As the President and CEO of Bathtubmusic.com, I have always been an advocate of DRM FREE music and have put that position into practice at Bathtubmusic.com. Our position has always been that DRM FREE music will in fact make the pie considerably bigger for all those involved in the music industry, from consumers and manufacturers of electronic devices to record labels and artists.

Apparently, Steve Jobs has come full circle. Apple has benefited substantially from its unique business relationship with the BIG 4 (Universal, Sony BMG, Warner, EMI). I was therefore encouraged to read that Apple is embracing the virtues of a DRM FREE world. Looking at it objectively, it quickly becomes obvious that the majority of music today is sold on a medium that is DRM FREE, primarily CDs. The medium of choice today for music delivery is still the compact disc - ten times more CDs are sold in dollars than downloadable music. My point is aligned with Steve Jobs’ new conclusions: CDs are not copy-protected, because most consumers do not play them on DRM managed devices. So why are we trying to fit a round peg in a square hole?

As I look at the state of the BIG 4, (our industry’s version of the “AXIS OF EVIL”), they currently control 70% of the music sold on a worldwide basis. They need to embrace the paradigm shift that the new world order will be DRM FREE music! Music will be controlled by the people, and not by the majors. I believe that the independent musician, in particular, stands to gain from DRM FREE music.

Imagine a world where music can be played on any device, any medium at the control of the users. The world of silos will need to be torn down. Downloadable music that can only be played on proprietary devices - Microsoft on Zune, or iTunes songs on iPods, or Sony’s downloable music on Sony music players - will be replaced with music that can be played on any device in a cross-platform, DRM free environment. We need to continue the fight to put music back in the control of the artists that create it and the fans that buy it - and I commit to Bathtubmusic.com doing its part.

Great job, Steve, on finally being open to seeing how music will one day ubiquitously be available.. DRM FREE!

Sincerely,

Moses de los Santos
CEO
http://www.bathtubmusic.com
“Where the MUSIC makes a splash!”

Bathtubmusic.com is a musician friendly, advertisement free, independent CD store that sells music sent to us directly from musicians all over the world.