thomas fitzgerald.net

While reading a story in the Register yesterday about the infamous Forrester Research report about iTunes Sales declining, (no they’re not) I came across an interesting bit of information that got me thinking. According to the Register Columbia, UK boss Mike Smith predicted music would be DRM-free within 12 months at the recent “In The City” music convention in Manchester in October. This follows the success of MP3 Download site, Emusic.com. It would appear that record labels seem to be showing a renewed interest in DRM free music.

This is somewhat ironic, as it was the major labels that forced Apple to adopt DRM in the first place. Since then Apple has effectively owned the Digital Download space, despite many competitors, all of which have failed to gain anything like iTunes’ traction in the market. While the success of Apple’s music service has been a great boon for digital downloads, the Labels have been less than enthusiastic about their somewhat stubborn partner.

Despite attempts by label bosses to get Apple to open up its DRM to competitors the company has held fast, feeling it needs to protect its valuable iPod sales. Similar attempts to get them to agree to variable pricing have also been met with stiff refusals. This leaves the record companies in something of a quandary. The beast that they created has now come back to bite them. Had it not insisted on DRM in the first place Apple would not now hold all the cards. The ubiquity of the iPod has guaranteed that any competing but incompatible music service will almost certainly fail to ignite the market the way the labels want. And while Microsoft has demonstrated that it has no qualms in doing the record industry’s bidding, the zune looks set for spectacular failure.

What the industry, rightly or wrongly, badly wants is for competing stores to be able to have music they sell playable on the iPod. This really leaves them only one choice. As apple won’t unlock their DRM the only thing they can do now is use a DRM free format. Emusic.com made its name for selling unlocked MP3 files from independent labels. And despite the size of its catalogue it has done quite well. Every day the myth of the necessity of DRM looks shakier and shakier. The argument that it prevents piracy is complete nonsense, because any tracks available for download through a protected format are already available on most file sharing sites anyway. All DRM has served to do is restrict the rights of every day consumers and erode the concept of ownership.

If the music industry does allow unprotected mp3 (or other format) downloads on a large scale it will be a huge win for consumers. And ironically it will be Apple’s refusal to open up its fairplay system that leads to it. This will probably have only a marginal effect on the iTunes store in the end, because Apple could unlock their format if they wished, and it’s more than just iPod compatibility that has secured iTunes place as the leading provider of legally downloadable music, it is also the stores ease of use and the power of Apple’s brand. Even with iPod compatible songs from other services, Apple would probably still remain number one, even with a reduced lead in the market.

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