Steve Jobs wants the music business to drop restrictions for digital tunes. But Microsoft, which began competing head to head with Apple in the digital music business last fall, is happy with the way things are, says media exec Robbie Bach.
On Tuesday, Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) chief Jobs suggested that the music industry stop forcing online music services like his iTunes to use software that restricts what people can do with the music they purchase, such as sharing it with friends.
Some observers applauded Jobs' memo, insisting that letting people freely share legally purchased digital music--like they've been doing for decades with CDs--is good for the business. Others say Jobs is just playing nice to European critics, who question the legality of "digital rights management" (DRM) software on digital media.
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