I have been looking forward to this.

Prerequisite for this post: read

I don't want this to be just another attention-getting anti-DRM rant. I do want to offer my opinion and some possible solutions that may have been overlooked or left on the drawing board. I will also mention I have read countless blogs on the subject, and have written a research paper on copyright protection in the music industry, so I have a bit of know-how in that aspect.

The root of the DRM issue is the often seen dilemma of the hardware/software mix. Since the beginning of modern day computing, there hasn't been a time without constant conflict and misunderstanding between the operating system and the application. Same with iTunes (DRM) and the iPod. Yes, they seemingly go together in a Utopian society where illegal P2P networks don't exist, but this is not the case in reality. On average according to Jobs' research 3% of all songs on iPods are DRM-protected (AAC's most likely). So, either artists are giving out 97% of their music for no charge, or people are finding another way to get music on their iPod. First of all, did jobs really think that by putting the words "Don't Steal Music" on every iPod packaging that he could rid the world of P2P networks like Kazaa and Morpheus? No matter his reasoning, I believe he now finds himself somewhat responsible for correcting the situation. All the Mac lovers look up to him in a cult-like fashion so it's no surprise he can garner attention easily. I can imagine him thinking, "Let me just write this essay on how to solve all the problems of DRM and not-so-subtly place it on the Apple home page." Writing this was only the first step, and Jobs knows that, but what comes next? Will he lobby against the "big four" for no DRM? Will he team up with Microsoft and Sony to create a universal-format media player? First thing he will do is think. I cannot tell you what he will or won't do, but he'll have some help. Maybe even funding for a new, format confounding music sharing hardware/software package. Can this be done with traditional Apple hardware and software? One would like to hope so for the R&D's sake. What I can tell is that this is an enormous issue, and the major labels are scramming to: 1) Figure out what a DRM is. 2) Why 20% of the music market share has been slipping away from them to online store sales. 3) How to compromise. (Is the latter even possible?)

The concept of illegally downloading and sharing music is widespread, and will continue to grow as more people gain internet access and as long as retail stores sell CDs for $18. For these so called law-breakers, the real issue here is the material vs. virtual products. Do you think all the culprits who steal music via P2P would walk into FYE and grab their favorite albums and walk out? No, but that is because they truly understand the concept of stealing when there is a tangible object for them to hold and be responsible for. With downloading there's nothing there to touch or look at. Just MP3 files. It's about as bad as having a guilty conscience. All you can do is think about what you have stolen, because you can't actually see it. Now if Jobs could conjure up some physical representation for media sold through iTunes, then I bet the sales would skyrocket- not only because such an innovation would be cool, but because the value of music, and videos would go up. Then again, this would sort of contradict the point of digital downloads: convenience; no impossible-to-open CD packaging. So a traditional object would of course not be practical. Perhaps this is why an sort of physical representation for every piece of downloaded media is not a good idea. What the end user needs is some incentive to purchase their songs instead of stealing them. For example, Indie artists probably have a higher percentage of purchased music because the consumers know that all the profits are going to them, not the label. So these users have an incentive to buy knowing they are supporting the artists (the same logic is applied to fund raising, and giving to charity). How can listeners and watchers have an incentive to buy from the four major labels? One idea would be to give out samplers of genre specific music free to those people who have bought a lot of music. Creation of a point system (redeemable for songs) could motivate people. The points could be obtained from reviewing songs/albums/movies, refering friends to buy from the online store, or even purchases at other participating sponsor stores (virtual or not). I think that's the best idea that's coming out of my head. It is practical and gives incentive to buyers to purchase their music online.

Onto the hardware and formatting for this new music "marketplace", as Jobs likes to think of it. I think it would be a very diplomatic gesture if Apple teamed with Microsoft (ironic, is it not?) and Sony, maybe even Dell, Rio and SanDisk as well to create a format that spans across different manufacturers. Where would the competition come from if they all had the same format? In the player design. Especially now with the announcement of the iPhone (which is another post in itself) phone/media/PDA/hybrid devices are being scrambled together to compete with Apple's June release. So this takes the format out of the picture, making the decision easy for the average consumer- What suits me? How much space do I need? What will I use it for? All the basic questions. The Microsoft Zune created a revolutionary music sharing system between users, why not extend that technology to these new universal devices. Include the ability to transfer playlists, instant messaging features, or maybe even live video streaming (on higher end models). it would be cool to be able to send out a podcast, where other users could "tune in" and listen to not only what is playing on your device, but to add in the users voice to the broadcast mix. The range of these connections? Who knows. 802.11n is now being utilized in products such as the iPhone. This would be a tremendous incentive to share media in a community unlike any other. of course, the player would not be able to transfer or share MP3s, rendering them "not so cool", or 'overrated" in the new virtual media marketplace. Now, if only I had about $10 million for R&D, manufacturing, advertising and prototyping, I would take this idea to the world. (Steve, if you read this I would like to be credited by having a link to my blog from the apple website.)

Seriously, if anyone has any comments or ideas on this feel free to post a comment- this is the most climactic issue in the music industry in terms of copyright law so people should know about these issues that affect their daily lives.