iTunes, EMI, DRM and sliding music sales

Stephen Withers
Monday, 28 May 2007 08:49

Your IT - Home IT

EMI and Apple said DRM-free tracks would be available on iTunes by the end of May. There's only a few days left, but the word is that they will deliver.

According to the generally well-informed French site MacBidouille, one thing that's held up the DRM-free higher-quality versions is a desire for a 'big bang' release rather than dribbling them out over a period of time. MacBidouille's source is anonymous, but said to be well informed.

PaidContent  offers a different spin, interpreting an EMI spokesperson's comments to mean that an "exclusive" item to be part of the release of Paul McCartney's solo back catalogue will be the 'one more thing' to accompany the  arrival of DRM-free tracks.

It will be interesting to see the effect that DRM-free digital downloads will have on the market. On one hand, people want to be able to play the music they buy on any device they own, whether that's an iPod or another portable player, a phone, all their computers (including the one at work) and so on.

On the other, it will be even easier for those so inclined to distribute unauthorised copies of DRM-free downloads as they won't have to go to the trouble of ripping the tracks from a CD.

The trouble is, EMI's decision to combine higher-quality encoding with the removal of DRM means it will be very difficult to see which characteristic is most valued by buyers. The proponents and opponents of DRM will probably find a spin to put on the outcome - whatever it turns out to be - of EMI going DRM-free.

Which raises another issue - to what extent has the labels' use of copy-protected discs (you shouldn't call them CDs, as they work by failing to comply with the relevant standards) contributed to the decline in sales of conventional singles and albums? Sony certainly lost a lot of friends by releasing discs containing a rootkit as part of the anti-copying measures.

I can only judge from my own reaction, but I steer clear of any disc labelled with a copy-protection warning as I'm not prepared to take the risk that it won't play properly on my computer.

It's easy to blame unauthorised copying for the decline in music sales, but what other factors have been at work?