Slaying The DRM Dragon

Finally, good news for a change.

Apple and giant record label EMI have agreed on a deal to lift DRM (digital rights management) restrictions from music files sold on Apple's iTunes service.

While Apple chief Steve Jobs had previously called for an end to DRM, this is a huge step for EMI -- and for the recording industry. It signifies real movement away from the record industry's offensive paternalism and toward selling online music in ways that actually benefit music listeners.

Without DRM, we can listen to these files on any music machine and/or software we might have, burn CDs as needed, not have to worry about having to buy the music AGAIN if one device crashes, or worry about the format becoming obsolete.

In addition, the songs will be encoded as higher-fidelity 256kbps AAC files, bumped up from 128kbps. (I would still vastly prefer the standard MP3s, but at least conversion should be relatively easy.)

Jobs is reportedly courting other music companies for a similar deal, and claims that half of the iTunes song library will be available without DRM by the end of the year.

Of course, there's a downside. DRM-free songs will cost $1.29 instead of $.99. And The Beatles will not be available, even though the band is the jewel in EMI's crown.

But what does all this mean to the record industry? Some analysts predict it will boost online music sales. For me, this deal makes using iTunes an actual possibility. I declined to use the service because I don't have an iPod and wasn't interested in dealing with all the restrictions. Now, though, I might just change my mind.

But according to The Register, this is the beginning of a tectonic shift in the music industry:

By removing the ludicrous, artificial countermeasure of DRM it's now plain that individual unit sales of songs and even albums aren't sustainable for anyone in the digital world, except as publicity vehicles or loss leaders.

In related news, PC World reports that despite the deal, Apple won't push to pull DRM from video files.

And finally, the European Union is alleging that Apple -- along with the major music companies -- are restricting music sales in Europe by allowing consumer to only buy from the iTunes store in their home country.