DRM’s Death Knell?

It began with the Apple/EMI deal to release higher-quality, DRM-free tracks on iTunes: the first major unshackling of the onerous restrictions placed on digital music since the dawn of…well…since the dawn of iTunes. The EMI CEO, Eric Nicoli, speaks as if he knew the PR we wanted to hear, saying "Our goal is to give consumers the best possible digital music experience. By providing DRM-free downloads, we aim to address the lack of interoperability which is frustrating for many music fans." Yet, a breath later, he reveals his true motives, which are not grounded in an altruistic belief that music should be free: no, the goal is to make more money, of course. Nicoli continues, "we believe that offering consumers the opportunity to buy higher quality tracks and listen to them on the device or platform of their choice will boost sales of digital music."

So, we get the freedom we want for a small fee…the DRM-free tunes cost $1.29 instead of the usual 99 cents, but then again, they are higher quality. Yet, quality alone won’t make me want spend more. Not to offend all the audiophiles out there, but sometimes low-quality is just fine for my musical flings, such as that brief addiction to "Fergalicious." The question will not be whether you will buy un-DRM’d, but what tracks will be worthy of it. If DRM becomes an option, as opposed to a requirement, three tiers of music will arise: the high-quality, unrestricted tracks from your favorite artists; the DRM’d tunes for your music-of-the-day; and the free tunes your friends share with you (now that they have the option) which, in turn, may prompt you to buy more music after you hear how great their favorite band is.

Next in line to free the tunes is Microsoft…maybe. Playing catch-up, M$’s Zune marketing director, Jason Reindorp, announced "We’ve been saying for a while that we are aware that consumers want to have unprotected content." But me-too! Microsoft has to wait and watch Apple blaze the trail, hoping that freed-up tunes will loosen the tight bond between the iTunes store and the iPod. Microsoft is definitely eager to compete with the iPod based on things like service, colors, and screen size.

In the end, that leaves us, the consumers, on what may be the beginning of a DRM-free (for a small fee) era. Soon, it will be the cool thing to be the company that offers the most unprotected music for sale. Even if this option costs us a few more cents, it’s well worth the price to turn the tide - to get the labels thinking that the best way to profit in the digital world is to unlock the music. And if we can bring the labels around, then, hopefully, the studios will follow.