Audio Books Moving Away from DRM

MacRumors · Mar 4, 2008, 12:00 PM

The New York Times reports on a growing trend for book publishers to move away from content protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM). Instead, Random House and Penguin Group, the two largest U.S. publishers, will begin offering audio book content in unprotected MP3 formats.

The recent move by the recording industry towards DRM-free content was part of the movtivation behind the move.

Publishers had traditionally looked to DRM to help combat illegal copying of their content, however, a recent experiement by Random House disproves this notion that DRM necessarily prevents widespread piracy. In a trial run, Random House released watermarked DRM-free audio books on eMusic and monitored file sharing networks. They found that the pirated copies of their audiobooks primarily came from Audio CDs or DRM-decoded sources, and not from the DRM-free sources.

As a result, Random House's Madeline McIntosh said, "Our feeling is that D.R.M. is not actually doing anything to prevent piracy".

Article Link

MacinDoc · Mar 4, 2008, 12:02 PM

A popular trend, no doubt...

P-Worm · Mar 4, 2008, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacRumors

As a result, Random House's Madeline McIntosh said, "Our feeling is that D.R.M. is not actually doing anything to prevent piracy".]

True. Let's hope that others will start to catch on.

P-Worm

Eduardo1971 · Mar 4, 2008, 12:03 PM

The question now is "when will Apple release a dedicated portable book/newspaper/magazine reader to compete against the Amazon one?"

benpatient · Mar 4, 2008, 12:05 PM

DRM doesn't work?

Shocking!

Mykbibby · Mar 4, 2008, 12:06 PM

Awesome... I don't read but its a good thing to hear. Hopefully others listen...

Doesn't DRM just drive you crazy?

~Shard~ · Mar 4, 2008, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacRumors

As a result, Random House's Madeline McIntosh said, "Our feeling is that D.R.M. is not actually doing anything to prevent piracy".

Heh heh - who's Madeline's boss, Andy Apple?

TripleCore · Mar 4, 2008, 12:11 PM

This is a long-awaited change.

I can imagine sales might even go up once they move away from DRM.

w00master · Mar 4, 2008, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Shard~

Heh heh - who's Madeline's boss, Andy Apple?

LOL. I noticed that as well. So hilarious and QUITE the coincidence!

w00master

Cherimoya · Mar 4, 2008, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eduardo1971

The question now is "when will Apple release a dedicated portable book/newspaper/magazine reader to compete against the Amazon one?"

Didn't Steve say they weren't going to because nobody read anymore?

That's certainly true of the Kindle because you can't buy the damn thing. I've been waiting over a month.

~Shard~ · Mar 4, 2008, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by w00master

LOL. I noticed that as well. So hilarious and QUITE the coincidence!

Maybe her brother is Peter Pismo...

Seriously though, I think this is a good move, and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see general sales actually increase once this change is implemented further. Let's hope others take notice of this and follow suit...

mmccaskill · Mar 4, 2008, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cherimoya

Didn't Steve say they weren't going to because nobody read anymore?

That's certainly true of the Kindle because you can't buy the damn thing. I've been waiting over a month.

Didn't Jobs also say once that Apple would never get into the cell phone market?

williedigital · Mar 4, 2008, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eduardo1971

The question now is "when will Apple release a dedicated portable book/newspaper/magazine reader to compete against the Amazon one?"

I think the are talking about audiobooks here, not e-books, which is the kimble market.

GekkePrutser · Mar 4, 2008, 12:20 PM

Quote:

As a result, Random House's Madeline McIntosh said, "Our feeling is that D.R.M. is not actually doing anything to prevent piracy".

Ah, that explains it. I was already wondering what this had to do with Mac Rumors

Edit: Sorry, I thought I was the first to make this joke, sorry ~Shard~!

brianus · Mar 4, 2008, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmccaskill

Didn't Jobs also say once that Apple would never get into the cell phone market?

..similarly dismissed flash memory, or the idea of video on portable devices. If he denounces it, there's a good chance that means they're working on it!

em500 · Mar 4, 2008, 12:23 PM

DRM on audio books is the most asinine idea I've ever heard. If there's one area where the audio quality doesn't really matter (and thus you can always capture/record/recompress the decompressed audio, it would be audio books. Honestly, what the hell were those people thinking?

FakeWozniak · Mar 4, 2008, 12:23 PM

So DRM "unlocked but watermarked" technology is not popular among the pirates. I think this is obvious because it is easier/cheaper to check an Audio CD out from your public library, rip it, and upload it than it is to BUY the DRM version and spread your name all over the Internet with it.

The only solution should be to stop selling Audio CDs completely. Obviously this is unreasonable, so they need to accept the piracy, which I think the RIAA is doing.

flopticalcube · Mar 4, 2008, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eduardo1971

The question now is "when will Apple release a dedicated portable book/newspaper/magazine reader to compete against the Amazon one?"

Why? This is audio books. Nothing to read here...

gwangung · Mar 4, 2008, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TripleCore

This is a long-awaited change.

I can imagine sales might even go up once they move away from DRM.

