DRM-Free Music is a Welcome Release From Restrictions

DRM restricts downloaded songs’ playability

     In the old days, stealing music literally meant walking into a store and walking out with an album hidden away somewhere. These days, however, in the digital age, songs are much more easily ripped from CDs or shared on the internet. That is where Digital Rights Management comes into play. DRM is a collection of technologies that protect digital music from being copied or shared. It is meant to ensure that the musicians, producers, and the record company involved receive payment for the music that consumers enjoy. When a track is shared illegally for free, those people do not get paid and have had their work “stolen.”

DRM helps producers get paid, while DRM-free helps everyone

     DRM covers both digital music on CDs and music files downloaded through iTunes and other online music stores.  On CDs, it consists of security codes that block the CD from being copied; once the CD has left the manufacturer, though, those security codes are quickly cracked.  This is why DRM focuses more on music stores online.  Many stores in recent years have sold tracks that have DRM; for instance on iTunes, tracks could only be played on up to 4 computers.  On other stores, the number of times a song can be played or the types of devices allowed were restricted.  Now, however, the trend is for music stores to go DRM-free.  iTunes transitioned in 2009, and they have now joined the ranks of Amazon and other large stores that offer unrestricted access for a slightly higher price.  This model helps both the producer and consumer, since the producer gets paid and the consumer doesn’t have as many restrictions.

Personally, DRM isn’t a technical problem, but a personal freedom issue

I’m a big fan of owning a physical copy of the latest CD from my favorite bands (and I’m a proud minority on that front!). In fact, just this morning, I went to Best Buy and picked up Green Day’s album, ¡Uno!, which was released today.  For artists I’m not as hugely into though, I use Amazon Music. Amazon offers DRM-free mp3 files for $0.79 to $0.99. I used to use iTunes, but once I learned about the restrictions and that they use the AAC file format, I transitioned to Amazon.  To me, DRM doesn’t impact me too much; I just put the mp3s in my library and on my phone which are both accepted uses of DRM songs.  It is more of a personal issue with having restrictions on my music. I would rather have options rather than being told that I cannot do certain things with music I paid for.