Rumour has it, as we reported yesterday, that Apple is considering buyinging the Universal Music Group for approximately $6 billion in a bid to strengthen the company's role as a digital media company. The most intriguing part of a potential deal, however, is how it could affect ongoing questions of DRM and the continuing war between the MPIAA/RIAA and their consumers.

Apple, unlike Microsoft, has been considerably quieter about integrating digital rights management or draconian spyware/licensing schemes into their operating system, and while plans to do so may be on the drawing board they've not attracted near the attention or publicised such moves nearly to the same extent. Some would argue that Apple has shown little interest in even treading such a path, especially given the company's history of providing MP3-friendly devices like the iPod or its long-running inclusion of CD/DVD burners in its systems.

Up until now, the consensus has been that Apple, in the end, would be forced to lock-step with whatever DRM system was eventually adopted by the world at large, particularly if copy-protection was integrated into the MP3 file structure which required a compliant player to function. If Apple was to buy its own major branch of the music industry, however, the entire situation would change. With 23% of the market, Universal has tremendous leverage and access to a wide variety of talent. Apple could, if it chose to do so, launch an entirely new online music distribution system or offer songs for download (for a small fee) in the sorts of ways fans have been clamouring for since the dawn of MP3.

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TheInquirer