Thursday, February 28, 2008

DRM is a touchy subject



Earlier this week, I attended the SanFran Music Tech Summit, best described as a meeting of the minds of those who are deeply involved or invested in the music technology space. To quote the event Web site: "We will meet to discuss the evolving music/business/technology ecosystem in a proactive, conducive to deal-making environment." I know...sounds a touch boring, but it was actually quite the opposite. In fact, I've come to the realization that conferences with an emphasis on panels are infinitely more informative, entertaining, and relaxing than those centering around massive product launches (ahem, CES). The panels covered topics of varying interest in the music space, and although none really focused on hardware devices, each offered some interesting insight into how technology continues to change to music industry as well as what it is doing to help consumers hear what they want and discover new content.

Now I could go on and describe the three panels that I attended in excruciating detail, but in the interest of not putting you to sleep, I think we'll discuss something that never fails to incite some form of interest: good ol' Digital Rights Management. Ah, DRM...what a tangled web you weave. The technology was a hot topic throughout the course of the conference. Unsurprisingly, the subject turned into a rousing debate during the Artists, Copyrights it's about gaining access."

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