EMI: No more DRM. Yay? Nay?
What’s everyone’s thoughts on the EMI decision to drop DRM from ther iTunes sold music?
From what I’m reading, here’s the opinions so far:
Yays:
- “It’s about time”
- More choice for the consumer
- Others will follow soon
- Higher bitrate = good for audiophiles
Nays:
- This is just a ploy to get an extra quarter for each song sold
- EMI is small fry, this is their desparate last-chance to stay above water.
- Dangerous as if EMI fails, this will slow down the rest of the industry from adopting DRM-free product
I think I’m leaning towards the ‘yay’ side of things. I’ve slowly been trying to ween myself off of iTunes in favor of eMusic. But iTunes is still so much easier to use. I’d gladly pay a few extra cents for not having to deal with DRM.
Some other intereting takes on the announcement:
5 Comments
I’d have to side with you, Darrel. I’m definitely in favor. The less DRM and lock-in in the world, the better — even if it is a marketing plan or a way to make more money per song. Of course, I’ll still be spending the bulk of my music-allocated cash on eMusic and regular old CDs, but now I can at least consider iTunes when I’m searching out new stuff to listen to.
If I had to put on my pundit hat, I’d maybe even argue that higher prices drm-free MP3s now is only going to lead to cheaper drm-free MP3s down the road.
If EMI succeeds, then the other labels will likely follow. EMI being the underdog still may then decide that they also need to compete on price. Might work out for everyone in the long run.
As long as they keep downloading easy (iTunes is good for that) and priced at a point where it’s easier to pay the price then spend time hunting and pecking BitTorrents and the like, they’ll do fine.
As for eMusic, I still love it, but I’m finding the monthly alotment a bit of a pain. I usually end up with a handful left, so I can’t get a whole album, or I forget completely, and loose them all.
I’m leaning towards the yay side as well. I’ve always contended (including on your past DRM posts) that iTunes is just the easiest to use and, even though I would have preferred the DRM free option, it wasn’t so restricting for me to overcome the overall ease of use of whole iTunes/iPod system, but having DRM-free in iTunes is a win-win to me, even at an extra 30 cents a pop.
Higher bit rate (albeit a minor increase) and no DRM? I vote…YAY! It’s small, but it’s progress. eMusic.com is still better for indie stuff.
The Inquirer’s article is disappointingly knee-jerk. It is also condescending and senselessly truculent. Thanks, kids, for bringing the level of the debate down a notch….
The higher price does smell a bit of a snow job. However, it’s also a chance for consumers to show that a higher-quality, non-DRM file is actually more valuable to us. In other words, if people are willing to pay 30% more, it is concrete evidence that DRM decreases value. That is something that, if entertainment companies actually recognize and believe, really could put a nail in DRM’s coffin.