The Brave New World of Music DRM

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We all know the law of conservation of matter, in which it only changes forms. Well, apparently that rule applies to music DRM – just when we thought it was going away someone reminds us that it is still there … just in different form.

As the graphic above shows, some of the biggest sources of non-owned music – YouTube, Spotify, Rhapsody, etc – all have exclusive DRM that restricts use. Even on iTunes there is DRM wrapped around almost everything except music.

It is easy to say ‘well, Spotify and similar services HAVE to use DRM to protect their streams otherwise it would be an unlimited download free-for-all’. True … But it is a reminder that should you leave one service and come back after a few months, all of those ‘offline downloads’ will be useless and you’ll need to redownload again.

Also, YouTube has been shown to be a ‘guilty until proven innocent’ world where sometimes takedowns are done for spite, and other times Google simply removes content for no apparent reason.

Can you think of other places where DRM has sprung up now that our MP3 purchases are almost entirely DRM-free?

Source: DMN

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About the Author

Michael Anderson
I have loved technology for as long as I can remember - and have been a computer gamer since the PDP-10! Mobile Technology has played a major role in my life - I have used an electronic companion since the HP95LX more than 20 years ago, and have been a 'Laptop First' person since my Compaq LTE Lite 3/20 and Powerbook 170 back in 1991! As an avid gamer and gadget-junkie I was constantly asked for my opinions on new technology, which led to writing small blurbs ... and eventually becoming a reviewer many years ago. My family is my biggest priority in life, and they alternate between loving and tolerating my gaming and gadget hobbies ... but ultimately benefits from the addition of technology to our lives!