I just read this article that says pricing on the iTunes Music Store will drop in April 2009 to 69ยข for many songs, and that all tracks will eventually be offered without Digital Rights Management. And it reminded me of a question I’ve been wondering for a while now: is iTunes’ DRM really that obtrusive for the average non-bootlegger?
I’m not arguing in favor of DRM and surely, the malicious use of DRM technology, such as the Sony Trojan Horse scandal a few years ago, is certainly wrong. It’s just the restrictions that iTunes Music Store tracks come with that I’m wondering about, because for me, they haven’t been a cause for grief at all.
Not being able to have my iTMS tracks on more than 5 devices is certainly not a problem. Does the average person have more than 5 devices to put music on? I’d like to be that guy! Until very recently, there was only one computer in my house. When I was working, I didn’t like to listen to music at work, so that wasn’t going to add into my 5 device limit. If the average person owns an iPod, iPhone, desktop, laptop, and two more of some other device to make the limit a problem….well damn! Explains why so many people are in debt.
I’ve never needed to burn the same playlist 10 times, and even if I did, all I’d have to do is change the track order and it’ll let me burn another 10 copies. So this limit is also not a problem for a non-bootlegger such as myself.
The whole debate made me think about how for some reason, the culture in this country is, everyone thinks they’re entitled to stuff without doing much for it, or nothing at all. I’m not gonna lie and say I’ve never watched the copyright infringement fiesta that is YouTube. And in the past I downloaded a small number of tracks of foreign artists if they weren’t available legally domestically or through a trusted foreign online retailer (which is really unnecessary these days that the iTMS does carry a lot of J-rock and video game music, and now I know about CD Japan). Everyone says, “the record companies don’t need more money” and “the artists make very little off of CD sales anyway.” But the record companies have employees other than the fat cats at the top. What about them? What about the people working at the design house that put the album art together? Or the cameraman at the video shoot? The editors at the post-production company? If we all loyally went to the concerts and spent our money at the merchandise tables, then I guess it would be okay to never pay for a single track or video.
Well, that paragraph was slightly off topic. ^_^ I was initially just curious if the iTMS DRM was cumbersome for average users, and if so, how?
I’ve actually never used iTunes because I don’t have an iPod. I’ve got an MP3 player though, but I haven’t used iTunes with it… so unless I have the CD to burn the files to the comp and convert them, no music for me. And I actually think you make a really good point in your slightly OT paragraph
. I think I’m pretty guilty of using statements like that, but I hadn’t thought about all the people that work behind the scenes before. It’s good to think about those things!
Yeah, as big a Mac fan as I am, I’ve never felt the need to buy an iPod. I don’t listen to music on the go enough to justify the cost. I was tempted to get one once they reached such great storage heights they could be used as bootable external drives, but otherwise…too rich for my blood!