are Apple’s iTunes customers really suckers?

This weekend I read Thomas Hawk’s post entitled "iTunes, One Billion Suckers Served." Thomas claims that Apple’s iTunes is bad for customers in a variety of ways. Thomas does make some good theoretical points, however, he misses the mark in seeing the big picture. His post is riddled with "what ifs…" Did he forget that Apple invented technologies like Quicktime, Firewire, Rendezvous (now Bonjour) and the iPod. Perhaps he didn’t realize that Apple was also the first to champion MPEG 4, which is what the AAC format is, by the way. The list goes on. Apple continues to be a company that leads the industry with innovation, unlike another others who rely on purchasing their competitors in order to stay ahead.

Criticize what you’ve never used

I’m always amazed at those who are instant experts on something they’ve never used . Thomas claims that iTunes is bad for customers, but admits he’s never even used iTunes or an iPod.

Personally I’ve never bought an iTune and I don’t own an iPod. I think Apple’s DRM is awful and represents a major step back for us all. I think those that are investing in iTune digital libraries are suckers. You are basically betting that Apple’s proprietary DRM laced format will be the standard for the rest of your life. You are paying too much for your music and tying yourself to only Apple products going forward. More innovative ways to play your music may indeed come in the future but unless they are marketed by Apple you will not likely be able to use these devices with your iTunes files due to Apple’s tight proprietary control.

There are a few clear problems here. First, he’s claiming that Apple’s DRM, one he has no experience with, is awful and represents a major step backwards. I would agree that DRM is awful, but understand why it’s needed – people steal. In an ideal world where everyone is responsible, there would be absolutely no need for DRM. Unfortunately, there’s a small crowd who seems to regularly screw things up for the rest of us. Thomas even cites references to BigChampagne and BitTorrentWell as examples of how people are "sharing" music. Illegal sharing is stealing. Wipe out illegal file sharing and we can wipe out DRM. Personally, I don’t see illegal file sharing going away anytime soon. So, I don’t expect DRM to go away either.

Apple’s DRM model is pretty fair. You can legally share the music with up to five computers, unlimited iPods and burn 10 copies of an album on a CD. That pretty much covers any legal use you would need. Those who ask, "What if I want to burn 11 copies?" Well, why would you need to burn 11 copies? Chances are, it’s not for something legal. If you focused on doing the right thing in the first place, we wouldn’t have to deal with DRM.

Next, he claims that you’re paying too much for your music. I can’t recall the last time I could purchase pretty much any album I wanted instantly for $9.99. Yes, theoretically I can purchase a song at BestBuy for $10, but the reality is that this is not the typical case. And when I don’t want the whole album, I’m not forced to buy it for the sake of getting a handful of songs I want. Close to 50% of the iTunes songs are individual song purchases. That’s quite a few people buying entire albums and quite a few buying only the songs they want.

As to his remark that you’re tying yourself to Apple products, well, yes that’s entirely correct. But the iPod has proven to be a remarkable product, maintaining around 70% market share. Looks like a lot of people are happy being tied to the iPod.

The clever "what if…" argument

What happens when the killer phone is finally here? You know the one, built in terabyte of storage, lightening fast file transfer speeds, full satellite radio, a breathalyzer, your car and house key, a tiny little thing the size of credit card with a 12 mega pixel camera on it (hey it’s the future right, we can dream). What happens when this phone is out and you really want it and unfortunately Apple didn’t make it? [...] So who owns the music anyway? You or them? They do. You bought nothing. You bought the right to play their song on their product. It might work today. But I’m not about to bet that this will be the format du jour 10 years from now.

When the killer phone gets here, chances are either Apple will introduce it, or they’ll improve upon it. They will understand that it shouldn’t have a built-in breathalyzer, because it doesn’t need it. And let’s suppose that MPEG4 isn’t the format du jour 10 years from now. Whatever the industry standard format is, again, chances are Apple will invent it, or they’ll embrace it and improve upon it. Industries change. Devices change. Formats change. Fortunately, Apple has continually lead the industry for change. But I digress. Now, where were we? Oh, yes, that lousy DRM thing.

This is where it gets interesting. Thomas is against DRM, but outlines several methods for people to "share" (remember that’s illegally sharing, which is really stealing, kiddies) music.

[...] Let me ask you a question. Can you rip your friends CD on your PC? Yeah I guess you can. Can you rip your brother’s CD on your PC? Yep this works too. Can you copy your entire digital music library of 100,000 mp3s and give a copy to your brother on Seagate 500 gig drive? Theoretically it’s possible right? What about sneakernet? Again, theoretically. Would it be possible to send that same hard drive via the U.S. mail to your new friend that you met last month on your My Space account? And would it be considered sharing if he sent it back to you in the mail full of his own 70 or 80 thousand favorite tunes. Welcome to the darknet ladies and gentlemen.

And what if you are just dying to get the latest CD from that hot new band. Again, theoretically, would it be possible to go down to Amoeba records, buy it for $14, take it home and rip it, then return it within 7 days to get 75% credit back? What’s that like $3.50 for the new CD? And with 12 songs that’s like what 29 cents a track? Hmm… would I rather have a crystal clear high bit rate mp3 track for 29 cents or a sure to be antiquated DRM bloated track from iTunes for 99 cents?

Yes, you can copy your entire 100,000 MP3/4 music library and give it to a "friend" – illegally. Last year, someone I know, who will remain nameless (and if anyone asks me, I’ll quickly forget the name), gave away his/her entire music library to someone they met at a huge music convention. Yup, the whole thing. Interestingly enough, this person is really into Indie labels, you know the little guys. Someone, being pro little guy, but illegally giving away your entire music library to someone else who didn’t pay for it seems kind of contradictory to me, but again, I digress. BTW, I was told this is pretty standard practice.

Oh, and as to whether or not you would rather illegally have a "high bit rate mp3 for 29 cents or a sure to be antiquated DRM bloated track from iTunes for 99 cents…" Well, I’ll take the higher quality MPEG 4 format over the inferior MPEG 3 format, legally, every time. Newsflash – you don’t legally own that 29 cent track since you returned the CD. Oh, and btw, MP3 is so ’90s.

Not really advocating privacy

Now, Thomas claims that he’s not advocating piracy, well, not really. Good thing, cause we don’t want the RIAA coming after us, now do we:

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not advocating piracy here, per se. But the way I see it, if Apple is going to go to war with me the consumer to lock up my music and keep it off my innovative new devices of the future, then this doesn’t really represent a valid step forward away from piracy at all.

Is Apple going to war with the consumer, or is Apple required to implement something due to a handful of consumers are breaking the law? Apple is a company who gets experience. I’m sure that if they could avoid DRM, they would. But it’s those who are stealing music via P2P and abusing Amoeba’s return policy who are ruining it for those of us that are honest. You want to speak out about something worthwhile, speak out against the root of the problem – people stealing and sharing music illegally.

So, people of the world, can you please stop stealing music so those of us who are honest consumers don’t have to deal with DRM? There. It’s done. Now, let’s see if that will work.