I.P.O.D. (The Ice Princess Of Darkness, for those who don't know) asked me to explain DRM (Digital Rights Management)

DRM - The long, boring version:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Rights_Management
(When in doubt, always ask wikipedia)

or this http://www.eff.org/IP/DRM/guide/


DRM - Conrad's interpretation:
You can play MP3s without DRM on any player. They just work.

When you go to play a MP3 with DRM on it, the MP3 file asks the device if it is OK to play. The device (IPod, Computer, whatever) must verify that it is OK for you to play the file. It might check whether you have really paid for the file, it might check to see if the device you are playing it on is 'approved' or not, it might check to see if the company that made the file still wants you to continue playing it or not.


DRM - Conrad's lovely car analogy:
If your parents gave you a car for your birthday, and it did not have DRM, you could drive it when and where you liked.

But if the car had DRM, then every time you went to put the key in the ignition, the car would call your parents and ask if it was OK for you to drive, and it might call the city to see if the car is licensed and paid for, and it might call Ford to get permission from them as well.

So, the car really isn't *Yours* if you need permission to drive it. And mp3 files with DRM are not really *Yours* if you need permission to play them.

Really, it changes the music from a Product (that you buy and then can listen to forever) into a Service (you pay for the permission to listen to the files, and that permission can be denied by the service provider.)

Some people don't care, but music is just the start. Soon books, movies and games will follow suit, so I think DRM should be stopped before it gets out of hand. It is the media manufacturers responsibility to come up with a reasonable solution for copy protection, and DRM is not it.

DRM - More Anti-DRM stuff:
http://boycott-riaa.com/
http://ihatedrm.com

Blog on,
-CZ

Labels: DRM Sucks