Posted by Technobarbarian on 11/22/07 04:58

<rminv@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:dbb3407c-25c2-4111-a0c6-6394006eb877@s19g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
> Just got an MP3 player and I'm trying to understand DRM.
>
> Looks like MP3 files are fully transferable without any effort.

True, there's no provision in the MP3 format for DRM

>WMA
> downloads seem protected with restricted copying ability.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. There are WMA files that are not
restricted. AAC files are the same story.
>
> But I see that there are scores of software applications that will
> transfer the WMAs to MP3 (which are presumably also then able to be
> copied).
>
> Two questions:
>
> 1) Are the above statements correct?

Mostly yes, see above.

> 2) If yes, then why all the controversy? Seems like the protected
> (DRM) songs are easily thwarted. Why do the record companies put them
> in this format if they are so easy to bypass?

You would have to ask the record companies. Some of them are moving
away from DRM because it doesn't work and because they're hoping it will
increase sales. From their point of view it's a big shift, and a big gamble.
It's possible that their business model is no longer viable or only viable
on a greatly reduced scale. Naturally they would like profits to grow. So
far the thinking seems to have been that DRM would, to some extent, protect
their profits. To some extent it probably does.

TB

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