Warner Music Group's Michael Nash spent years trying to save digital-rights-management technology on downloads. Late last year, he helped kill it. "The definition of insanity is when you keep doing the same thing over and over again hoping to get a different result," says Nash, who heads WMG's digital strategy. "We needed to shift our tactics."
Nash's move may just save the major labels. Web executives say the January announcement that all four majors would sell DRM-free downloads through Amazon was a long-awaited sign that the industry is finally ready to embrace new digital businesses, rather than trying to squash them. Since the announcement, the labels have struck several deals -- including a joint venture with MySpace Music -- that promise to boost the music download market and provide new online revenue sources. "The fact that the labels are willing to sell unprotected MP3s, when 15 months ago they were doing everything not to do it, was a big move," says Hadi Partovi, president of iLike, the leading music service on Facebook. "They took a big risk."
It was a risk that Nash says was a long time coming. Just before last Christmas, he found himself heading, again, to a 30th-floor conference room in WMG's Rockefeller Center headquarters to discuss the fate of DRM on downloaded music. WMG had already held several such meetings. But this time, Nash knew the label had to take action. The year 2007 had been one of the worst yet for the recording industry and the company. CD revenues for the industry were declining faster than digital revenues were increasing. Warner, despite gaining share against rival recording labels, had still lost $27 million. "We had to make some dramatic moves to change the dynamic for consumers," says Nash.
How DRM Was Ditched
Nash's opinion carries weight at WMG. An...

More... (http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=61860)