DRM is dead for music. What's next?
By Eric Bangeman
January 08, 2008 - 09:36AM CT

LAS VEGAS—CES is best known for what seems like miles and miles of shiny consumer electronics, product demos, and expansive booths. But some of the most interesting action takes place off the beaten track of the show floor, in meeting rooms where players from opposite ends of the tech world come to discuss the issues of the day. Such was the case at this year's show.

In a discussion called "The True Cost of DRM: What Can't We Do Now?" moderated by Paul Sweeting of Content Agenda, four panelists had different takes on impact of DRM over the past decade, while managing to agree that, when it comes to music, DRM is indeed dead.

The panelists included Patricia Aufderheide of American University, coauthor of a recent fair use primer for online content creators; Russ Frackman, a partner at the law firm of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp who specializes in copyright, trademark, entertainment, IP, and technology litigation; Jonathan Lee, VP of business development for content-protection company Media Defender; Ian Rogers, general manager of Yahoo! Music; and EFF staff attorney Fred von Lohmann.

Ian Rogers began by making the pronouncement that DRM is done when it comes to music. "When it comes to music, we're set," he said. "Next question: do we have to go through all of this nonsense with video?" The answer, unfortunately, appears to be a resounding yes. "I think DRM in video is robust and healthy, and we'll be stuck with it for a long time," said von Lohmann, who then brought up a point we've touched upon repeated here at Ars over the years. "[DRM] is not about piracy.

Ars Technica
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