DRMS : a new strategic stake for contents industries : the case of the online music market
Résumé
The recording industry has always been very dependent on existing technologies. The compact disc and the Internet have been the latest examples, two ambiguous examples that have certainly led to the development
of Digital Rights Management Systems (DRMS). The compact disc has been a kind of gold mine for the recording industry, at least for the major companies.
However, the appearance of blank CDs allowed music to be copied in a much better way than on blank tapes. Major companies used to consider the Internet as just another way to distribute their music, but in 1999, Napster made them realize that there might be something else behind this tool. The following development of online piracy has obliged the music industry to find solutions. DRMS appear as one of these.
DRMS are often described as essential in the development of the legal online supply of content, notably of music (in this paper, we do not study the cases of sites that sell pre-recorded music, such as Amazon). That is why they are becoming a crucial stake for the whole recovering music industry. In the first
section, we will precise the strategic role of DRMS. The aim of this paper is to study the technological competition between the firms that try to impose their standard on the growing market of DRMS. We find that the results of this competition may not benefit the content industries.
of Digital Rights Management Systems (DRMS). The compact disc has been a kind of gold mine for the recording industry, at least for the major companies.
However, the appearance of blank CDs allowed music to be copied in a much better way than on blank tapes. Major companies used to consider the Internet as just another way to distribute their music, but in 1999, Napster made them realize that there might be something else behind this tool. The following development of online piracy has obliged the music industry to find solutions. DRMS appear as one of these.
DRMS are often described as essential in the development of the legal online supply of content, notably of music (in this paper, we do not study the cases of sites that sell pre-recorded music, such as Amazon). That is why they are becoming a crucial stake for the whole recovering music industry. In the first
section, we will precise the strategic role of DRMS. The aim of this paper is to study the technological competition between the firms that try to impose their standard on the growing market of DRMS. We find that the results of this competition may not benefit the content industries.