Over this past weekend Apple and EMI Records announced that they would sell DRM FREE (Digital Rights Management) tracks to consumers via Apples iTunes Music and Video Service. At first glance it seems like such a great deal. Finally the record companies are showing some love by providing us with DRM FREE content leaving us free to use the music any place we see fit. The content can now be played back on multiple systems in the home and transferred to multiple IPODS, but all is not what it seems here in “Wonderland”. While everyone was “excited” about DRM FREE content no one really questioned Apple and EMI’s real motive: Raising the price on DRM FREE content by $0.30 (thirty cents). Apple and EMI managed to pull the wool over the eyes of everyone on April fools day, ultimately having the last laugh and increasing the size of their wallets in the name of recovering money that has been and will be lost to piracy (with or without DRM).
Why do I feel this way? Because Apple and EMI are now charging for DRM FREE content at 1.30 per song instead of the usual .99 per song, screwing us once again. Basically, we are being extorted into paying 30 extra cents for something we should have received in the first place: “OUR FAIR USE” rights. Now we have to pay for those RIGHTS? WTF? DRM has always been difficult to use and typically results in sync problems with portable devices and nothing but headaches if you use multiple PC’s or OS’s (on the same system). Therefore you should not get excited about this DRM FREE content until they really provide us with DRM FREE content at the SAME COST (or LESS) as the current content and with NO CONDITIONS. How do you feel?
04-05-2007, 07:18 AM
Linear Mode
