On music
So I decided to sacrifice a night of Oblivion to update my LJ with something that's been on my mind for awhile. It's actually nothing too exciting, but nevertheless, I find it worth writing about and posting here. I'm not sure if many of you knew, but back in February, Steve Jobs posted his "thoughts on music" on the Apple website. Basically, he discusses the current state of digital music and how DRM (digital rights management) is a fairly ineffective way in tackling pirated/stolen music. In his brief article, he gives three possible ideas on what direction record companies and other music-related industries (including Apple) may head toward. One thing Jobs mentions, particularly stands out: "The problem, of course, is that there are many smart people in the world, some with a lot of time on their hands, who love to discover such secrets and publish a way for everyone to get free (and stolen) music. They are often successful in doing just that, so any company trying to protect content using a DRM must frequently update it with new and harder to discover secrets. It is a cat-and-mouse game."
How true.
Now, a couple of days ago, EMI, a major British record company has signed on with Apple to launch DRM-free songs... and high-quality as well! I should back up and clarify a few things. Previously, all songs on the iTunes Music Store (iTMS) had DRM (meaning only playable on Apple computer and/or iPods by the buyer or authorized computers and were all encoded at 128 kbps (which is decent quality, but to audiophiles who can tell the difference, this was apparently low quality). With EMI and Apple's new agreement, all EMI music will now be DRM-free, meaning complete interoperability (plays on iPods, Zunes, whatevers) and encoded at 256 kbps (double the previous quality!) and for 30 cents more ($1.29). While it has always been possible to burn purchased songs onto a CD and then import them back to remove the DRM, this can be quite a hassle, especially if you have many gigabytes worth of DRM-protected songs.
So, with EMI getting rid of DRM, will we start to see other record companies stripping their DRMs as well? I really hope so. I think while DRM was a good way in the beginning to help protect songs from being pirated like crazy, it was never a permanent solution. Like Jobs wrote, people will always find a way to rip or strip DRMs to distribute and/or play on other devices. While I am sure the sales of iPods and iTMS music are almost directly linked, I don't think it is Apple's intention to force people to have to buy their products just to listen to the songs they purchase on iTMS. With DRM-free songs being bought on iTMS, it is very likely people can now distribute these songs onto P2P networks like Limewire and such, but if you think about it, even with DRM those songs were already on Limewire anyway. There were people who were ripping songs straight from CDs and putting them up for download. Yet, despite this, there were plenty of people who still purchased songs legally using iTMS or other digital music downloading programs. So, removing DRM won't really change anything. People who've been buying songs will still buy songs, and at a better quality and not having to have the hassle of stripping the DRM just to put it on their phone or other non-Apple device, all for just an extra 30 cents.
Who knows if companies like Sony BMG, Universal, or Warner (the other three of the "Big Four," with EMI being the fourth) will jump on the bandwagon; in the past, they've been pretty adamant about DRM for fear of stolen and pirated music. But it's hard to imagine them not jumping on the bandwagon if EMI is successful in their move, which I think they will be. After all, all of these songs are just sitting on a server somewhere, so they might as well be moving it. But in the end, it is important to know that record companies are stupid, because apparently, in the past, big record companies were trying to ban the sale of used CDs. Obviously, that didn't work out considering how many small stores there are out there selling used CDs.
One thing I realized the other day that could actually be very efficient (although maybe time-consuming) is buying used CDs, ripping them, and then selling them back to the store. Even if you get back 1/3 to 1/2 of the price you bought it for, you're still getting a good deal. I'm not sure how much a brand-new CD goes for these days since I haven't boughten one in ages, but assuming they cost like 20 bucks, a used one must go for around 10-15. And with 10-15 tracks, that's just about as good as buying a full track on iTMS ($9.99 usually, even when there are more than 10 songs). And then if you sell the used CD back after you've ripped it, you can get maybe 5 bucks back. Furthermore, you can rip the songs at the highest quality if you want and there is no DRM. Genius! But that's besides the point. We'll see how this whole digital music and DRM hullabaloo turns out. I hope for the better.
How true.
Now, a couple of days ago, EMI, a major British record company has signed on with Apple to launch DRM-free songs... and high-quality as well! I should back up and clarify a few things. Previously, all songs on the iTunes Music Store (iTMS) had DRM (meaning only playable on Apple computer and/or iPods by the buyer or authorized computers and were all encoded at 128 kbps (which is decent quality, but to audiophiles who can tell the difference, this was apparently low quality). With EMI and Apple's new agreement, all EMI music will now be DRM-free, meaning complete interoperability (plays on iPods, Zunes, whatevers) and encoded at 256 kbps (double the previous quality!) and for 30 cents more ($1.29). While it has always been possible to burn purchased songs onto a CD and then import them back to remove the DRM, this can be quite a hassle, especially if you have many gigabytes worth of DRM-protected songs.
So, with EMI getting rid of DRM, will we start to see other record companies stripping their DRMs as well? I really hope so. I think while DRM was a good way in the beginning to help protect songs from being pirated like crazy, it was never a permanent solution. Like Jobs wrote, people will always find a way to rip or strip DRMs to distribute and/or play on other devices. While I am sure the sales of iPods and iTMS music are almost directly linked, I don't think it is Apple's intention to force people to have to buy their products just to listen to the songs they purchase on iTMS. With DRM-free songs being bought on iTMS, it is very likely people can now distribute these songs onto P2P networks like Limewire and such, but if you think about it, even with DRM those songs were already on Limewire anyway. There were people who were ripping songs straight from CDs and putting them up for download. Yet, despite this, there were plenty of people who still purchased songs legally using iTMS or other digital music downloading programs. So, removing DRM won't really change anything. People who've been buying songs will still buy songs, and at a better quality and not having to have the hassle of stripping the DRM just to put it on their phone or other non-Apple device, all for just an extra 30 cents.
Who knows if companies like Sony BMG, Universal, or Warner (the other three of the "Big Four," with EMI being the fourth) will jump on the bandwagon; in the past, they've been pretty adamant about DRM for fear of stolen and pirated music. But it's hard to imagine them not jumping on the bandwagon if EMI is successful in their move, which I think they will be. After all, all of these songs are just sitting on a server somewhere, so they might as well be moving it. But in the end, it is important to know that record companies are stupid, because apparently, in the past, big record companies were trying to ban the sale of used CDs. Obviously, that didn't work out considering how many small stores there are out there selling used CDs.
One thing I realized the other day that could actually be very efficient (although maybe time-consuming) is buying used CDs, ripping them, and then selling them back to the store. Even if you get back 1/3 to 1/2 of the price you bought it for, you're still getting a good deal. I'm not sure how much a brand-new CD goes for these days since I haven't boughten one in ages, but assuming they cost like 20 bucks, a used one must go for around 10-15. And with 10-15 tracks, that's just about as good as buying a full track on iTMS ($9.99 usually, even when there are more than 10 songs). And then if you sell the used CD back after you've ripped it, you can get maybe 5 bucks back. Furthermore, you can rip the songs at the highest quality if you want and there is no DRM. Genius! But that's besides the point. We'll see how this whole digital music and DRM hullabaloo turns out. I hope for the better.