Record Labels Contemplate Unrestricted Digital Music

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There’s been much talk this week of (at least one of) the record companies finally coming to their senses and considering selling music online as unprotected MP3s. There are two reasons why this makes eminent sense:

  1. iTunes is the dominant online music retailer and the labels resent that they are beholden to Steve Jobs (and his refusal to employ variable pricing) for access to the iPod. But they don’t have to be. The iPod plays unprotected MP3s. If they set up shop in a form that is at least a little bit as elegant as iTunes, then they could easily do a run-around Apple. They would then also have great leverage next time they have to re-negotiate with Jobs. Apple likes DRM because it solidifies their hold on the MP3 player market.
  2. But won’t unprotected MP3s expose their music to pirating? Wake up and smell reality, folks. DRM does nothing to stop music piracy. Every song in creation is already available as an unprotected MP3 on P2P services such as Kazaa. Selling unprotected files doesn’t mean that they will all of a sudden make available to pirates music that the pirates have never been able to get their hands on. The fact is, the recording industry has been selling music in an unprotected forever in the form of CDs.

Jan 23, 2007 | Comments Off | Tags: , , ,

Record Brother

I recently found this great site. The proprietor digitizes and posts MP3s of out-of-print spoken word vinyl records, many orphan works, I’m sure. My favorite LP: “Conversations Regarding The Future Of Architecture” featuring Eero Saarinen, Mies Van Der Rohe, Walter Gropius, and others.

Mar 3, 2006 | Comments Off | Tags: , ,

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