Digital Rights Manipulation

Once again the disadvantages of DRM have become apparent. Recently Microsoft announced its intention to cease supporting those who have purchased music from the old Microsoft Music Store. As quoted by ArsTechnica, MSN Entertainment and Video Services general manager Rob Bennett announced:

As of August 31, 2008, we will no longer be able to support the retrieval of license keys for the songs you purchased from MSN Music or the authorization of additional computers... You will need to obtain a license key for each of your songs downloaded from MSN Music on any new computer, and you must do so before August 31, 2008. If you attempt to transfer your songs to additional computers after August 31, 2008, those songs will not successfully play.

The limitations of DRM are well documented with the ability of users to enjoy goods they have legitimately purchased severely undermined. Not only are users unable to enjoy legal rights that are normally allowed, such as fair use/fair dealing and the ability to resell their digital purchases, but when a form of DRM becomes redundant they are no longer able to use the product in the already limited way in which it came. In an open letter to Microsoft yesterday the EFF outlined the steps that should be taken to reduce the impact on consumers, including:

[I]ssuing a public apology, providing refunds or replacement music files, and launching a substantial publicity campaign to make sure all customers know their options... EFF's letter also calls on Microsoft to eliminate DRM from its Zune music service now -- or at least to publicly commit to compensating future customers for the inevitable future DRM debacles.

The major labels have stated an intention to no longer use DRM on digital files but there is little evidence in real space that this is taking place on a wide scale . This is particularly problematic as the percentage of digital sales continues to increase. Yesterday the RIAA 2007 End of Year Shipment Statistics indicated that digital sales now account for 23% of all music sales in the United States, up from 16.1% in 2006 and 9% in 2005. Indicative of views around the world, a UK survey from August 2007 found that 61 percent of consumers said that DRM "invades the rights of the music consumer to hear their music on different platforms." Another 49 percent considered it to be a "nuisance," and 39 percent were worried about privacy implications of the technology.

Privacy issues related to DRM include, at their most obvious, the use of RootKits which when used by Sony allowed for unauthorised and undetected reporting of usage data as well as creating security vulnerabilities for the computers on which the files were used. What many consumers may not be aware of, is that the so called ‘DRM Free’ music available from many digital music stores today, continues to use a form of digital rights management called ‘watermarking’. In many instances files that are sold under the banner of being DRM Free hide the purchase data of the user in the fabric of thefile and can still be traced. In other cases it is just the file itself which can be traced to determine the frequency of uploads to file sharing networks for use as evidence when lobbying for stronger laws.

Microsoft’s recent announcement is really just another example of the legislature's failure to provide adequate consumer protection measures by enacting laws which do not require the music and technology industries to consider the social implications of their business methods and models.

Further Reading
ArsTechnica, DRM sucks redux: Microsoft to nuke MSN Music DRM keys (22 April 2008) <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080422-drm-sucks-redux-microsoft-to-nuke-msn-music-drm-keys.html> at 27 April 2008

EFF, Betrayed MSN Music Customers Deserve More from Microsoft (29 April 2008) <http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/04/28> at 1 May 2008

Digital Music News, MSN Music: The DRM Aftertaste Really Lasts... (24 April 2008) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/042308msn> at 26 April 2008

Digital Music News, Microsoft's Final 'Up Yours' To Those Who Bought Into Its DRM Story (23 April 2008) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080422/234401923.shtml> at 26 April 2008

RIAA, 2007 End Year Shipment Statistics (April 2008) <http://76.74.24.142/81128FFD-028F-282E-1CE5-FDBF16A46388.pdf> at 30 April 2008

FreedomToTinker, Apple Offers to Sell DRM-Free Music (7 February 2007) <http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=1117> at 14 February 2007

p2pnet.net, Steve Jobs' DRM master-stroke (2 April 2007) <http://p2pnet.net/story/11850> at 3 April 2007

Digital Music News, The DRM-Free Drag... Why a Broader Rollout Remains Elusive (2 April 2008) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/040208drm/> at 8 April 2008

Digital Music News, Industry Breathes DRM-Free Oxygen, Considers Next Steps (3 January 2008) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/010607panel> at 11 January 2008

TechDirt, One More Time: DRM Doesn't Enable Anything, Except User Frustration (23 February 2007) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070222/073026.shtml> at 26 February 2007

ArsTechnia, Paper: disregard for customers, DMCA led to Sony CD rootkit (17 December 2007) <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071217-paper-disregard-for-customers-dmca-led-to-sony-cd-rootkit.html> a 18 December 2007

TechDirt, Sony BMG's Rootkit Violated Federal Law; Company Agrees To Pay To Fix Damaged Computers (30 January 2007) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070130/154001.shtml> at 2 February 2007

ArsTechnia, Canadian Privacy Commissioner: Just say no to intrusive DRM (20 January 2008) <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080120-canadian-privacy-commissioner-just-say-no-to-intrusive-drm.html> at 31 January 2008

Slyck, CIPPIC Studies Privacy Implications of DRM (25 September 2007) <http://www.slyck.com/story1589_CIPPIC_Studies_Privacy_Implications_of_DRM> at 18 December 2007

Digital Music News, Privacy Concerns Surface Following iTunes Plus Launch (30 May 2007) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/053007info> at 16 June 2007

BBC News, 'Personal data' in iTunes tracks (1 June 2007) <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6711215.stm> at 16 June 2007

TechDirt, iTunes Plus: Minus DRM, But Plus Price And Tracking Info (31 May 2007) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070530/230342.shtml> at 16 June 2007

Digital Music News, Universal Layering Watermarks Into DRM-Free Downloads (13 August 2007) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/081307uni> at 19 August 2007

Wired, DRM Is Dead, But Watermarks Rise From Its Ashes (11 January 2008)<http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2008/01/sony_music> at 20 January 2008

TechDirt, Digital Watermarks Are Not The Answer (14 January 2008) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080113/165009.shtml> at 18 January 2008