Lala Music Service Uses Network DRM

Digital Rights Management software (DRM), when used, attempts to control use of digital music by preventing access, copying or conversion to other formats. Until recently, Apple used the technology on all music they sold.

Now it seems that music service Lala, backed by Warner Music, filed for a patent last year on “a network-based DRM system [that] manages digital media assets stored in the network.” So instead of wrapping individual songs in DRM, Lala uses their servers to control the use of music on the platform.

“The Web restricted nature of the offering,” Lala writes in the filing, “means that the digital assets are at all times controlled by the system and thus result in minimal piracy.”

Lala allows users to scan personal music collections, including iTunes libraries, onto their servers and access the songs from any Internet browser. Prices for songs range between 10 cents for “web-songs”, and 89 or 99 cents for downloadable mp3s. Lala CEO Geoff Ralston confirmed that the patent is “around Web Songs,” but that the service doesn’t protect purchased mp3s.

However, for years DRM systems have been defeated or circumvented by hackers, especially in the video game industry. Can “network” DRM stop anyone from doing the same? Lala says in the patent filing that its system can’t be cracked.

Furthermore, if a person is sharing files from Lala, the copyright owner can choose to take away the user’s access to the music. Many believe this sort of technology to be intrusive, and digital music veteran Michael Robertson says that network DRM is just the latest attempt of the recording industry to take control of music away from consumers.

Lala is obviously receiving orders from the major labels, and by using DRM, Lala is invoking the old problem, well known to the video game industry, of attacking the paying customers, while having little effect on those who don’t pay for content. By taking this path, the recording industry is alienating valued customers and ultimately hurting their own business.

Do alternative services suddenly seem more appealing to you, or is DRM not a problem?

Source: CNET