Not So Much Read Together: DRM and Amazon

1. Apple cuts copy protection and prices on iTunes
   http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99048006
   
2. Amazon takes on Apple with copy-protection-free music
   http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2008-03-25-sony-music-service_N.htm
3. The Rise And Fall Of The Music Industry
   http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99312293
   
4. The Futre of Reading
   http://diveintomark.org/archives/2007/11/19/the-future-of-reading
   

Amazon found, by many accounts, good success in a competitor to Apple with its DRM-free music store. Unlike iTunes which is restricted to the iTunes player and hence the iPod/iPhone for syncing, Amazon MP3's may be placed on any device. In a recent move, Apple will also be moving to offer DRM-free music.

How long will it take until the eBook industry catches on? Despite its success with DRM-free music, it is arrogently following the iTunes path with eBooks. All Kindle books are DRM protected and cannot be moved to another device. I predict in time we will see another competitor (perhaps Apple, itself) offer DRM-free eBooks (a number of iPhone users report that they enjoy reading on their iPhones).

Time will tell, but I fast see the desire of consumers to control their own data. Consumers seek data that is not restricted to a specific device or format. Once I have purchased a song, movie, book, etc. let me listen, view, read it whereever and however I like. As Cloud Computing inititives grow, the company (probably Microsoft or Google) that can provide the most interfaces to other services is bound to prevail. When I purchase any online content, it should ideally be stored in my online 'cloud' space. While some online storage services have not found success in the past, I think that this collaboration and interaction could tip the scales. As recent economic trends have demonstrated too clearly, companies can go under and when a company holding my DRM protected content does, I lose all the value of my purchases.

Update: January 21, 2009

Just got this update:
Shortcovers, Iceberg Put Latest e-Books On Your Cellphone
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123198329968084069.html

Two two iPhone applications will start selling eBooks for the iPhone. These applications will include old classics along with new-releases. In addition, the article mentions that Apple already has "has hundreds of e-book offerings" in their App Store. No word on the copy-protection status of these eBooks yet.