Zoom-in Online

This blog was contributed by Adam Brawerman, Zoom In Online's music channel assistant.

On January 6, 2009 Apple announced changes to their iTunes store, including the lifting of Digital Rights Management (DRM) for most of their songs.  DRM is an encoding that previously restricted someone who purchased a song on iTunes from copying the file onto more than five computers.  It also required access to the internet in order to authorize the file on a new computer.  If you currently own songs with DRM restrictions, you can now upgrade the files to the new format for 30 cents a song, or 30 percent of the album cost.  Why you have to pay for this, while people can now buy this version for the same price you originally coughed up, is beyond me.  Then again, I don't know why you would pay for a digital version of music anyways.  Record label and music company EMI, was the fist to introduce DRM-free versions of their songs- two years ago.  Now others are finally following suit including Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, as well as thousands of indie labels. 

Always weary of new technology, the music industry was at first hesitant to give full ownership of their songs to online shoppers.  They attached encryptions to the files to prevent people from buying a song, and then giving it to all their friends.  Which would, of course, spell the end of the music industry.  See also- the cassette tape, CD burners, and Napster.  What ended up happening, is someone would buy the CD version of an album, and then upload it on a peer-to-peer (P2P) website for anyone who likes their music files BS free (and also cost free).  By adding restrictions, iTunes and the music labels basically forced people to download illegally.  Almost six years after its inception, iTunes is finally giving people an online store that may give people incentive to buy.

To make sure this wasn't just a publicity stunt, I tested the new format out at the office.  I downloaded "Never Stops" off the Deerhunter's most recent album Microcastle.  I then copied the file onto six of my co-worker's computers- a few without their knowledge.  True to their word, I had no problems distributing the file, and could do so without authorizing it at the iTunes website.  If I can't find an album for free, or in the form of a cheap used CD, I may actually buy albums on iTunes now.