DRM Free Music - Is music becomming a commodity?

DRM Free music or plain mp3 has remained an unfulfilled dream for a long time. If you wanted digital music which you could copy from one device to another, your choices were ripping the CD or famous illegal cheap download sites like allofmp3.com or p2p networks. Consumer were forced to limit their choice of hardware devices or music players in the name of protecting the copyrighted music. Once you adopted a particular music vendor, you were very pretty much stuck with that vendor.

Looks like that in 2007 we are seeing new DRM free trends. Studios and music labels, having tried all legal and technical tools in their arsenal to prevent illegal downloads are finally ‘getting it’ and ‘surrendering’ to the demands of consumers. I think we are reaching the tipping point in DRM free music scene and in transition of music from plastic based distribution model to online based distribution model.

Techcrunch is running an interesting article on finding DRM-Free Music Online. GigaOm has also covered the DRM music recently. Mark Hendrickson writes:

The first major label to take the plunge was EMI Music Publishing, which teamed up with Apple in May to release its entire online catalog through an DRM-free area of the Apple music store called iTunes Plus. Also in May, Amazon announced that it would launch an MP3-only online music store with songs from major labels by the end of the year.

Online DRM free music choices mentioned in Techcrunch articles are iTunes, WalMart, gBox, eMusic, Audio Lunchbox, AmieStreet. The pricing models vary with option of buying singles, albums or all you can eat monthly subscriptions (for indie music). With Walmart stepping in the game, it is guaranteed that we will see the reduction in prices ( minus rich site functionality, minus great itunes convenience), though the music may not be made in China.

Wide availability of the DRM free high quality mp3 downloads may be a win-win for everybody in the long run. The trend has just started and will have long lasting effect on the way the music is distributed online and consumed. Today Apple iTunes can control the price and terms, because of vendor lock-in, but with the music becoming DRM free, we will soon see mushrooming of the online outlets offering music and competing on prices. Soon we will see value add products such as video interviews with the artists, behind the scene studio footage etc. thrown in as free bonus with your purchase of DRM free music.

The time has come for commodotization of DRM free music and saying goodbye to plastic (CD’s). No more risk of Sony rootkits embeded on music CD’s. How all this will effect the profitability of the music industry as a whole - only time will tell. But given that DRM free music is more comforting and convenient from the consumers point of view, and the availability of high resolution music, more consumers will be inclined to buy DRM free music which they will own with the comforting feeling that no big-brother is controlling what they do with their music and thrusting choices down their throat.