Exec: Music labels "about to cave in the next six months" on DRM

Exec: Music labels "about to cave in the next six months" on DRM Source: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070425-exec-music-labels-about-to-cave-in-the-next-six-months-on-drm.html Ty Roberts, CTO of Gracenote, made the claim this week that the music industry was "about to cave in the next six months" on the issue of DRM, at least when it comes to downloads. Roberts made the comments at an conference on DRM organized by LexisNexis and Variety in Beverly Hills. Though he recognized that it currently requires more "friction" to get legal content than illegal content, Roberts wasn't sure that the loss of DRM would be a good thing for the digital content industry in the long term. Paul Jessop, CTO of the RIAA, agreed that removing DRM could pose a particular challenge because open formats often mean "free" to consumers used to pulling down MP3s from peer-to-peer networks. Managing consumer expectations could be crucial to the long-term health of the industry. Roberts agreed, saying in his talk that music is poised to set an example that will deeply affect other content and could lower its perceived value. But the RIAA wants the DRM hassles sorted out one way or the other, and soon. Interoperability problems with DRM are harming everyone in the business, and the recording industry is calling for all parties to switch to open DRM formats or get rid of the technology altogether. Speaking with Ars after his talk, Jessop said that the labels might "all fold tomorrow, [or] they could all hold out," and he doesn't know (or care) what decision they make. But he does point out that DRM isn't going away altogether, as it is still needed to protect subscription music. Even EMI, currently receiving so much press for its decision to abandon DRM, only does so for downloads. Unfortunately for the industry, interoperability schemes like Coral and flexible DRMs like Marlin are not yet widely deployed outside the lab, though Jack Lacy of the Coral Consortium tells Ars that his group is planning a major launch "soon." Until that happens, and until it gains traction among device manufacturers and digital stores like iTunes, unencrypted formats are the only practical way to achieve interoperability.