Music executives judge Jobs, lament losses

At a music conference held in NY. music execs took an opportunity to give Steve Jobs a good ole fashioned roasting. In a world where music sales are declining and executives are looking for a scape goat, it is only natural they need someone to pick on. The bitching session really never resolved a single issue. The major conclusion was that the labels are still in favour of DRM.

In other news, the RIAA has setup the P2P Lawsuit website. Rather then use the legal system, they continue to use scare tactics to get students, computer illiterate mothers, and grandmothers to settle quicker.

It is EXTREMELY constructive moves like this that make me wonder what sort of future the music industry has.

From the article:

"Imagine a world where every online store sells DRM-free music encoded in open licensable formats," Jobs wrote in a letter that rocked the music industry. "In such a world, any player can play music purchased from any store, and any store can sell music which is playable on all players. This is clearly the best alternative for consumers, and Apple would embrace it in a heartbeat."

Jobs' position was perceived by many in the music industry as a 180-degree shift in direction. The view expressed at the conference is that Apple has maintained a stranglehold on the digital music industry by locking up iTunes music with DRM.