iTunes Drops DRM…
Not technically design… but never mind.
I just spotted a post on Brand Republic which states that iTunes have just announced a new pricing structure and the removal of DRM (Digital Rights Management) from their catalog as part of their new iTunes Plus sales model.
This raises some interesting points.
I believe this move is a sensible one to increase profits. This, of course, goes against the original reason for DRM – rights management was created to avoid illegal sharing and copying of files to protect the copyright and ensure the music industry didn’t loose out.
Personally I have avoided iTunes and similar services in the past as getting DRM tunes and audiobooks to work on my various obscure Windows Mobile devices has been a nightmare (to the point where I gave up). I will still have a bit of an issue with my own perception of Apple taking over my computer – but the main reason I avoided such services has now been removed. iTunes will now be easier and quicker than any alternative method of obtaining music and audiobooks – easier than many of the illegal peer to peer and download services out there.
Today many people live in a world of convenience. I remember (with misplaced nostalgia) the days of the original Napster – 45 mins-2hours to download a single track over a 28.8 or 56k modem… only to find out it was mislabeled and start again… every track was an event. Unsigned bands started to release tracks and gain small followings (long before the days MySpace was around to help) and everyone would download and share these unreleased tracks between them each eager to find the next rare interesting act. Today you download a file of a bands entire back catalogue of CDs with cover images in minutes. There is a whole world of fun finding new bands on MySpace, but the actual download of a track is now a mere inconvenience – something to get over with in a few seconds.
This is where iTunes can now truly shine. It already had a great interface with Apples usual care and attention spent on the user experience and stylish design. And now the tracks are far more accessible and, well, useful. If I buys a track I expect to treat it like a CD and take it wherever I go, play it at home, at work, in the car, in a player when I go for a walk and so on. DRM made that much harder (especially for anyone not using an iPod). For Apple enthusiasts using iTunes, iPods and iPhones it has always been seamless – but now those who use an array of devices and computers can enjoy the same freedom.
iTunes is also a seller for audio books from audible – I am hoping that they will follow suit as the player for my device for their .aa format is a: ugly and has a fairly poor user experience b: only supports the low quality versions of files (which cost the same as the high quality ones) and c: I don’t like having lots of extra and not so user friendly audio players when Windows Media works so well on my phone. Taking audio books out with me when I am traveling to work or doing a long boring food shop would be handy.
Visual interface wise iTunes has some new features for browsing your library and auto-generating play lists I can see becoming standard for MP3 libraries in the future. As well as all the big changes they have also added visualisations to the player which look quite nice:
Links:
Brand Republic
iTunes
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Woo Haa Haa – I’ve found your blog. There’s no escape now!
The variable pricing thing was a concession to the record labels to force through the DRM thing. It’s something they’ve wanted from the start. The thing that annoys me is that the DRM-free music doesn’t work retrospectively. If I want to DRM-free my collection then I’ll have to pay per track to release it from its shackles. TechCrunch did some fag packet calculations. If every track that had been purchased on iTunes was released from DRM it would generate $1.8bn in revenue. Great for the record labels. But hey, they’re dead anyway longer term.
Hope you’re keeping well.
Hi Simon,
Am well thanks.
Very good point about the fee to remove DRM from previously bought titles – this will generate a huge revenue if people using iTunes from the start want to un-DRM their current tracks…
I wonder if they will greatly reduce this fee. Prehaps they will move from a fee per track to a ‘free your collection’ single price? I am pretty sure the number of complaints will be quite high if they do stick with a per track price, they risk being seen as penalising loyal and long term customers.