EMI-Apple Deal: The Beginning of the End of DRM?
by Cynthia Brumfield
Steve Jobs wasn’t blowing smoke in his public call for an end to DRM after all. At an event in London this morning attended by the Apple CEO (which received the usual blizzard of pre-event speculation frenzy in the blogosphere and mainstream media), EMI Music became the first record label to agree to sell DRM-free music on iTunes, and extended the offer to other online music retailers.
EMI will make its entire “repertoire” available without the controversial security software on a premium basis — not only will the music be free of the annoying DRM restrictions, meaning it will play across all digital devices, but the DRM-free tracks will also have enhanced sound quality, twice that of standard sound-quality tracks offered with DRM, the label said. The premium price is $1.29, compared to the standard $.99, per track. Full DRM-free albums will sell at the same price they do today and will be upgraded to enhanced sound.
Speaking at the event, Jobs said that he hopes to persuade other record companies to follow EMI’s lead. Jobs also took a jab at critics who thought his earlier public request for an end to DRM was not sincere.
Some doubted our sincerity to break the iTunes bond between the store and iPod player. Hopefully, people can see that Apple is only concerned with doing the right thing for the customer.
DRM problems have plagued the music business online for years. Differing technologies have hampered the transport of purchased music from one device to another, fostering, some believe, even greater piracy of copyrighted, particularly given that CDs are sold without encryption technology. Moreover, plummeting sales
The music industry’s history of selling physical CDs with no encryption is a big justification for eliminating the technology online. It’s also, according to Jobs, a precedent not found in the video business, which is why the elimination of security technology won’t extend to iTunes’ sale of TV shows and movies.
I knew I was going to get that question today. Video is different, they never distributed 90% of their wares DRM free like music companies. So he doesn’t hold the two in parallel.
EMI’s decision, embraced by the biggest online music retailer, is probably the beginning of the end of DRM, with other record companies, and other online music retailers, likely to follow suit in the coming months. DRM was driven by fears that without encryption, music released online would be subject to rampant piracy, damaging CD sales and foreclosing a robust market for web-based sales.
In fact, the opposite has occurred. Although sales of legitimate music online are on the upswing, unauthorized P2P-based music downloads still tower over the legit kind — five billion to 509 million, according to the latest stats from NPD. Moreover, despite DRM-encrypted offerings, CD sales are plummeting.
ipmediamonitor.com |
