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Many UK music downloaders consider DRM a nuisance

7 August 2007 19:36 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 13 comments

While most readers of AfterDawn and similar sites probably have no love for Digital Rights Management (DRM) based on knowledge of it, the average consumer probably doesn't know the difference right? Wrong! A recent survey conducted by Entertainment Media Research, working with media law firm Olswang, showed that many British consumers may avoid legal downloads due to DRM and that awareness of DRM's ugly side is spreading fast.

1,700 UK music consumers, selected from a pre-existing panel of more than 300,000 music consumers in the UK, were part of the lengthy survey. A huge 68% of those that offered an opinion on the matter believed that music is only worth purchasing if it has no DRM restrictions at all. However, less than half (about 39%) are willing to pay an extra fee to remove DRM and 18% would consider keeping it to save money.

Of the respondents who claimed some awareness of DRM, 61% believed it affected the rights of the music consumer to hear their music on different platforms, 38% classified it as simply a nuisance and 39% also expressed concerns over privacy. However, 63% agreed with the aim of DRM (to protect copyrighted music from illegal file sharing), showing that the problems they have with DRM are how it affects legitimate consumers.

However, DRM does not protect music from file-sharing at all, as fully ripped albums will still appear (almost all the time sourced from CDs) regardless of DRM - a fact pointed out by Steve Jobs earlier this year in an open letter to the music industry.

Source:
Ars Technica

Permalink to this article

Consumer Watchdog says UK Copyright laws are the worst (16 April 2009)

Apple drops price of DRM-free tracks on iTunes Plus (16 October 2007)

EMI physical CD sales plummet (10 August 2007)

Vista gets a public challenge on its DRM schemes (10 August 2007)

Universal tries out DRM free downloads (10 August 2007)

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Discuss this article!
dallasj (Junior Member) 7 August 2007 21:34
Um...people don't like DRM. This is news? [ + quote]
c1c (Member) 7 August 2007 21:39
Hey look! I spent a dollar on a song, cant wait to listen to it in my car with my cd player on the way to work. What? I can't? Well since I bought it I'll go and download it illegally so I can do what I want with it. DRM doesn't make sense. [ + quote]
Dela (Staff Member) 7 August 2007 23:10
*Originally posted by dallasj:* Um...people don't like DRM. This is news? If you read it you'd see its news about the results of a survey, buit of course you can't read it... that'd be just too hard. [ + quote]
Lethal_B (Moderator) 8 August 2007 5:49
*Originally posted by dallasj:* Um...people don't like DRM. This is news? wow, did you actually read the article? i suggest you actually bother to read the news instead of just reading the title and making an idiot of yourself. [ + quote]
osnap (Junior Member) 8 August 2007 11:31
he was joking god [ + quote]
Dela (Staff Member) 8 August 2007 13:40
*Quote:* he was joking god If he cames back and said he was joking then fair enough, I'd apologize for my reaction and take his word for it. But you must understand, I've written a couple of thousands things here and I'm no expert, no professional, no journalist etc. but sometimes people leave the stupidest, sliest & more arrogant comments. I love it when people point out either factual mistakes, spelling mistakes or mistakes in the source itself because it allows me to edit my own article here and correct it but 95% of the time, people don't want to be helpful or funny, just stupid, and as any writer here will tell you, with many of our users, you pretty much lose the ability to differentiate between a joke or just a stupid comment. That being said, I have always explained and when needed, apologized for a reaction I took up wrong. I know as well as most people who have spent far too long on the Internet that "text has no tone of voice". [ + quote]
duckNrun (Inactive) 8 August 2007 21:57
HEY! I for one LOVE DRM! I thouroughly enjoy the restrictions that the music and movie industry place upon my use to use the purchases I buy! I mean come on WHY should I be able to use all those European DVD's I bought when living over there just because I made the silly mistake of moving to another country! I mean come on, of COURSE I should have to buy these things again! And as for not being able to use my over priced under quality iTunes songs on anythign but an iPod or a PC? Thats PERFECT! I mean WHY should I be able to listen to MY music in the car when I can listen to the crap that my local radio stations say I should listen to and enjoy all the commercial trying to get me to by more worthless products I don't really need or the adverts saying if I only could grow more hair, lose weight, wear a certain cologne sponsored by some smelly sweating athlete, drive this car or whatever that my life would become soooooo much better. Yeah DRM rocks! /sarcasm ;-) [ + quote]
Unfocused (Member) 14 August 2007 22:11
@duckNrun Love the reply. I'll back you on your support for DRM. Where can we start a petition to keep it? Maybe we should just try to get funding to keep DRM alive and kicking. Anybody want to join a development teem to seek out creative and innovative ways that we can take DRM into the next century? [ + quote]
duckNrun (Inactive) 15 August 2007 4:56
organic players that are implanted and that play organic media. Pop a movie pill and BAM.... TRUE hi-def movies with resolutions that are only limited by the number of brain cells that are left. Just like vitamins and drugs it gets out of your system in say 24 hours and then you can no longer play it in your mind... Then we could all say I pissed another $5 away on a movie rental...lol Of course I bet Slysoft would come up with some kind of urine extractor so you could watch it endlessly... but I'm sure the prospect of 'urine pirates' drinking piss would leave a bad taste in the media maffia's mouths haha spelling corrected [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15 August 2007 4:58
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 17 August 2007 17:14
This is really stupid to do research and find out the consumers do not like DRM. The simple fact is if the product becomes too complicated or stops the consumer doing what they want with it their is no way they will go for it. Pay extra for it to be removed I don't think so. [ + quote]
dallasj (Junior Member) 17 August 2007 22:01
My favorite way to get mp3's has always been, and always will be, just to buy the CD and rip it. It usually ends up about a dollar a song and if the songs get deleted or something, you have that physical backup. My PSP ^^ ----------------------------------------- PSP: 3.40 oe-a, 2gb & 4gb memory sticks Music: listening to FOB & P!ATD [ + quote]
Delanna (Inactive) 26 September 2007 5:09
spam removed [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 11 October 2007 10:13
hughjars (Inactive) 26 September 2007 6:01
When are they going to learn. DRM hurts sales. There's no way around that. [ + quote]