James Delahunty
14 Feb 2007 11:13
According to a survey conducted by Jupiter Research, almost two thirds of music industry executives believe that removing Digital Rights Management (DRM) from music downloads would lead to increases in downloading. The firm studied the attitudes to DRM systems in Europe music firms. Many believed the the current DRM systems were not fit for their purpose.
Analyst Mark Mulligan, one of the authors of the report, said that the study was carried out between December and January, before Apple CEO Steve Jobs published an open letter encouraging record companies to drop the need for digital rights management. Mulligan said he was surprised with the responses received from large and small record companies, rights bodies and digital stores.
About 54% of executives questioned thought that current digital restrictions on music downloads were too harsh. About 62% believed that if DRM was dropped, music download sales would rise due to interoperability. Of all questions, 70% believed that the future of music downloads depends on making tracks playable on as many players as possible.
Mulligan however, does not believe record companies will drop DRM now. "Despite everything that has been happening the record labels are not about to drop DRM," said Mr Mulligan. "Even though all they are doing is making themselves look even less compelling by using it."
Source:
BBC News