Is Amazon Working On A DRM-Free Music Download Store?
from the recognizing-apple's-achilles-heel dept
I remember conversations from as far back as 1998 about whether or not Amazon.com should offer a downloadable music store -- but the company has always been cautious despite plenty of rumors. Way back in 2003, there were rumors that the company would team up with Apple to somehow offer iTunes songs through Amazon.com -- a rumor that failed to pan out. Earlier this year, there were rumors that Amazon was talking to record labels about, once again, trying to launch its own music download store, perhaps with its own hardware as well (suggesting someone confused the offering with Microsoft's ill-fated Zune product). However, this summer it was reported that Amazon had decided that it wasn't worth competing with Apple in music downloads, given how strong Apple's position in the market has been.However, perhaps recent revelations have opened Amazon's eyes to Apple's big achilles heel: the copy protection they use. The record labels, for all their obsession over copy protection, know that Apple's use of copy protection has given the company tremendous leverage over them in negotiations over pricing for digital downloads. They've also just started to understand that there's value in selling unprotected MP3s. With all that in mind, the latest rumor (as submitted by John) is that Amazon is back on the negotiating trail, pitching the record labels on a DRM-free music download store. If they're smart, they'd be pitching it as a way to break Apple's stranglehold on the market -- but given how most of the other Amazon music download store rumors have panned out, we're not holding our breath. However, the rumor also notes that Amazon is supposedly offering variable pricing on songs -- something that the record labels have been pushing for (unsuccessfully) for years with Apple. So, perhaps it's a bit of horse trading: Amazon gives the labels variable pricing, if they agree to give up copy protection. Still, after seeing just how awful Amazon's foray into video downloads has been, you'd have to hope that they would only use that experience to learn what not to do with any new offering.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
im sure im...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: im sure im...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: im sure im...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: im sure im...
"Im sure im just stating what everyone already knows..."
Sadly, the vast majority of people buying DRMed music do not know that. They only know that one day they try to make a copy for some reason that makes sense to them and it doesn't work.
Has anyone ever done a study trying to quantify the cost of DRM to hardware/software makers and retailers in the form of support calls saying "Hey, my computer doesn't work, I can't copy this thing?"
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
yes god please
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: yes god please
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: yes god please
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: yes god please
That's like paying for limewire
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
DRM
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: DRM
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: DRM
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: DRM
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: DRM
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Audio Watermarking will be the new DRM
If you plan on sharing your watermarked MP3 on a peer-to-peer network, be aware that the ability for these companys to scan file sharing networks for these watermarks also exsists.
I believe watermarking will effectivly solve the file sharing problem in that it will give users the freedom to move any song file on any player, but also will deter sharing over networks by putting the fear of detection in place.
Just my two cents.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]