Week 6 - Is DRM the best way to save the music industry?

Digital Rights Management or DRM is a general term that is used to refer to access control technologies used by publishers and copyright holders to limit the use of digital media or devices.
There are arguments on both sides as to whether DRM is the best way to save the music industry. The arguments for includes the example of Apple I tunes, which has proven to be both very successful and legal, as their customers have to pay to download tracks. I tunes also allows customers to hear a 30 second sample to ensure they get the right song, and provides high quality tracks, unlike some free but illegal providers whose songs may be of poor quality.
Arguments against DRM include that it is pointless as people can crack DRM, and remove it from songs. They can also unlock itunes by downloading them, burning them onto CDs and then uploading them onto free download sites. There are also new bands which don’t copyright their music, and also sites such as myspace which offer free, legal downloads.