design our service to interoperate with the music playbackdevices that our customers own... our business will be harmed."

Napster has a point here, of course, and other stores (including SnoCap) have expressed similar concerns. Apple is already the target of a class-action antitrust lawsuit filed [PDF on CNET] by iTunes user Melanie Tucker. If the iPod and iPhone continue to dominate, it seems conceivable that the SEC[/FTC] could eventually step in and force Apple to open up FairPlay.

*(via informationweek; *image from salon)