Yahoo Music closing. Claims it will "compensate" customers for DRM

[Alisa]

Seen on Gizmodo today:

According to a Yahoo spokesperson, anyone who bought DRM music from the store “will be compensated for whatever they paid.”

I'm curious to see if they actually mean they will be refunding money or if they have something else in mind . For most companies that are failing, refunding the entire revenue of the company would not be possible. Yahoo is rather large and its music division was pretty small. Maybe they can do that. At any rate, it will be interesting to see how it plays out. It could set a precedence for future discontinued services.

So, being that nothing lasts forever, aside from getting your money back what do you think would be just compensation if your favorite ebook retailer stopped supporting their DRM?

[pshrynk]

I'd say that they should de-DRM the media. For free.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

I'd say that they should de-DRM the media. For free.

yes that seems like the only fair solution.

[Jack B Nimble]

I read about this at several sites over the weekend. One site, I think it was Engadget (the downside of RSS feeds is all the news sources start to blend together), stated that the remedies under consideration included refunds and DRM-free MP3s. Since I am uncertain of the source, speculating on the validity would be silly.

Aha... Searching is your friend. Engadget's article is here. Sounds like they are only speculating on possible remedies, rather than quoting the spokesperson, though.

Jack

[Alisa]

Yep. I read the speculation and I think stripping DRM would be fair but how practical is it from a business perspective? I don't think they can do that without permission for each work.

[thebrave]

Update: They said they will refund everyone & offer a rebate on the rhapsody service.

And yes, in our world, refundings thousands of customers is cheaper than deDRMizing the files. (Because that would mean renegotiate contracts as a dead company)

[pagansoul]

I buy all my music off emusic, iTunes (I make non-drm copy of everything I buy as part of my backup system) and Amazon. The other companies were never a consideration. I feel these 3 (digital music sales) are the only safe bets. I'm a MAC person but I can understand others who would prefer not to buy off iTunes. eMusic has more non-main stream music and its MP3 VBR is quite good. Amazon goes right into my iTunes but I hate looking at their web site for music, too much advertizement and not good at sorting or finding. My favorite way to buy music is used CDs. I don't think it will go away in the next decade.

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by pagansoul

I buy all my music off emusic, iTunes (I make non-drm copy of everything I buy as part of my backup system) and Amazon.

I'm also a long-time eMusic subscriber, and I also use Amazon for mp3 purchases (though I do often go the used CD route).

I simply will not buy music (or video) burdened with DRM.

Nor will I buy ebooks with DRM unless I can immediately remove it.

I find it ironic that Amazon made a big splash into the music market trumpeting the fact that they were DRM-free...yet seem to be very much in favor of DRM for ebooks when they can use it to lock people in to using their own hardware.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by bwaldron

I find it ironic that Amazon made a big splash into the music market trumpeting the fact that they were DRM-free...yet seem to be very much in favor of DRM for ebooks when they can use it to lock people in to using their own hardware.

Amazon can't unilaterally decide to sell without DRM. I think the music industry is a bit more mature in this regard where the publishers still haven't quite caught on.

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by Alisa

Amazon can't unilaterally decide to sell without DRM. I think the music industry is a bit more mature in this regard where the publishers still haven't quite caught on.

This is true...but the fact that they made sure to tweak things so that the Kindle couldn't read standard DRM'd Mobipocket files does make the Kindle lock-in strategy somewhat apparent (at least to me!).

And haven't they offered many of the Tor freebies -- but with DRM added? Since Tor offered them in DRM-free Mobi format, doesn't seem that the publisher would be the problem there.

I'd love to believe that Amazon will be a force for good in DRM-free ebooks, but if so it sure isn't apparent to me -- at least to this point.

[RWood]

Amazon still makes a bunch of money from the Mobipocket book sellers throughout the world. By not selling Mobi themselves they do not put them out of business, they just didn't cut them in for a share of the Kindle business.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by bwaldron

This is true...but the fact that they made sure to tweak things so that the Kindle couldn't read standard DRM'd Mobipocket files does make the Kindle lock-in strategy somewhat apparent (at least to me!).

IIRC, Mobipocket has agreements with its resellers not to compete on price. That's why you'll find the prices to be so high at mobipocket.com. I think if Amazon offered the books as mobi books, they'd have to abide by that agreement. No more $9.99 new releases.

[Donnageddon]

<------ Another long time eMusic.com user. I really don't buy music anywhere else.

[MaggieScratch]

Engadget is reporting that users will receive vouchers to re-download on Rhapsody, which is DRM-free. I wasn't aware Rhapsody was DRM-free; is that true? Can you play them on any device?

Also, if you hate that idea for whatever reason you can get a refund.

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by MaggieScratch

I wasn't aware Rhapsody was DRM-free; is that true? Can you play them on any device?

Yes, Rhapsody has recently started selling unencumbered mp3 files (that can, of course, be played on any device).

The trend in music sales is clear -- hopefully eBooks will follow.