Copyright and copy rights - Apple calls the tune

Sooner or later, the major recording companies are going to have to face the music – literally – and give consumers what they want: legal music downloads without copy-protection schemes. It can’t happen soon enough. For years, music lovers have been struggling with the awkward digital rights management (DRM) systems imposed to thwart “unauthorized” copying from one device to another of songs they’ve legitimately bought.

It’s a mess. The copy protection software itself can cause problems. It’s a hassle for consumers, many of whom own multiple devices for playing back digital music. And it takes away their rights. All copying is not illegal, although the companies would like us to believe that. There still is such a thing as “fair use,” though that concept has been gutted in recent years. The restrictions have driven many consumers away – to file-sharing sites where they still can download files illegally. Record companies are losing sales they’d otherwise get from music lovers, that vast majority of whom wouldn’t think of making illegal copies.

So it’s good to see that Apple Inc. has joined the fray recently. CEO Steve Jobs is pushing the record companies to stop using copy protection on songs it sells on its extremely popular iTunes service. Britain’s giant EMI record group has agreed to such a deal with Apple. This is pretty extraordinary: It would allow consumers to play those songs not only on Apple’s iPods, but on any digital music player. The sound quality would be better than on DRM-laden tracks. In return, the tracks would cost about 30 cents more each – which Apple believes consumers would be willing to pay.

I think Apple’s right. People in our increasingly online digital society, especially young people, regard schemes such as DRM as an intrusion. The technology carries with it a presumption of guilt, implying that we’ll “pirate” music if we get a chance. That’s no way to treat your customers. “Shifting” is not piracy.

So here’s what will happen: EMI will find that its sales increase, not decrease, when it removes copy protection. That will give Apple even greater leverage with the other companies, and they’ll eventually have to follow suit. After all, it’s supposed to be about the consumers.