Quote:
Originally Posted by Kali Yuga
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2) Correlation does not necessarily prove causation. There is no particular reason to presume that "going DRM-free" was solely (or even predominantly) responsible for the increase in iTunes music sales. "
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I said it doesn't look like removing DRM hurt song sales. Which is what record companies and proponents of DRM have always claimed-that without DRM no one would buy songs-they would just steal them. If Apple's digital sales plummeted after the songs went DRM free, then they would have something to point to as proof. As it is, the iTunes store (and Amazon) seem to have shown everyone that you can have DRM-free content for at least one type of media without going out of business.
Will it work for books or films? I'm guessing films and TV shows will inevitably follow music. I don't have the same optimism for books, if only because that industry seems even slower to react than Hollywood. Love to be proven wrong, of course.
And eMusic always had one problem-lack of mainstream content. Their catalog never came close to the other online offerings, although they have some great independent labels-I've been a member for years.