With a mobile phone the way many people in third world countries (like India) access telephony and some measure on online services, DRM-free tracks at huge sizes can be an issue, as they will make downloads prohibitively expensive. Soundbuzz is wanting to avoid a two tier DRM structure, where PC users can access DRM-free tracks, but mobile users are still stuck in a world of crippling DRM.

Sarronwala continues that: “What we need to understand is the impact on mobile music downloads, because no mobile network will let a 256kbps file (7.5mb or greater) through without the consumer paying a fortune in data charges, and that’s if he or she owns a handset that a very large storage capacity”.

“We would also like to clarify whether this licensing regime is applicable to all countries, particularly a market like India which lags behind in terms of broadband penetration and is predominantly a mobile download market. This is true for the majority of Asian markets where mobile music will outsell physical music this year”, concluded Sarronwala.

Clearly, the issue of his the advent of a DRM-free world of music is on the minds of companies such as Sony/BMG and Universal Music Group, too. The BusinessWeek article linked to at the beginning of this article highlights the issue.

In their story, BusinessWeek say that: “In the meantime, Sony/BMG and Universal Music Group are understood to be testing the sale of unprotected MP3s. One music industry source familiar with the testing says that Sony and Universal are discouraged by the example set by Pakman's eMusic, which hasn't managed to turn a profit. They also worry that selling unprotected tracks might cannibalize sales to consumers using mobile phones, a fast-growing segment of digital music sales. Additionally they're concerned that selling unprotected tracks will only add to the perpetual problem of music piracy”.

The eMusic reference is interesting because eMusic is an online music store that has sold DRM-free mp3 files for years, although hasn’t had the support of the majors that have always been, at least until now, pro-DRM.

There’s one thing we can be sure of: a world of digital media without DRM has sent shockwaves throughout the industry. Are movies next? Steve Jobs said ‘no’, at the Apple/EMI press conference, as DVDs have always been sold with DRM, and VHS videotapes were lumbered with Macrovision for years.

But now that the Pandora’s box of an official DRM free world has been opened up, despite having been opened up years ago by DRM-free pirate digital media content that’s still widely available today, it seems impossible to ever put the genie back into the bottle.

Digital media companies need to wake up and realize that their content is a commodity, and needs to be sold cheaply for consumers to want to buy it, instead of pirate it. Buying content legally is much, much safer that pirating it – you (theoretically) don’t need to worry about viruses or spyware screwing up your computer, and in theory, the quality of the content you’re buying is assured – it will be at a high quality, instead of the poor quality that pirated content can often be delivered in.

The big question, now that a DRM-free world is almost officially upon us (with the other music companies yet to jump onto the DRM-free bandwagon), is ‘will consumers pay for content instead of pirating it now that it is DRM-free?’.

The answer depends on what you charge for that content. Make it ridiculously expensive, and the piracy will continue. Offer it at commodity pricing and make your profits through sheer volume instead of high prices, and content providers and creators will be rolling in the money!
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