Reply #172: DRM is a HUGE reason for why people aren't flocking to non-itunes legit services [View All]

[Ignacio Upton]

itunes became popular because the ipod was the first popular digital music player. itunes was riding on the coat-tails of the already popular ipod. Consumers saw itunes as an extension of the ipod as a platform, and in contrast to crappy rented music services such as PressPlay and Rhapsody (the former going under, with the later not flourishing even today) they could actually keep their music. However, if you want to use the "premium" download feature on Napster, then your songs will not play on an ipod. On the other hand, if you decide to replace your ipod with a competing mp3 player the next time you want a new one, your songs from itunes will become obsolete. Apple effectively has you locked in because of the RIAA's bullshit insistence on DRM (although EMI is starting to move in the right direction on this.)