DRM part I

DRM doesn't work because NECESSARILY because it can't lock content without fundamentally breaking access to the content it's trying to "protect". Because implementing 100% unbreakable DRM would render a song unlistenable, DRM purveyers have tried to design implementations that make it hard(er) for the casual listener to share the music over P2P networks. The end result is music that is made more difficult to initially convert to an open format (such as mp3) at the expense of convenience and portability (you can't play your iTunes Music Store downloads on anything other than an iPod).

Do you see what I'm getting at? The mythical DRM that some content owners want cannot exist because of what's called the "analogue hole". Anything you can see or hear can be recorded and then converted into an open format. Anything. Let me say it again, anything, can (and probably will be) reproduced a number of times approaching infinity. The cost of making copies is on the whole a price approaching $0. To drive this point home, the amount of times a digital file can be copied is effectively limitless and the price of making one copy of a song is effectively very small. Given that anything that can be seen or heard can be copied into a nonsecure, digital format and further given that anything digitized can be copied for virtually no money, the idea of DRM paradox. Sometimes, those who wish to implement it (RIAA/MPAA et al.) claim that DRM is still useful because it "makes it difficult for casual users to make music and movies available on P2P networks". As I stated before, this fails because all it takes is a single copy of any song, video, or picture to render all other DRM useless.

What I've said so far is just a description of why DRM is fundamentally broken. So, what's my solution? It's not one that the current content owners will like because it involves giving up on their current and historical business model in favor of drastic changes. Before that can even happen, the management at these companies must accept a simple fact:
Modern digital and communication technology has commoditized the content producing industries.

Once people accept that as fact, things aren't as bleak as they first seem. In fact, there is the potential to create a market the likes of which have never been seen before. In the next post, I am going to describe how I would advise the RIAA and Music industry how they can make more money off of their content collection than they've ever dreamed of, though similar methods (and ones I haven't thought of) could work for TV/Movies and other AV media as well.