Professor Jeevan Jaisingh of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has written a paper on how using different DRM technologies, can make actually purchasing music a hassle. For example - a compact disc in which you have to perform multiple steps to decrypt and rip - why go through all that work? Shouldn’t you be allowed to play music you have purchased on your iPod?

We look at the firm’s optimal choice of Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection, and find that revenue decreases with increased protection, and so it is optimal for the firm not to employ any DRM, in the absence of network effects. Listening to music or watching video protected by DRM is cumbersome to users. They have to download license files, there are restrictions on the number of times the file can be copied, and restrictions on the type of devices that can play the file.

While we couldn’t agree more with what is being stated in the paper, we also have to raise the point of consumer awareness. The vast majority of consumers don’t even know what DRM stands for or that the acronym even exists. We feel strongly that once consumers are made more aware of DRM is and how different DRMs can prevent consumers from utilizing a CD, for example, in any manner that they please - that we will either see a spike in music piracy once again, or consumers will shy away from DRM’d titles - in a perfect world.

Need more info? Read the paper here.

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