Sony connects with Microsoft's DRM
Two months after Sony Connect's first reported death rattle, Sony made it official: it's phasing out the overlooked and handicapped music outlet (along with its overlooked and handicapped video service) next year, as early as March. Instead of trying to provide its own storefront, Sony is belatedly equipping its Walkman line of portable music players to work with the vast majority of stores and subscription-music services operated by other companies. That means dumping Sony's DRM technology, OpenMG, in favor of Microsoft's PlaysForSure DRM.
I know, I know -- it would have been nice to see someone with Sony's market clout drop DRM entirely, putting more pressure on Warner Music Group and, ahem, Sony BMG to do likewise. But I say that halfheartedly. As much as I think DRM is counterproductive on 99-cent downloads, I don't see how anyone could do a subscription-music service such as Rhapsody or Napster without it. And I'm a big fan of subscription-music services, regardless of the technological challenges that can be nightmarish for consumers. Although PlaysForSure hasn't lived up to its name, subscription services support it as best they can. (The exception being eMusic, which uses the subscription model to sell DRM-free music at a discount, as opposed to selling access to a large online jukebox.) So it makes sense for Sony to go that route instead of washing its hands of DRM entirely. As part of the shift, Sony will also abandon the deservedly maligned SonicStage software for loading songs from a PC onto a Walkman. Instead, it will rely on Microsoft's Windows Media Player, which is found on every Windows PC.
The move epitomizes Sony's grudging shift away from trying to force the world to accept proprietary Sony technologies. This strategy makes less sense the more the world becomes interconnected. That doesn't mean it never works -- witness Apple's iPod and iTunes, which use a proprietary DRM. And Sony may yet persuade the world to adopt Blu-ray, the high-definition disc format it helped develop, instead of the rival HD DVD format (although lately the news hasn't been so swell). Still, Sony, which designs elegant products and often stays in the vanguard of trends, hasn't shown that it has Apple's magic touch when it comes to software and usability -- things that led users to ignore the iPod's incompatibility issues. As pretty as Sony's Walkman players may have been, they never met Cupertino's standard for ease of use. So rather than trying to reinvent such basic building blocks as DRM, codecs and PC jukebox programs, it makes more sense for Sony to embrace widely used software and innovate in the areas where it's strongest. Windows Media Player may not be as slick as iTunes, but it's a heck of a lot better than SonicStage.
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DRM is necessary for subscription models? Says who?
Frankly, I think you could ditch DRM on Rhapsody or Napster today, and it would have little impact on much of anything (other than eliminating all the DRM-related problems that come with portability for these services).
For consumers, subscription is about the convenience, not about the shackles.
First, anyone who wants to turn those "streams" into downloads can already do so, with a variety of software, much of it free and easy to use (Audio Hijack, anyone?). Other "subscription" models already prove the DRM isn't necessary. Consider Netflix. You an easily copy any DVD you receive (again, with free and easy to use software, like Handbrake), yet most people keep paying their monthly fee, rather than copying like mad and canceling.
Second, if you really want all the music for free, you wouldn't be bothering with Rhapsody in the first place, you'd be using a P2P app (disabling uploading, of course, lest you be sued).
In fact, to the extent that DRM is hindering portability, it's probably among the chief things holding subscriptions back from mass-acceptance.
(And, for those who worry about subscription cannibalizing download sales, I have only two comments: (1) so you want to be in thrall to iTunes forever? and (2) getting $10-15 per month from every music fan is a much better deal than hoping they get excited enough to buy 10-15 individual tracks each month. The average American household has never spent more than about $100 per year on prerecorded music, so even if no one ever bought another download, there is real money to be made in subscription, if you set it free!)
I have yet to see any "necessity" for DRM in a mass-market entertainment offering. This mantra that DRM is "necessary" for subscription deserves more interrogation, just like the mantra that DRM is necessary to prop up the market for DVDs.
Posted by: Fred von Lohmann | August 30, 2007 at 02:49 PM
So articulate, so reasonable-sounding, and yet....
I think Fred's right in asserting that dropping the DRM from Rhapsody wouldn't change the behavior of today's Rhapsody subscribers. They signed up in order to have access to an unlimited amount of music, not to copy it. Personally, I don't bother downloading anything from Rhapsody because there's no point in doing so; I'd rather stream the songs from their server than clutter my PC with them.
But there are two problems with his argument that DRM isn't necessary. First off, Rhapsody couldn't segment its business. All subscribers would have to pay the highest rate -- the one associated with portable downloads -- because they all would have that functionality, and it would be reasonable for the labels to demand to be paid for it. More important, dropping DRM would make it harder for the labels to segment *their* business. No more charging lower prices for access to streams or tethered downloads; instead, subscription services would become bulk sales outlets, like Columbia House or BMG Music Club. That's because there would be no difference between the tracks delivered through Rhapsody and those delivered via iTunes (unless they limited the sound quality on Rhapsody, but given the public's tin ear for sound quality, the limits would have to be pretty severe to make a difference).
I suspect that Fred doesn't see a real value in the kind of jukebox-access offered by Rhapsody, and sees it as a poor imitation of eMusic. But the former is about gluttanous and fickle music consumption, while the latter is about collection building. DRM helps maintain that distinction. Seems like the real argument here is whether the distinction is artificial. I don't think it is. I say this as someone who subscribes to both eMusic and Rhapsody, using them for different but complementary purposes.
And cannibalization is an issue here -- how could it not be, if the subscription downloads are a near-perfect substitute for CDs and paid downloads? Even assuming the labels collected $10 a month on each subscription, you'd need more than 50 million subscribers to approach the amount of revenue generated by CD sales. And that's not individuals, that's households. Seems like quite a mountain to climb.
Which is not to say that the industry's current business model is hunky-dory. Hardly. Fred's radical surgery might be the right way to go. But let's not pretend it's not radical surgery.
Posted by: Jon Healey | August 30, 2007 at 03:30 PM
Ummm I don't think they are going to be using WM DRM. Ever heard of Marlin?
Posted by: Johnny | August 31, 2007 at 06:58 AM
Yes, in fact, I have heard a lot about Marlin -- just nothing about it actually being deployed in any products. Here's what Sony's press release had to say about the DRM in the new Walkman; you'll note the lack of reference to Marlin:
All of the new players are compatible with security-enhanced Windows Media Audio and support most subscription music services. The new players are also among the first to be Certified for Windows Vista, meaning they have passed a series of compatibility tests including PlaysForSure verification.
I guess that leaves open the vague possibility that Marlin is in the players, but it certainly sounds like Microsoft's DRM is being used. I'll update if I hear something to the contrary.
Posted by: Jon Healey | August 31, 2007 at 11:39 AM
To close the loop on this issue -- Sony says that Marlin isn't being used in these devices, just Windows Media's DRM.
Posted by: Jon Healey | August 31, 2007 at 11:53 AM
The latest posting on the new Sony blog features a guest post from the head of our audio business on the new Walkman products and the plan to eventually phase out the Connect service in North America and Europe. I invite you to check it out at www.sony.com/electronicsblog.
Posted by: Rick Clancy | September 04, 2007 at 12:04 PM
One you discover the beauty of renting music, owning it becomes absurd.
Jim
Posted by: Jim Harris | September 28, 2007 at 09:59 AM