Apple and the RIAA: Jobs' interview

Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2003 2:16 am

Jobs wrote:

Of course. What's new is this amazingly efficient distribution system for stolen property, called the Internet -- and no one's gonna shut down the Internet.

And it only takes one stolen copy to be on the Internet. The way we expressed it to them was: You only have to pick one lock to open every door.

This is the heart of the problem that companies need to understand. Although the term "stolen property" isn't correct: downloading a "copy" != steal. Perhaps Jobs is just trying to be politically correct.

For example, let's say you can replicate physical objects in Star Trek style. Would you go after someone who "copied" your Ferrari as you would after someone who stole it, so you no longer have a Ferrari? No. It will be a different world.

And he didn't say this for perhaps the same political reason, but I think with media distribution through the internet, there won't be a need for middlemen like record companies. With the internet, you no longer have the "barrier to entry" as you would with printing CD's and getting yourself known to the world. I've experienced this myself: no one knew about isoHunt a few months ago. On the internet, if you provide the content, it takes little for people find you.