Music Companies Mull Ditching DRM

PoliTech writes to mention an International Herald Tribue article that is reporting the unthinkable: Record companies are considering ditching DRM for their mp3 albums. For the first time, flagging sales of online music tracks are beginning to make the big recording companies consider the wisdom of selling music without 'rights management' technologies attached. The article notes that this is a step the recording industry vowed 'never to take'. From the article: "Most independent record labels already sell tracks digitally compressed in MP3 format, which can be downloaded, e-mailed or copied to computers, cellphones, portable music players and compact discs without limit. Partially, the independents see providing songs in MP3 as a way of generating publicity that could lead to future sales. Should one of the big four take that route, however, it would be a capitulation to the power of the Internet, which has destroyed their monopoly over the worldwide distribution of music in the past decade and allowed file-sharing to take its place."

ohh, this isn't a good thing...

[jimstapleton]

next thing you know, they'll be using OSS editing tools
then servers...
After that?
It'll be pandemonium, they'll be joyfully frolicking in the free and open streets... Arms flailing, chainsaws revved...

Wow! This is going to make some great reading...

[justinbach]

...right after I get back from my ski trip to hell :-)

Oh, the irony

[geoff lane]

Microsoft cripples Vista with DRM and the potential users of DRM don't want it?

Oh, the irony.

What's this vinyl you speak of

[Itchyeyes]

Vinyl? They make siding out of that right?

Obligatory Fark Reference

[Anonymous Coward]

"It's a trap!"

-Admiral Akbar

(What? That quote didn't originate on Fark? Oh, frak.)

Re:Mod Parent Up

[Anonymous Coward]

Funny, I actually thought that was a wonderful description of Heaven. Audacity and chainsaws. Mmmmmm.

Re:Goodbye itunes

[alanQuatermain]

Please tell me that's sarcasm. I can already hear the footsteps of all the 'iTunes is teh evil DRM' trolls thundering over to agree ... *shudders*

I mean, sure they're funny to watch, kinda like that little kitten that's so determined that it's going to catch you and drag you off by your ankle. At some point, though, you start to feel like you really ought to just put them out of their misery-- after all, they can't really be happy like that, can they?

-Q (whose iTunes library, incidentally, contains only four or five albums from the iTMS)

Re:About time

[somersault]

*shuffles his feet* :/

Flagging Sales?

[sconeu]

For the first time, flagging sales of online music tracks are beginning to make the big recording companies consider the wisdom of selling music without 'rights management' technologies attached.

But I thought we needed harder DRM because the flagging sales were caused by those Evil Content Pirates(tm)!!!!!

I'm so confused, I don't know what to believe anymore!!!

Re:What's this vinyl you speak of

[Gr8Apes]

It was the successor to wax tubes.