Michael Koby

Earlier this week, I wrote an article entitled Sony Misses the Point, that discussed how Sony/BMG deciding to sell iTunes-like cards in brick and mortar stores that allowed consumers to download DRM-Free tracks was a horrible idea and went completely against the idea of digital downloads.  Well it seems Sony/BMG was listening (or it was part of their plan all along and they didn’t announce it) and they will be selling their DRM-Free tracks via Amazon’s Mp3 Download store.  This news comes courtesy of iLounge.

I would like to personally say “Thank you” to Sony and Amazon.  To Amazon for having their Mp3 Download store and allowing the records labels to easily sell tracks through it.  Secondly to Sony for not holding out any longer with going DRM-Free.  Sure you’re the last one, but better late than never, right?  Right?

This is good news for DRM (Digital Rights Management) haters out there.  Now lets move on to the movie industry and get them to stop throwing DRM all over their digital downloads.  One industry down, one to go.

So, last week Sony/BMG announced that they were going DRM-Free for their music and the world cheered.  Now, today, (as reported by TechCrunch) they are announcing the actual DRM-Free strategy (USA Today article).  That strategy?  Cards purchased from a brick and mortar store to be used online to download an album.  Basically they are going to have cards on display in various stores (Best Buy for instance) that represent a digital download of the album.  You purchase the card, go home, then goto a special website where you will type in the code and receive the album in question.

Sounds great except for one major problem.  It completely misses the point of digital downloads.  Digital music downloads are about instant gratification.  For instance, it’s 2:30am and I just have to hear “that song, by that guy, who came out last year” so I go onto Amazon or iTunes and purchase the track.  It’s 2:30 in the morning, most brick and mortar stores are closed.  This means, I’d have to wait till the morning, goto the store buy the card and then come home and take even more steps before I can download the track.  By then, I have slept and whatever jonesing I had for the song is gone, and in result they lost the sale.

Granted the above example is probably the minority situation but it shows how all the unnecessary steps prove that the people behind Sony/BMG completely missed the point of digital downloads.  That little thing called convenience.  I purchased the Juno soundtrack from Amazon at 10:30pm a couple of nights ago.  I love the soundtrack to the movie and my wife and I wanted it.  Instant gratification, that’s the point of digital downloads.  Digital downloads without DRM are even better (I downloaded from Amazon even though the record was on iTunes because the Amazon version was higher quality and DRM-Free).

Sony, listen to your customers.  If you want to utilize this method (which someone on TechCrunch shows how it is a good move for you guys), at least make the stuff available through Amazon.com’s Mp3 Store.  That way you satisfy both ends.  It can’t be that hard to do, it’s all digital files anyway.

Today via a Business Week article, Sony announced plans to drop DRM and begin selling DRM-Free, Mp3 tracks in Amazon.com’s Mp3 Download store.  This is the signal in the true death of DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Sony/BMG records was the final hold out for DRM-Free music after Warner announced in late December that they would be selling tracks on Amazon (I personally used that announcement to purchase the Juno movie soundtrack).   With this, the four largest record companies are now DRM-Free and Amazon has successfully grown its product base considerably in the last 2-3 months of it’s Mp3 Store’s opening.  This is partially due to the record labels wanting to get out from under Apple and it’s “restrictive pricing structures” (the record executives’ words, not mine, see my comments on this further down).  However, I am all for the “whatever works” model of getting rid of DRM.  If it means Apple is going to have to wait in line to get DRM free tracks, then so be it. Read more »

I just canceled eMusic subscription in favor of Amazon’s Mp3 Download Store.  The main reason for this is because with Amazon I can download only the songs I want without having to pay a monthly fee for a bucket of downloads that I have to use or lose.  Plus Amazon’s store is also free of digital rights management (DRM) so they will work on any computer or device in my house.
While eMusic has an awesome selection of independent artists, I really do not grab too many of those on a regular basis.  Besides, for those artists I like to have the actual compact disc more often then not.