Apple's DRM system in iTunes and iPod, FairPlay, has worked too well meeting the the demands of the studios, according to The Guardian. With the enormous popularity of the iPod, that DRM has worked against music players without FairPlay, and now rivals to iTunes are realizing that the solution is to give up on DRM.

Giving up on DRM means first having an understanding of what the effects would be, so the industry has been experimenting with DRM-free music, notably EMI. "The industry has finally been able to get some hard data about how removing DRM restrictions from legitimately purchased tracks affects piracy," said Bill Rosenplatt, the president of GiantSteps Media Technology Strategies. He specializes in DRM issues. "The statistics show that there's no effect on piracy."

If that's really true, then the industry has a new avenue to undermine the overwhelming popularity of the iPod and the control Apple has on pricing. Selling DRM-free music is one way of avoiding having to deal with Apple.

Mr. Rosenblatt foresees that one one weapon Apple may have against that move is a music subscription service, and Apple already has the mechanism in place for movies. The ideas is that Apple customers, with a huge library to choose from, would likely never buy from third party services.

Mark Mulligan, a music analyst at Jupiter Research agrees. "It's highly likely Apple will get into the next-generation service game. That could be Apple selling iPods preinstalled with unlimited access to music, or with a bundle to a subscription offering," he said.

Mr. Jobs has reiterated over and over that customers prefer to own music, not rent it. However, with the competitive landscape possibly changing, Apple may have to change its tune.