Supporting DRM-Free Music

[DreamThrall]

I'm sure some of you already know about Amazon's growing DRM-Free MP3 service. In case you don't, or aren't entirely informed, check out this article:

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001113.html

For example, Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 on 256-bit DRM-free MP3 is just $9.99 from Amazon. The same album is also $9.99 from Apple, but you get DRM. And there are tons of tracks on Amazon that are actually less expensive than on iTMS, so you get better music for less money without the DRM hassle.

Better quality. Less money. And no evil, consumer hostile DRM! It's almost unbelievable. Needless to say, I've been buying as much music as I can from Amazon to vote with my wallet and demonstrate to the music labels that yes, giving the customer what they want does pay. And you should too. Every purchase of DRM-ed music, in the face of Amazon's excellent alternative, is an implicit vote for more useless, aggravating DRM on your music.

 

[staticprimer]

Once I found out that Amazon's mp3 downloads were DRM free, I never went back. Seriously, they're the same price, and it has the same selection (sometimes more). There's just no reason not to.

 

[Sulkdodds]

Please note that Amazon MP3 is currently only available to US customers.

 

[DreamThrall]

Ohh... sorry

 

[Raziaar]

United States of America - Progressive.

 

[Parrot of doom]

Or just buy from www.play.com and get full 16 bit 44.1khz resolution and no DRM, and a physical product you can hold and resell.

 

[DreamThrall]

okay, we're not talking about physical products here.

 

[Dekstar]

Or I can just download the DRM-free music for free myself.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Or I can just write, record, and produce the damn DRM-free music myself.

 

[AtomicSpark]

RIAA: DRM not dead and likely will make comeback

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9939189-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

 

[DreamThrall]

Yeah says the RIAA... but once people start using DRM-free services, they aren't going to want to go back to using DRM.

You'll get no argument from me that the RIAA and the major record labels are as close as you can get to pure evil while not actively killing small children, puppies, and kittens. Well, not in public, anyway. I'm sure they'd be charging us a trillion dollars per song -- no, per byte of the song -- if they could get away with it.

But clearly, they can't. There are certain market realities at work here. There's absolutely no historical evidence that a type of media, once it is officially sold DRM free, can somehow revert back to the DRM model. I am somehow reminded of software developers who desperately try to "revoke" the GPL after they've adopted it.

So if the labels want to disrupt the power of the iTunes machine by doing the right thing for customers and irrevocably breaking the back of DRM on music, that is the beauty of pure competition working for us, the users. This is a level of progress on the DRM front that I thought we would never see.

 

[Parrot of doom]

okay, we're not talking about physical products here.

No, we're talking about DRM-free music, which the Compact Disc contains.

 

[Asus]

If I were to actually trade money for digitally downgraded media then I would definitely buy from Amazon, no doubt about it. (I buy cds)
Wasn't there a small collection of DRM free tracks on itunes as well though? 256kb and all.

 

[Wanted Bob]

I dont really care, I have a program that can remove the DRM from all iTunes music should I ever get a different MP3 player.

 

[bryanf445]

I use sound taxi. It works wonders.