Consumer organisations from Norway, Finland, Germany and France met with iTunes in Berlin last week to discuss the question of a more consumer friendly online music market.

In January 2007 the organisations joined forces to achieve more consumer friendly conditions for iTunes users throughout Europe. Since then there have been significant changes in the music market. During the last months, the record companies, artists and competing online music stores have made important steps towards a DRM-free market.

- iTunes has still a way to go
iTunes has also taken some positive steps towards interoperability, the most important being the launch of iTunes Plus in April 2007. This service makes all music from EMI and a large number of independent labels available for purchase without DRM. But so far, no deal has been struck between iTunes and the three other major record companies (Universal, Warner and Sony BMG) to provide DRM free music. Thus, the consumers are still prohibited from playing a large part of the music available on iTunes Store on other mp3 players than an iPod.

- We believe consumers have a right to play material purchased online on a portable device of their own choice. Our ambition is an open market in which the consumers are free to choose between several alternatives. iTunes still has a way to go to achieve full interoperability, says the Consumer Ombudsman in Norway, Bjørn Erik Thon. 

Amazon with DRM free music in Europe
Many new online music stores have been established during the last six months. One of them is Amazon mp3, launched in September 2007 in the United States. On the 27th of January 2008 Amazon.com announced that they will launch its DRM-free music store in Europe in 2008. Hopefully, this will encourage iTunes to intensify their efforts towards achieving interoperability.

- iTunes has a great share of the digital music market. The development during the last months, puts pressure on them to speed up. If iTunes intends to keep its leading position, they must have an active dialogue with the record companies, underlines Mr Thon.

The consumer organisations will ask Amazon for a meeting to learn more about their ambitions on the European market and to make sure that Amazon mp3 will offer DRM-free music.

Record companies with important role
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, responded to the European consumer organisations´ press release in February 2007 with an open letter, where he put pressure on the record companies to abandon their use of DRM. The record industry has taken important steps in this matter, and the consumer organisations think that dialogue with the major companies is of key importance to further development.

- We expect the record companies to continue their work towards full interoperability. Warner, Universal and Sony BMG are all lagging behind EMI in the move towards interoperable and consumer friendly solutions, and we will now initiate meetings with these three companies to discuss the issue with them, says the Norwegian consumer ombudsman, Bjørn Erik Thon.

The consumer organisations will also continue their dialogue with iTunes, and will have a new meeting later in 2008.

- iTunes share our goal of full interoperability, and we hope for substantial progress from iTunes in this matter in the near future, says Mr Thon.

For further information, please contact:
Bjørn Erik Thon, Consumer Ombudsman. Tel: +47 99 00 50 90

This release is available in Norwegian in the box to the right.