As Apple and iTunes Store have increased in popularity over the years, I've heard constant criticism of Apple for not selling their music DRM-free, that way, anybody can play any iTunes-purchased song on any computer, anywere, with any operating system. That's all well and good, but it doesn't take much understanding of the issues to realize that DRM is the choice of the record companies, not Apple. So why does Apple have DRM at all? Without some kind of copyright protection, the big record labels would never have agreed to sell their songs through iTunes Store. Furthermore, Apple is only one of many online stores that sells music with built-in copyright protection. The record labels are so paranoid about this that they've repeatedly tried to produce audio CDs that have built-in copyright protection (think Sony). It's all just big and stupid, because data shows that most consumers are willing to pay for a product, but don't want to be shackled by stupid things like DRM on a CD they legally paid for.

Anyway, those crazy Europeans have been complaining more and more about DRM'ed music through iTunes Store, and Steve Jobs just came back with an awesome response:

"Much of the concern over DRM systems has arisen in European countries. Perhaps those unhappy with the current situation should redirect their energies towards persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free. For Europeans, two and a half of the big four music companies are located right in their backyard. The largest, Universal, is 100% owned by Vivendi, a French company. EMI is a British company, and Sony BMG is 50% owned by Bertelsmann, a German company. Convincing them to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace. Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly."

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