14 DAY TRIAL // DRM. Apple started it. Yahoo said it was OK, SanDisk supported the idea and the consumers acclaimed. EMI agreed in the first place, then retreated, now they have changed again their mind, hopefully for good. The remaining 3 of the 4 major are silent. Is Microsoft the next in line?
This is a question which popped up quite naturally because of 2 very definite reasons. First of all, Microsoft is battling Apple since the beginning (if not even before computers really existed). Apple looks like the smarter of the two brothers (don't be mislead into thinking I am an Apple fan, I am not): the Mac OS looks very pretty - the MS Vista looks fine (and borrows stuff from Mac); Apple have had a huge success with the iPod - now MS are piling up efforts with their Zune and such parallel examples could go on forever.
Secondly, the things done and said during the last few days, altogether with the teaming between Apple and EMI (who had made a very courageous step aside the path of the 4 major) has stirred things up quite a bit. On one hand, it seems like the industry is once more beginning to care somewhat for what do the customers want and how do they want it. On the other hand, this shifting could really mean the beginning of a new development stage in what entertainment industry could mean in the future.
The DRM as it was - generalized to the whole mass of products offered (namely songs whose copyrights were owned by the 4 major) have proven themselves wrong: they have not stopped piracy but rather encouraged it. Even more, the record companies were also placing themselves in a situation close to ridicule: first of all, you'd buy the digital track with DRM (right from the comforting armchair at home) and then, as you discovered you really like that artist, dress up and go at a local music store and buy the CD, return to the same (comforting) armchair and rip it to digital songs, later uploading it on your three portables and even sharing the music with your girlfriend, right?
Now, cutting this straight, Microsoft were quite evasive as they spoke about a possible DRM-less future. In a very traditional way for MS, they answered to Ryan Block (Engadget) that: "Consumers have indicated [having DRM free music] is important to them so Zune has been working with a variety of partners to head in this direction. [Emphasis by Engadget] This is a time of transition for the music industry and Microsoft is committed to striking a balance between delivering the best consumer experience while still protecting the rights of the content owners."
Now, what could we, simple mortals be left to understand: Microsoft underwent some research in this direction or in the least probable way, they're planning to. Why? Because a company like the Redmond giant can't simply watch with their hands crossed how Apple gets EMI (one of the 4 largest record companies in the world, remember?) and get a piece of cake from their entire catalog.
I simply can't and will not believe that seeing the rather quick and easy victory Apple achieved in the "DRM wars" after Steve stood in the crowd and spoke against DRM, Microsoft will choose to stay on the DRM-side.
The second quote from MS is even more evasive yet hidden things are to be seen here as well: ""Regardless of the outcome of DRM for music downloads, DRM technologies will still have a key role in enabling businesses involving digital content. Subscription music services are a good example - they use DRM to enable consumers to have unlimited access to literally millions of music tracks. Other areas include the delivery of high quality video content, such as movies. Our role continues to be to deliver flexible DRM technology that provides choice for the content owner in how they distribute their content and choice for the consumer so that they have access to a wide variety of high-quality content and ways to enjoy that content."
See, not a single word to confirm that Microsoft thinks of letting DRM go: au contraire, they say they'll still develop digital rights management for digital content [...] such as movies (Softpedia emphasis). So far, MS has already announced that they are into heavy development of movie and mobile-oriented rights management, yet nothing rock-solid about music.
In the end, what matters is the fact that Microsoft (un)willingly seem to have admitted to have at least worked on DRM-free content. And since all the fuss is focused on music and Microsoft's flagship is the Zune player... jump to your own conclusions.
Personally, in what Microsoft is concerned, a "dDRM" (Dropped-off DRM) future is no longer a matter of "if" but of "when".
