I Wanted It, But Now I'm Not So Sure Anymore

I've always been very interested in the issue of file sharing, at least as far back as the collapse of Napster. It's been fascinating--and very frustrating--to watch this debate evolve. My position is that digital music and the online transfer of music (and movies), whether via the marketplace or through "pirated" means, is inevitable. It's baffling to me to watch the member companies of the RIAA ferociously fighting this movement towards the digital realm.

In the last couple of years, the RIAA companies have insisted upon placing DRM technology in their music when it is sold online. It is a strategy doomed to failure because any and every DRM restriction can be cracked by someone determined to get around it. The buzz this year, though, is that 2007 will mark the end of DRM, and that all music companies will begin to release their catalogues on unrestricted MP3s. Just this week, Steve Jobs posted an open letter advocating the end of DRM restrictions, and there are rumors that EMI is planning to drop its insistence on DRM. Warner and Universal are still holding steady, but I think that once one member company of the RIAA gives up DRM, the rest will quickly follow.

It makes perfect sense that they would. Currently, if they sell music through iTunes, they are selling restricted music that can only be played on iPods. If they agree to start selling MP3s, then their music can play on just about any music player, and they will be able to sell their music through the other online music stores that are popping up. It makes sense that the more outlets for music and the more music players that can play music files will only lead to more sales.

Apple's deal with the RIAA companies is that Apple is forced to enshroud their AAC files in DRM, and that if Apple's DRM is ever cracked, then the companies can withdraw their catalogues from iTunes. But as it currently stands, it seems to me like Apple is holding all the cards--if Apple decided to sell unrestricted music files, would the record companies really be able to withdraw their music. They could, but it would be like committing suicide, given the declining sales of CDs and the growing demand for buying and listening to music online.

Another thorn in the RIAA's side has been Apple's pricing. The greedy record companies want variable pricing which would allow them to charge however much they want for particular tracks. Apple won't let them do that, but without DRM, and with the freedom to sell their music anywhere they want, they would be free to open up their own online stores, or make deals with existing online stores, to sell their music for however much the market will allow.

I hope this year does mark the end of DRM. Once the RIAA embraces the new world we live in and stop fighting the inevitable, the future of the music industry will become much brighter.