One Metric Ton of DRM
February 5th, 2008
I knew that I’d written a lot about DRM over the past few years, but I had no clue just how much until I started sifting through the Medialoper archives in preparation for my TOC conference presentation next week.
In my defense, there’s been a lot to write about. The entertainment industry’s obsession with DRM has been both fascinating and baffling. At this point, almost no one believes that DRM actually prevents piracy. To make matters worse, it’s become clear that DRM is a barrier to the development of a viable marketplace for digital content. And yet, the vast majority of media companies still insist on using DRM. Even the record companies that have recently begun selling DRM-free music still won’t rule out a return to DRM.
This is insanity. And a strange form of ritual suicide by DRM.
There’s no point in going on about DRM when I’ve already written so much about the topic. Since I frequently get inquiries about DRM I thought it might be useful (to myself if no one else) to collect links to my various posts on the topic here.