Download Squad

Is DRM headed the way of the Dodo bird? Depends on who you ask. In a recent survey, performed by Jupiter Research, 62% of European music execs said DRM free music would sell at a quicker pace, and 54% felt current DRM systems were too restrictive. A divide still exists however, as only 48% of major label execs felt DRM was holding back sales, compared with 73% of independent label execs.

I forecast during the last week of 2006 that DRM was going to die a pitiful and ugly death in 2007. Even Steve Jobs recently argued that DRM needed to go, much to the surprise of anyone who's given much thought to the link between iTunes lock in and iPod's success story. So we're warming up for DRM's big funeral, right? Not so fast. Jupiter analyst Mark Mulligan warns, "Despite everything that has been happening the record labels are not about to drop DRM, even though all they are doing is making themselves look even less compelling by using it."

DRM is a lot like hiring Barney Fife to guard your record store. He irritates the paying customers while the shoplifters just laugh behind his back and walk away with the merchandise. How much longer can the Fife-like DRM hang on to a job it does so poorly?