DRM? What DRM? What the Heck Are Copyright Holders Going to Focus on Now?
On an industry panel, I made the comment that copyright holders, particularly young, independent artists, should focus more on distributing their content on all available platforms, rather than on DRM (digital rights management). Not that DRM isn’t important…but at this stage, it’s not as important.
Consider a DRM free model. For an independent artist this is invaluable. People can freely distribute that content on any and all platforms. But get this…it doesn’t cost anything. It’s free promotion without the artist having to do a darn thing. If you consider the potential for lack of royalties because of the DRM infringement (as an opportunity cost), then consider this cost as a cost of marketing. How much would it cost the artist to get that content in front of people who can’t hear the music because of DRM? I don’t know, but do you want to take that chance of the content not proliferating to the full extent possible?
This is at a very critical stage now. The internet has been THE go-to platform to distribute, play and search for content by all stakeholders (artists, fans, labels). Being a copyright holder who makes it easy for anyone to hear/see that content will continue to win…because it gets it in front of the maximum amount of people possible.
Sure, no one wants to get hosed on losing control of the content, but it’s that very control that can limit exposure. The focus shifts into brand building and creating demand…
