Music execs chime in on DRM: it's lame, but it ain't going anywhere
A recent poll conducted by Jupiter Research of European music firms reveals that DRM isn't exactly universally popular, not even in these bastions of all that is unholy and restricted. In the poll, 54% of executives thought DRM systems were too restrictive, and 62% believe dropping DRM would boost the "take-up" of digital music. That number varied dramatically based on who was being asked, with only 48% of record label execs thinking DRM would boost download sales, but 58% believing so at major labels, and outside the labels the executives seemed much wiser to the ways of the consumer, with 73% believing the death of DRM would boost sales. Unfortunately, nobody much seems to think the end is near. Says analyst Mark Mulligan: "Despite everything that has been happening the record labels are not about to drop DRM, even though all they are doing is making themselves look even less compelling by using it." Execs do seem to think DRM needs to be more interoperable, with 70% thinking that downloads need to play in as many players as possible in the future, but 40% think it's going to take concerted government and consumer action to make this happen -- not quite a rosy picture. This poll was conducted before all these recent Steve Jobs shenanigans, so perhaps the opinions have shifted since then, maybe even for the better, but we won't get our hopes up.
[Thanks, David]
