A Mobile Media article states that "Warner Music Group now joins EMI and Universal Music in offering higher-quality tracks without copy protection, leaving Sony BMG Music Entertainment as the only major label refusing to drop DRM."
This is not surprising, as most of the problems with DRM relate to the locks on hardware/software and not the locks applied to content. Sony BMG, being tied to a hardware manufacturer, is of course going to continue to promote DRM given it is their hardware manufacturing side that was always the only beneficiary of this scheme.
It is important to realize that even if not a single piece of content was encoded with DRM, DRM on devices would have the identical effect as if every piece of content was encoded with DRM. While DRM on content is an anti-competitive encouragement to purchase DRM-infected hardware and software, DRM on content is otherwise a distraction and not the relevant issue.
I tried to clarify that in my article in the December issue of OSBR by talking about scenarios where the hardware is locked down and the content is DRM-free, and yet all the restrictions and harm of DRM remain.
The only way to protect Canadians from the harm of DRM is to ensure that the practices of locking down hardware is not legalize or legally protected. Them releasing DRM-free music is a political manipulative distraction. It doesn't matter if the 4 major labels are releasing DRM-free music: it only matters if they stop lobbying governments to legalize and legally protect DRM applied to hardware. In this I see absolutely no movement from the recording industry, with CRIA still pushing Canada to ratify the 1996 WIPO anti-Internet treaties with strong anti-circumvention legislation.
Great post
Great post, there seem yes for releasing DRM-free music is a political manipulative distraction, I know some software, like soundtaxi enables you to convert DRM protected music files. other software, like tunebite can remove DRM copy protection from music, audio books and etc.