Following the recent spat of open letters and blame throwing between Steve Jobs and the music industry, there has been much speculation that online music sales will soon be DRM-free. However, where does this leave Apple's media strategy as a whole? Whilst Microsoft have been busy signing up content providers across the globe to Windows DRM, Apple have effectively put all eggs in their US iTMS basket. This not only has locked Mac users out of the streaming and offline content market, but has allowed Microsoft to take full control in a segment that could quite easily have been Apple's.
As such, with the writing on the wall on the music side, is FairPlay already dead? Is QuickTime dead? Have Apple once again proved they simply cannot recognise an advantage and capitalise on it? And as more consumers realise that choosing a Mac prevents them from accessing online media, will it seriously hurt Mac sales?
As such, with the writing on the wall on the music side, is FairPlay already dead? Is QuickTime dead? Have Apple once again proved they simply cannot recognise an advantage and capitalise on it? And as more consumers realise that choosing a Mac prevents them from accessing online media, will it seriously hurt Mac sales?