Quite possible. It happened with Baen Books.

krye · Mar 4, 2008, 12:29 PM

Yeh, who the F is going to steal an audio book? I mean, if your read books then you are probably smarter than the average criminal. If you are smarter than the average criminal then you know that stealing is bad.

justflie · Mar 4, 2008, 12:29 PM

Finally they're catching on. DRM only hinders honest people who are trying to use the content that they purchased in a reasonable way. Pirates can always find ways around DRM, it just slows them down for a little while then full speed ahead.

morespce54 · Mar 4, 2008, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacRumors

As a result, Random House's Madeline McIntosh said, "Our feeling is that D.R.M. is not actually doing anything to prevent piracy".]

Quote:

Originally Posted by P-Worm

True. Let's hope that others will start to catch on.

P-Worm

WHAT?
DRM doesn't prevent piracy? But... I tough that was the main idea, the reason for their very existence! Oh well...

thunderclap · Mar 4, 2008, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benpatient

DRM doesn't work?

Shocking!

Took long enough for them to figure it out.

Eduardo1971 · Mar 4, 2008, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by williedigital

I think the are talking about audiobooks here, not e-books, which is the kimble market.

I am aware of this. I was bringing up Apple creating a competing eReader. I was veering off topic. Sorry.

redrabbit · Mar 4, 2008, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cherimoya

Didn't Steve say they weren't going to because nobody read anymore?

That's certainly true of the Kindle because you can't buy the damn thing. I've been waiting over a month.

It's worth the wait. I've been loving mine and would not trade it for an iphone or anything else. It's so great.

And for the record, the Kindle can play mp3s/audiobooks.

Mar 4, 2008, 12:00 PM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	Audio Books Moving Away from DRM The New York Times reports on a growing trend for book publishers to move away from content protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM). Instead, Random House and Penguin Group, the two largest U.S. publishers, will begin offering audio book content in unprotected MP3 formats. The recent move by the recording industry towards DRM-free content was part of the movtivation behind the move. Publishers had traditionally looked to DRM to help combat illegal copying of their content, however, a recent experiement by Random House disproves this notion that DRM necessarily prevents widespread piracy. In a trial run, Random House released watermarked DRM-free audio books on eMusic and monitored file sharing networks. They found that the pirated copies of their audiobooks primarily came from Audio CDs or DRM-decoded sources, and not from the DRM-free sources. As a result, Random House's Madeline McIntosh said, "Our feeling is that D.R.M. is not actually doing anything to prevent piracy". Article Link

Mar 4, 2008, 12:02 PM	#2
MacinDoc macrumors 65816 Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: The Great White North	A popular trend, no doubt... __________________ MB Alu 2GHz, iMac i7, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS

Mar 4, 2008, 12:03 PM	#4
Eduardo1971 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Lost Angeles, Ca. usa	The question now is "when will Apple release a dedicated portable book/newspaper/magazine reader to compete against the Amazon one?" __________________ 13" white 2Ghz Macbook, 250GB Hard drive, 2GB RAM Fight On!

Mar 4, 2008, 12:06 PM	#6
Mykbibby macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Palm Springs, CA	Awesome... I don't read but its a good thing to hear. Hopefully others listen... Doesn't DRM just drive you crazy? __________________ Mac Soda: Quenching Your Thirst for Everything Apple

Mar 4, 2008, 12:23 PM	#17
FakeWozniak macrumors member Join Date: Nov 2007	Obvious So DRM "unlocked but watermarked" technology is not popular among the pirates. I think this is obvious because it is easier/cheaper to check an Audio CD out from your public library, rip it, and upload it than it is to BUY the DRM version and spread your name all over the Internet with it. The only solution should be to stop selling Audio CDs completely. Obviously this is unreasonable, so they need to accept the piracy, which I think the RIAA is doing.

Mar 4, 2008, 12:05 PM	#5
benpatient macrumors 65816 Join Date: Nov 2003	DRM doesn't work? Shocking!

Mar 4, 2008, 12:11 PM	#8
TripleCore macrumors member Join Date: Oct 2007	This is a long-awaited change. I can imagine sales might even go up once they move away from DRM.

Mar 4, 2008, 12:23 PM	#16
em500 macrumors regular Join Date: Apr 2005	DRM on audio books is the most asinine idea I've ever heard. If there's one area where the audio quality doesn't really matter (and thus you can always capture/record/recompress the decompressed audio, it would be audio books. Honestly, what the hell were those people thinking?

Mar 4, 2008, 12:29 PM	#20
krye macrumors 68000 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: USA	Yeh, who the F is going to steal an audio book? I mean, if your read books then you are probably smarter than the average criminal. If you are smarter than the average criminal then you know that stealing is bad. __________________ RyeMAC3.net RescueMyClassicMac.com iNeedCoffeeToCode.com 8 Core Mac Pro, 30" ACD, iPod Mini, Nano, Shuffle, iPhone 3G, MSi Wind with OSX

Mar 4, 2008, 12:29 PM	#21
justflie macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Red Sox Nation	Finally they're catching on. DRM only hinders honest people who are trying to use the content that they purchased in a reasonable way. Pirates can always find ways around DRM, it just slows them down for a little while then full speed ahead. __________________ 2 x 2.66 GHz 2009 Mac Pro, 6 GB RAM, GTX 285 ; 32GB iPhone 3GS

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