The DRM graveyard: A brief history of digital rights management in music By Ruth Suehle (Red Hat)
"There are more than a few reasons digital rights management (DRM) has been largely unsuccessful. But the easiest way to explain to a consumer why DRM doesn't work is to put it in terms he understands: "What happens to the music you paid for if that company changes its mind?" It was one thing when it was a theoretical question. Now it's a historical one. Rhapsody just had the next in a line of DRM music services to go--this week the company told its users than anyone with RAX files has unil November 7 to back them up in another format or lose them the next time they upgrade their systems." with timeline: October 1998 The Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes DRM circumvention and circumvention tools illegal. December 2001 Rhapsody unlimited music streaming subscription service launches with songs restricted by the company's Helix DRM. May 2002 Shuman Ghosemajumder proposes the Open Music Model, which states that subscription services free of DRM are the only successful model to beat piracy. It requires open file sharing, open file formats, open membership, open payment, and open competition. April 21, 2003 RealNetworks (known for RealAudio, RealVideo and RealPlayer) acquires Listen.com, owner of Rhapsody and offers streaming downloads for a monthly fee. April 28, 2003 One week later, the iTunes store launches with its songs encrypted with FairPlay DRM. It restricts users to accessing songs from only three (later five) computers and making no more than ten (later seven) copies of a CD playlist. Apple does not license its encryption, so only Apple devices can play iTunes music. more... http://opensource.com/life/11/11/drm-graveyard-brief-history-digital-rights-management-music _______________________________________________ NetBehaviour mailing list [email protected] http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
