iTunes

EU Commissioner for Consumer Protection Meglena Kuneva has come out against DRM lock-ins like Apple's iPod-iTunes combo. Kuneva said she believes the tie-in that keeps music bought from the iTunes Store from playing on MP3 players other than the iPod was unreasonable. '"Do you find it reasonable that a CD will play in all CD players, but an iTunes song will only play on an iPod?" asked Kuneva. "It doesn't [seem reasonable] to me. Something must change."' The EU is in the midst of an effort to harmonize its consumer protection laws, and along with the question of DRM tie-ins it is also looking at mandating cooling-off periods during which customers could 'return' downloaded music."

I think that this is an important point. My personal biggest gripe with digital music is its inability to mesh well with other technology. I am personally a legacy machine lover. I don't need the latest and greatest models, so with that bias taken into account I still think proprietary music is wrong. Music should be about expressions and emotions, not about making money. Technology needs to grow and evolve.