Does DRM Enable Online Music Innovation?

chia_monkey writes "An article at the Tech Law Forum asks the question 'Does DRM Enable Online Music Innovation?'. The piece looks 'at the range of legitimate online music distributors to see just how much the presence or lack of DRM affected business models.' It's a rather interesting read as the author breaks down seven online music stores (iTunes, Napster, Yahoo! Music, Zune, eMusic, Amie Street, and Magnatune...four of which use DRM and three that don't). The article mainly focuses on the ownership and 'renting' of the music (which can be seen with the 'buy the condo downtown' and 'rent a mansion in the slums' analogies) and how it applies to innovation and perceived business models. The numbers don't lie ... price-per-download is the clean winner while DRM-based models also take the lead. Will the market shift toward subscription based models in the future? Or, will DRM go the way of the dodo bird (as Steve Jobs has already proclaimed his preference for)?"

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[Anonymous Coward]

"Does Rape Enable Sexual Intercourse Innovation?"

Re:Problem

[Butisol]

Hit alt + F4 to activate the keyboard self-cleaning mechanism.

Sure..

[pickyouupatnine]

It helps build smarter code crackers, but thats probably not what TF meant by 'innovation'.

Re:Steve Jobs is a liar

[nine-times]

Please stop repeating that canard that Steve Jobs has a "preference for getting rid of DRM." That is absolutely false....

I am an IP lawyer working on music licensing. The industry consensus is that Steve Jobs is a publicity hog and pro-mp3 his editorial was an attempt to take credit for upcoming rumored announcement from the major labels regarding selling in non-DRM format. Rumor has it that such shift will occur within a few months.

Holy crap. I guess I've just been entirely gullible to believe Steve Jobs. Not anymore, though! From now on, I'll only listen to the record industry's lawyers!

Re:No allofmp3.com?

[TheGratefulNet]

(I second that emotion) ;)

in fact, I just tried a*mp3.com and while visa was still 'disabled' mastercard still works. works fine.

3 cheers for the russians.

(can't believe I am saying this. 20 yrs ago, who would have thunk...)