iTunes, DRM, and You

Buying music these days isn't what it used to be. You used to buy a record and then own the record and everything that came with it. But that meant you had to buy an album based on your hopes that it would be something you wanted. You couldn't test it out besides listening to a single or reading a review. The internet has obviously changed that dynamic. Downloading or ripping music has now become such a normal way of obtaining music that we now feel like we should not only be able to have the tracks that we download but we should be able to do with those files whatever we'd like. But when you purchase music through the iTunes music store you are in fact only renting that song file for as long as you use the computer it's on. This technology, called DRM, even limits (it knows) the amount of times you transfer the purchased track onto a device like an iPod. DRM exists in a lot of digital files and software these days, doing its best to prevent theft, even if it's at the expense of the honest consumers who are legitamately purchasing the goods.

In early 2009 Apple got permission from the RIAA to start releasing DRM free songs on a platform called iTunes Plus. The problem is that while the DRM tracks are .99cents, the DRM-free tracks will cost a bit more ($1.39). There's also a service that allows you to remove DRM from your previously purchased tracks, but that costs money too (.30 per track). While I don't think I'll use the service (I'll likely choose alternative means fo downloading those tracks if I lose them) I think the RIAA and Apple still don't really "get it" when it comes to music consumption in the ditital age. Increasing prices for DRM-free tracks just alienates those loyal, legal customers they already have who might view this as the final straw and take their business to Amazon, whose mp3 store has been DRM-free for a while.