The music will set you free

With very few exceptions, I don’t purchase anything out of the iTunes store; what you gain in convienience, you lose in functionality and flexibility (that is, when you buy DRM, you don’t really own your music).  The newest XKCD makes the same point – in far fewer words – and offers something of a “way out,” as it were, for those of us who aren’t exactly keen on either iTunes or flagrant copyright violation.  We can simply “demand DRM-free files.”  Now, how effective “demanding” is remains to be seen.  But it is important to remember that the current digital media status quo isn’t set in stone.  And that even without serious changes in copyright law, it is possible to have a profitable, DRM-less system for distributing digital media.  Indeed, Emusic’s subscription-based service seems to be wildly successful (even without the support of major record labels), and Amazon’s MP3 download service seems to be in pretty good shape (and it’s worth saying that Apple has begun to offer DRM-less music).  

(photo from flickr user Steve Rhodes)