DRM: Digital Rights Management. A technology that allows owners of digital media files to control how the files are used. Usually to prevent duplication.
RIAA: Recording Industry of America. A trade group of brain eating zombies representing the recording industry. Generally regarded as technophobic, and hates digital media. Has implemented a widespread system of carefully DRMing all digital media legally sold in North America through services like iTunes or Napster.
Experimenting with Change
The recording industry isn’t known for making it convenient to get your hands on MP3s that lack copy protection. But Blue Note Records is experimenting with a change in attitude toward unprotected music files.
Yahoo announced yesterday it would it would offer select Blue Note artists' latest singles in MP3 format without DRM. Artists to be released in unprotected digital media include Norah Jones, Panic at the Disco and Jessica Simpson.
It looks like the recording industry is slowly coming around to the 21st century. The industry simply can’t continue to ignore business opportunities presented by the last ten years of technological developments in personal media players. In other words it’s about damned time!
