Whither DRM?

[greatbearmd]

Finally.

It appears that Apple will be selling all music through the iTunes store without DRM. It's about freakin' time. While the FairPlay DRM scheme used by Apple was one of the more flexible out there as far as restrictions and the ability to use your music on a number of computers and iPods, it was still not without it's problems. Those who

Comments

[greatbearmd]

See the reply I gave to Bruce. The comparison can be made, but it has to allow for the difference in technology. How people use that technology is the root of the conundrum.

[greatbearmd]

I should have quantified my statement. It is the same, but far easier and cheaper. But the same is true in the acquisition of music. iTunes and other services make buying tunes an instant gratification bliss right from the comforts of home. But there are also a lot of other factors at play in the decline of music sales. The big one is the economy. A lot of people are cutting back on spending, and things such as music are at the top of the list to cut. The decline of the CD has come about not just from piracy and legal downloads, but a big factor is the unwitting return of the 'single'. People have the option of legally (and illegally) obtaining the one track they like from the CD, leaving the rest. The emergence of the net has raised awareness of the actual value of music and how that is set by the industry. People wonder why the same money is essentially charged on a per-track basis for an album download and the physical product. That sort of thing leads to the dissolution of the perceived value of music. It also has allowed artists

[furr_a_bruin]

Well, frankly - I haven't heard any new artists I liked since the early '90s. The only music I've been buying is either new work by established artists, or back catalogue material. Add the ridiculous attitudes of the major music companies and the RIAA that makes me even less willing to spend money on their product and encourage them to continue acting like petulant brats.

It all results in me not being terribly surprised that their sales are falling - I can't imagine being the only one who thinks that an incredible proportion of what comes out of the record companies isn't worth the polycarbonate it's pressed on.

I have to wonder if companies like CD Baby - where they're upfront about how much they take out of each CD for production costs and let the artists set their own prices - are doing better relatively speaking because people don't feel that they're being taken advantage of in the way the "majors" do.