One small step for freedom

Today, Apple announced that it is phasing out DRM in its music store. By the end of the quarter, Apple says that all songs in the iTunes music store will be DRM-free.

This is good news.

However, I hope that a victory for users in this battle does not lead people to believe that the war is over, or that DRM is just about music. Let's not pretend that this is the end of DRM at Apple. Let's not even pretend that this is the end of DRM in iTunes, as has been widely and erroneously reported.

I'm not holding my breath, but if I have a shred of optimism about this whole situation, it's because Steve Jobs has publicly disparaged DRM in music. DRM elsewhere is no less pernicious.