Earlier in the spring, Fast Forward wrote about the loosening of digital rights management (DRM) restrictions on music files. In theory, DRM software is what prevents hackers and pirates from trading illegal copies of music. In practice, it’s why you need to buy an iPod if you want to carry around the songs you download from iTunes. However, back in April, Apple was preparing to release special DRM-free songs from EMI at a price premium, as CEO Steve Jobs called for an end to DRM software on all music. The digital music field, however, was not static, for although iTunes had a clear lock on music sales, the gradual embracing of non-DRM music by the major labels allowed eMusic.com, the largest purveyor of DRM-free songs, to shoot up and become the second-largest player in the online music business.
However, there’s a big gap between one and two, and sensing an opening, several new players have entered the digital music market this fall with DRM-free offerings. In France, where Apple is facing multiple legal challenges to both the iPod and iPhone on the grounds that the devices fail consumer interoperability standards, Vivendi, owners of Universal Music, began a short-term “experiment” selling DRM-free music to its French subscribers. Shortly afterwards and closer to home, American retail giant Wal-Mart announced it would offer DRM-free music too, beginning with Universal releases. Wal-Mart, however, is not known for having a strong online music presence, so its announcement was less well received than Amazon.com’s declaration that it would make DRM-free downloads available to customers who ordered music from its site. The site was seen as having the potential to rival iTunes, with one catch — Sony and Warner refused to make their music available through Amazon, so for the moment, Apple has the more complete musical roster. Not to be outdone, RealNetwork, MTV and Verizon signed a new partnership to deliver digital music, while TiVo and Rhapsody also made similar deals.
It seems the consumerist dream of being able to purchase a song online once, and then being able to play it on any device or mp3 player, legally and conveniently, is closer than ever.
