As you probably know, DRM is technology written into audio, video, and various other media, that regulates the playback of those files with a restrictive software ‘license’. The license only allows you to access the media on a designated computer. If you’ve ever bought a song on iTunes, it’s likely that is has DRM on it; you can’t send it to your friends because it won’t play on their computers.
However, the usage of DRM is a heavily debated topic. Most recently, it’s been falling out of favor with users, because certain factors might render your purchases entirely unusable. There’s a generally accepted sentiment in our society that when you purchase something, you own it. When albums or movies are sold to consumers, it’s done so without any time restrictions. For example, if you buy a CD at the record store with your hard earned money, and you later find out that it will only work for six months, would you be pissed? That CD you bought is going to be a coaster! Well, that’s one of the biggest problems with DRM. If something is altered - you change computers, the site that you bought it from goes out of business, you lose your internet connection - there’s a chance that you will never again be able to use those files. At the least, you’ll likely have to jump through some hoops to get it working.
There are companies that allow you to download DRM-free (e.g AmazonMP3). As more people speak out, DRM falls out of favor, and we make progress towards getting rid of it altogether. Still, most companies continue to implement DRM, and the list of legitimate complaints from consumers like you and me continues to grow.
I’m a Prince fan. A few years ago he ran an internet based fanclub (The NPGMC) and sold his new music embedded with DRM. Since then, he’s packed up shop and left town. Seriously. He’s removed every official trace of himself from the internet, and he’s made it impossible to contact him or any of his representatives. Needless to say, there are countless fans being left out in the cold, no longer able to do anything with the (now worthless) MP3 albums they purchased from his fanclub… except delete them, of course.
That’s how I stumbled onto a site called DefectiveByDesign.org. They are currently running a 35 day campaign against DRM by posting testimonials and information about bad experiences, past and present - one new post per day, addressing the worst stuff out there. For example, “Day 7″ talks about the Prince experience, and “Day 8″ talks about how the Nintendo Wii uses DRM to the ire of many gamers.
Their posts are very short and feel thrown together too quickly. The Prince one is the most interesting. But the others are still good for a quick scan.
Check it out: 33 Days Against DRM