I'm expecting a "Special Music Event" soon from Apple - The Beatles iPod complete with music and their films.

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I'm expecting a "Special Music Event" soon from Apple - The Beatles iPod complete with music and their films.

Date Created: 10 Feb, 2007, 02:25 PM

In a previous entry, I suggested that The Beatles catalogue ought to be the first DRM-free recordings to be made available in a new version of iTunes in line with Steve Jobs' recently published anti-DRM views.

Those views have garnered, quite expectedly, a variety of industry responses, many discounting of Job's proposals, while the blogosphere has in part missed the forest for the trees, preferring to focus on hidden motives and "what's in it for Steve?"

The "What's in it" has veered from "selling more iPods" to "establishing Steve as a music industry visionary" to "Steve as moving more and more to an open source model".

My blog entry where I suggested The Beatles as the first non-DRM recordings prompted a comment suggesting that one of the big four, EMI, had the rights Apple needed to pursue for digital distribution of Beatles merchandise.

My guess is that it's a rather complex mix of commercial interests all of whom must feel they're getting a fair shake (compared to shakedown) for digital Beatles to become a reality.

Since my blog entry, some music-based websites have reported that EMI is indeed preparing to go non-DRM, and has been for a while.

Whether that was something Steve Jobs picked up on and ran with, or whether he was an integral part of discussions about - inclusive of Beatles deals and special iPods - remains hidden from general view for now.

But it certainly does feel that the stars are aligning, with the January Keynote's heavy emphasis on Beatles albums giving a very strong whiff of something brewing.

It seems to me the music and video world are almost holding their collective breath waiting for breaking news. DRM is broken and needs a major public whack on the head - a real divide and conquer approach, and Apple is in such a position with its dominant music download and iPod business to deliver the whack.

So, how long before we see a special music event announced by Apple at San Jose or Moscone? Which special guests might be invited to attend? The surviving Beatles? Family members of the deceased Beatles? Representatives from anti-cancer research and charity facilities to whom a portion of sales of a special Beatles-loaded iPod will go?

And what of that iPod? A Yellow submarine? A Strawberry Fields? An all-white, like the album? A current model iPod or something more resembling an iPhone (Nah... that would come after June wouldn't it?) And what will it contain? The entire collection, plus some hidden, hitherto unknown collectors' items, PLUS The Beatles movies, including A Hard Days Night, Help!, Yellow Submarine, and perhaps even some of the whacky cartoons I remember watching as a kid on Saturday morning television?

All DRM-free.

You know, there are a variety of ways of appealing against piracy, which is the music industry's stated fear in favour of DRM, despite the bulk of its sales coming from unprotected CDs, as Jobs stated.

Jobs himself said it was "bad karma" the day of the the release of the iTunes Music Store in 2003. He also stuck to the 99c quantum, in the belief that it was more expedient to purchase guaranteed quality tracks with a fairly liberal DRM (which could still be burnt to unprotected CD) than download from Kazaa for nought with its inherent risks.

And of course, he made the shopping and buying experience easy and fun, so with one click you preview, and one more you download and your iPod(s) sync. And iTMS adopted some of the Amazon.com/MySpace idiosyncrasies like tracking your interests, and making suggestions, and creating iMixes to share with others.

Now perhaps add that each sale of a Beatles iPod (or albums) will generate funds for cancer research and you further dissuade some from privacy (while some will always pirate even if a cure from AIDS or cancer was just around the corner - it's in their nature).

Who wants to take a bet we'll hear of a special music event emanating from Infinite Loop very soon? Jobs has laid out the bait, some have bitten, the rest of us can but watch as some very smart people are about to make fools of themselves.

Thank you Professor Sternberg (above) for helping us understand how that happens. Should be required reading for RIAA members.