Tech analysts have been saying for years that DRM is actually preventing growth in the digital download market, and is doing little to reduce the online piracy rate. The most commonly cited example is the incompatibility between Apple’s iTunes, the most popular online music store, and any digital music player that is not an iPod. Even Steve Jobs isn’t a big fan of Apple's 'Fairplay' software. In a revolutionary move, Apple and record giant EMI began offering DRM-free downloads earlier this year. No other major music makers have followed, but it’s believed similar deals are imminent, in a sign that music labels’ love affair with DRM could someday expire. Consumers would say it’s about time. The most convincing vote against DRM is its inability to do precisely what it’s designed to: limit piracy. According to the 2007 Digital Media Survey, in Britain, illegal downloads increased year-on-year by seven per cent, while the growth rate of legal online purchases slowed. Furthermore, 61 per cent of respondents said they regard DRM as an invasion of their rights, and, separately, 49 per cent called it “a nuisance.” The same report, which was carried out by the media law firm Olswang and the consultancy Entertainment Media Research, explored consumers attitude towards DRM in relation to stopping piracy. Nearly two-thirds said they agreed with the need to include some form of copy-protection into digital content, but urged that DRM, as it is currently designed, is doing more harm than good. How badly do consumers want music companies to ditch DRM? “More people would prefer to pay a little extra to buy tracks free of DRM than would prefer to pay the standard price and have restrictions,” the Digital Media Survey concludes. Paying for extra flexibility, as EMI and Apple touted earlier this year, may not put an end to piracy, but it could bring media companies closer to another elusive p-word: profits. Such a decision, however, would sink PlayReady. Back to page one. Bernhard Warner is a technology reporter based in Rome. He is the former European Internet Correspondent for Reuters and, prior to that was a senior editor at The Industry Standard. His work has appeared in Wired, The Times Online, Time and The Guardian, to name a few. He also works as a Web 2.0 consultant for Custom Communication

published on 14 Sept 2007