Dude, remember back in 2002 or so when you got your first computer and your older brother had to have "the talk" with you? Sure, it was awkward and uncomfortable, but it seemed damn worth it at the time. After all, you didn't want to end up just knocking back a few T1 connections, hooking up with some random MP3s you met on the internet, and catching a DRM! "Take it from me," he said. "I had a little downloading fun, got slapped with a DRM, and now I can never feel comfortable sharing music again." A gruesome lesson.
But hey, now it's 2008, kids, and the pandemonium over catching DRM is finally on the wain, as the concept of free-love finally returns to digital downloads (which, uh, are still not "free," really). And the latest company to finally tune-in and get clean? Napster.
Yes, much to the chagrin of Lars Ulrich (we assume), the squeaky-clean Napster is letting it all hang out, sexily stripping DRM from all paid downloads on its digital music service in favor of hot, carnal, unprotected MP3s, just like they told us they would way back in January! As of last week, all 6 million (as compared with the less-manly 2 million over at AmazonMP3; sorry ladies) songs in the Napster catalog are now available for purchase without the buzz-killing threat of contracting DRM.
These new, uninhibited MP3 files will be of higher quality than the DRM carriers (256 kbps compared to 192 kbps) but will still cost a tantalizing 99¢. Plus, unlike other digital retailers who are also "getting DRM-free" -- such as Wal-Mart -- Napster actually hasn't lost any cool-points at school, as all four major labels as well as all of its existing indie label and aggregator partners are supporting its decision, conservative kids be damned! Perhaps most importantly, Sony BMG has come out in support of Napster's decision by replicating the same "agency" model it started using with the AmazonMP3 store. In addition, Napster is also winning some big time "social responsibility" points by reaching out to all Windows Media DRM victims with special support groups that allow those MP3s to stand up and be heard (unlike the now-defunct MSN Music service, which cruelly turned its back on victims of DRM)!
But despite its new sense of liberation, Napster wants the world to know that it's still all about the long-term relationships at heart. "We're really focused on subscription and driving subscribers as our business model," says Napster COO Christopher Allen. "It's a way for us, through MP3s, to get some exposure to our subscription service," he continues. "They may be initially attracted to the MP3s... and I think it will result in more subscribers over time." The company is hoping that by committing to Napster though a variety of internet-connected devices -- such as mobile phones, home stereos, and eventually car radios -- a beautiful, enduring relationship will eventually start to take shape in which a monthly subscription to access all the music they want from any device is more attractive to their customers than a quick, one-night download.
But hey, before you go out there and pick up any old MP3 off the street thinking that it can't happen to you, remember that the DRM-free movement has not yet made it to the Napster Mobile service, which is the default mobile music service for several wireless operators worldwide, including AT&T Mobility (which also counts eMusic as a digital music provider). As of now, music purchased via Napster mobile will still be encoded in the Windows Media DRM. Allen says this will change "soon," as Napster and its liberated partners test a new system that would send a DRM-free version to users' computers, as well as a second copy to their phones without that nasty, "Windows" DRM. But until then, you know, watch where you stick your phones, huh?
