A DRM-Free Music Lifestyle, Can it work?

Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 3:37 pm. 2 comments
Posted in DRM Free, Music.

Why aren’t people buying DRM-Free Music?

The legal pressures and scare tactics of the RIAA have dampened some the efforts of some file sharers. However, people who do want to legally buy music still can’t, not because they can’t afford it, their music just isn’t available to download. The big major music groups are still cautious of selling Mp3s without some sort of control over them. One of the big reasons Mp3s are illegally downloaded in the first place is because nobody is selling music the majority of people like. All mainstream music listeners are forced to use iTunes, Zune Marketplace, Napster, and Rhapsody. Major record companies can then set restrictions on which computers and devices you can listen to music with. Yes, you can burn music from "some" of the music services but there is a loss in quality when converting back to Mp3 . There are people like me who are obsessed with audio quality and want to hear every bass and treble note as original as intended. The second problem going on is the legal pressures. It might scare off some people, but in reality it starts an uprising against the RIAA. Its like a sword fight of 5 people against millions, and the 5 are stabbing each other in the back. The major source of getting DRM free music legally is through ripping CDs and converting to MP3, but we can no longer trust record companies as they may secretly install anti-theft programs. The point here is, if you make your songs available as MP3 at an affordable price, I can buy it and will have no need for file sharing.

Who are living the DRM-Free Lifestyle?

We can’t just blame companies for this whole mess, we’ll also rant at the consumers too. Consumers are the third part of the problem, not because they are downloading illegally, but because they eat only food thats given to them. Their main sources of music are MTV, VH1, BET, CMT, Fuse,  and radio stations. Consumers are too close-minded to look for other artists who aren’t signed to big major record labels. I don’t blame them though. The music sold on DRM-free music sites aren’t that great to begin with, but they do have their own cult followings. If you do spend the time to research other artists who don’t give a damn about the RIAA, you might find something you like. Only those who are in search for new artists and new music are the ones who live the DRM-Free lifestyle. You may want to call them the Indie generation, but at the same time they are still boycotting mainstream RIAA music, and purchasing from artists they actually like.

How can you Sell DRM Free Music?

My journey of DRM-free music started years ago with the little company called KarmaDownload, it has now been shutdown for financial reasons that they won’t even disclose. KarmaDownload sold music with the choice of bulk or per download. The bulk option didn’t work for technical reasons so I had to pay per download. Entering billing information once, you can download as many times as you want and be charged for each transaction. This may not go so well with credit card companies and their fees but it worked for the time being. For every 10 songs you download, you get 1 free, and that was pretty hot.

1. Keep Billing Information Seamless

I should only have to type my credit card information once. After that unless its a yearly security thing, I don’t want to type it anymore. Sites like JunoDownload and Emusic keep this seamless. Beatport asks for your security code each time, but Clickgroove asks for billing information all the time making it very annoying.

2. Music Previews should be long and instant

I want to hear song clips longer than 30 seconds. Emusic’s previews are painfully short. Short previews do not give an essence of what the song is like. JunoDownload however has longer previews, sometimes up to 2 minutes. I prefer hearing music clips within the site instead of using Winamp. DanceTracks Digital, and DJDownload place all music within flash playlists. DJDownload takes it a step further and adds each song to the playlist instead of clearing all music out like ClickGroove.

3.  Allow purchasing in Bulk

Emusic is the only site that does this perfectly. 30 songs for $9.99 is great compared to other sites which would have given me 5 songs. I’m not saying this pricing method is great for artists, but it got me paying for music. Not many other sites do this, but It would be nice to allow 1 or 2 free songs for a certain amount of purchases.

I’ve only highlighted music services that specialize in electronic/dance music, but there are plenty more out there such as 7digital/indiestore where most tracks are Mp3s but some are WMA’s with DRM. If EMI sold DRM-Free tracks on Itunes, Warner Music, BMG, and the rest can and should. Electronica and Indie musicians have been selling Mp3s for years, why can’t mainstream artists just jump on the bandwagon?