Canada’s Debate

It’s not often that I get to share tangible good news regarding Intellectual Property or digital media, so you’ll forgive me if I’m relaying this instead of blogging about it extensively:

“The Canadian online music store Puretracks (a store I have generally avoided because of their Microsoft-specific solutions) has announced that it will immediately start selling part of its catalog as DRM-free MP3 files. The site’s unprotected catalog, which includes artists such as The Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan, will initially feature only 50,000 of its 1.3 million tracks, but their number will grow weekly. The Globe and Mail says the move will likely profit Puretracks because its DRM-free-music will be playable on iPods. It quotes one industry watcher saying ‘We’re seeing the death of DRM.’”

The author goes on to suggest that we are seeing the beginning of the end of DRM… while I wouldn’t go quite that far, and I do fear the eventual death-pangs that the would CRIA eventually throw out, this is definitely worth noticing.

For the first time a music distributor is recognizing the inherent problems in DRM, as opposed to device-makers or artists. Given the fast-paced nature of the marketplace, it only takes one outlet to take a stand for a new trend to emerge. My fingers are crossed.