p2pnet - rss feed: EMI still pondering DRM
p2pnet.net News:- EMI, the British component of the Big 4 Organized Music cartel, may be following through with earlier suggestions that it’s modifying its approach to DRM (Digital Restrictions Management) consumer control, if not abandoning it altogether.
It was “reviewing its use of the controversial content protection technology used on CDs, known as digital rights management (DRM), but has not scrapped it altogether,” said Reuters at the beginning of last month, and now another Reuters story says EMI is thinking about release “a large portion” of its music catalog as mp3s without “technological protections against piracy” for web sales.
The story quotes an unidentified source as saying EMI is in talks to release a large number of mp3s to “various online retailers”.
“The second industry source also said EMI was in talks with Snocap, a company founded by Napster creator Shawn Fanning, to release music in MP3 format on News popular MySpace social networking site,”says the story.
It’s hard to how any involvement with Snocap could add up to a loss of DRM and indeed, “It doesn’t mean we’ve scrapped content protection but we’re evaluating it,” said EMI in January.
DRM has been called C.R.A.P. by Zdnet’s David Berlind and the Free Software Foundation’s Richard Stallman, who were referring to Apple’s special brand
DRM promoter and Apple boss Steve Jobs on Tuesday set the cat among the pigeons with his current thinking on copyright protection, and how it’s all down to the Big 4, not him.
Meanwhile, will the other cartel members, Warner Music (US), Vivendi Universal (France) and Sony BMG (Japan and Germany), follow suit if EMI does indeed abandon or modify its so-called copyright protection applications?
Stay tuned.
(Thanks, Daniel)
Also See:
following through - EMI to drop DRM?, January 9, 2007
Reuters - EMI reviewing CD content protection technology, January 8, 2006
Reuters - EMI mulls unprotected Web song sales — sources, February 8, 2007
current thinking - Thoughts on Steve Jobs’ Thoughts, February 8, 2007
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