iTunes DRM FREE MUSIC: What does it mean?

Apple recently navigated the turbulent and murky waters of the music industry to arrive at an agreement, which should give the big players a sort of “checkmate” in their chess game against piracy and the free movement of music. But what does DRM-free mean?

DRM

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a form of access control technology utilized by intellectual property rights owners to curb piracy by preventing the public from being able to copy and distribute digital content. This particular technology has been utilized in recent years by copyright owners in the music, film, and software industries.
Remember what happened when you tried to copy that latest Beyonce CD, the 300 DVD?

DRM uses encryption and authentication systems to scramble data rendering it unreadable to anyone without the appropriate unlocking key ensuring that only users with authorization can decrypt and unlock files. In instances where music retailers such as iTunes utilize DRM technology it means that the tracks can be passed along via internet several times but will have no use to someone that does not have the correct decryption key, i.e. those who have not paid for the track.

DRM does not allow for interoperability, meaning DRM protected tracks can only be played using authorized programs and portable players while DRM – free tracks (general MP3 files) can be played using any software or portable device.

DRM & iTunes

For years, CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs has urged the “Big 4” SONY, WMG, EMI and Universal to “sell songs online without copy protection software because copyright protection had failed to tackle piracy.” Steve Jobs has always argued that the abolition of digital rights management (DRM) would be good for consumers and music suppliers. Up to 2006, several other digital music suppliers such as eMusic (www.emusic.com) were already selling DRM-free tracks using the universally generic MP3 format.
But the big break came on January 6, 2009, when Apple announced that having reached an agreement with the labels (all 4 majors and numerous independents), iTunes would drop DRM from the 10 million tracks in its musical catalogue by April 1, 2009.

WHAT DRM FREE MUSIC MEANS

DRM-free music available on what is referred to as, iTunes Plus instantly translates to “FLEXIBILITY,” “NO MORE RESTRICTIONS” and “INTEROPEARBILITY” which makes it easier for music lovers (like me) to upload iTunes tracks onto either a ZUNE or regular MP3 player. No more confinement to the iPod.
DRM-free also means music consumers will receive higher-quality 256 kbps AAC encoded audio files… not just regular MP3 formatted tracks. This 256 kbps audio quality apparently sounds so good, that it is indistinguishable from the original recordings.

If you ask can I make copies of my music and share it with friends? Yes you can but at your own risk, copyright laws are still in effect and these laws make piracy, illegal.

iTunes advices all its users that their iTunes ID is embedded in every file/track purchased so it can track the original purchaser of a file that ends up being shared on a P2P network.
I spoke recently with a senior member of the team at Digimarc (a US based company specializing in digital watermarking) who informed me that iTunes has not actually tapped into that technology to date. Bark and no bite….? Let’s wait and see

NO MORE 99CENTS

Shedding DRM also means that iTunes has taken on a new three-tiered pricing strategy.

$1.29 – BIGGEST HITS AND NEWEST SONGS
99 cents – THE GUYS IN THE MIDDLE
69 cents – MOST OF THE iTUNES CATALOGUE HERE

So I will finally be able to build on my catalogue because according to iTunes most of their songs will be priced at the bottom end of the pyramid. BUT UNFORTUNATELY FOR THE ARTIST THIS MEANS THAT If their song is not classified as a BIG HIT/NEW/POPULAR….then this means less money going to their royalty checks!

UPGRADING TRACKS

So what do you do with your entire DRM protected iTunes catalogue that you have been building for a few years? Well, you will be able to upgrade them to the DRM-free, better-sounding versions, but it will cost you 30 cents per song, 30 % of the current album price for complete albums and 60 cents for music videos. I’m sure this will add up if you have an extensive library (go to the iTunes Store homepage and click upgrade to iTunes Plus to see how much it will cost you).

If you decide to upgrade you will have the option of keeping your DRM protected tracks or deleting them.

WHAT DRM-FREE HAS DONE FOR ME

Well as for me….I plan to clear out all my P2P downloaded tracks from my computer and iPod and actually purchase songs from now on…I have to, I’m on the side of the artist and I know how much the royalty checks mean to them…they have bills too.

At least now maybe I can legally afford to discover, purchase and download music….69 cents at a time.

What does it mean for you?