New Trend: Raise Music Prices by offering DRM Free Music
Now if that is not a clever idea. Force DRM on consumers for several years with a pricing scheme straight out of hell and then use a huge publicity machine to make the customers believe that DRM free music is the future raising the price of music in the process even more.
If you thought that everything would be good now that many labels decided to offer drm free music albums as well you are far away from what is really happening right now.
The music industry found a way to give consumers what they want - DRM free music - which makes the companies appear as knights in shining armor that free music from something that they introduced in first place. Even if that is acceptable since it is benefiting for us, the way DRM free music is introduced is not as you are charged more to get music without digital rights management.
Sure, no one is forcing anyone to buy music online but I think it is important to let as many people as possible know that this is not really a step in the right direction. Why is the price for DRM free music higher than that of normal songs? Is the Music Industry still fearing that buyers will upload the songs to p2p networks? Don't they know that all their precious albums exist on those networks days, weeks and sometimes even months before release? How can a customer who is actually buying the songs hurt them even more?
I'm thinking that many sites who report in favor of this new marketing move should get their facts straight. They are up-selling you something that you already had 10 years ago. ArsTechnica has an interesting article worth a read entitled "DRM, lock-ins, and piracy: all red herrings for a music industry in trouble"
The new old concept is not convincing me at all to purchase music online. I will continue my boycott as long as they try to fool their customers and not listen to them. I'm listening to web radio at the moment, if they manage to shut that down I will listen to my old records and independent bands from online portals such as Jamendo. And yes, I do purchase albums from those bands from time to time. I know that they receive the largest share from my money and that is what counts..
