Are you able to think back to the pre-iPod days? Do you even remember what it was like to take out CDs from their plastic sleeves and put them into your CD player to listen to music?? I thought not. Well, this is a great story how MP3 was invented and evolved over time by Karlheinz Brandenburg at Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology in Ilmenau, Germany.
If you're not sure how to finish that sentence...you missed the first-ever global satellite TV program seen in 26 countries simultaneously, back in 1967. (OK, I was little then, but still...you can relive it online here.) Certainly an interesting intersection of genius between Arthur C. Clarke and The Beatles.
So if the music companies are selling over 90 percent of their music DRM-free, what benefits do they get from selling the remaining small percentage of their music encumbered with a DRM system? There appear to be none. If anything, the technical expertise and overhead required to create, operate and update a DRM system has limited the number of participants selling DRM protected music. If such requirements were removed, the music industry might experience an influx of new companies willing to invest in innovative new stores and players. This can only be seen as a positive by the music companies.
Given the recent Apple vs. Beatles agreement, I think the next chess move by Apple would be to offer the entire Beatles catalogue without DRM on iTunes. (Not sure if The Beatles' themselves or EMI owns the catalogue rights.) This latest Belin Wall will crumble fast.