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 Microsoft's Zune Music Player Incompatible With Microsoft's Own DRM EcosystemRoss Housewright, Samuelson Law, Technology and Public Policy Clinic, UC Berkeley, October 24, 2006
Abstract: In recent years, Microsoft has been promoting its "PlaysForSure" DRM ecosystem, a branding system intended to identify media players and providers that will work compatibly with each other. Microsoft's new Zune player and associated media service, however, will not be compatible with this ecosystem.
Microsoft's "PlaysForSure" DRM ecosystem is a brand licensed by the company to a wide variety of media providers like Napster, MusicMatch, and others, as well as to a variety of companies selling media player devices like Archos, Creative Labs, iRiver, and others. Users should be able to mix and match PlaysForSure products and services from different companies and be confident that they will work together. While not an open standard, this program is widely used and provides for a degree of interoperability and independence for users - they may choose a different participating mp3 player or subscription service, of which there are many, without incurring too much pain and suffering. Such a platform exists in striking contrast to Apple's FairPlay DRM system, which works exclusively with Apple products and services like the iPod and iTunes Store. Other vendors are unable to offer interoperable products and services, and users who wish to switch platforms may find themselves unable to do so without re-purchasing all their music or experiencing other frustrations. Microsoft's solution, while far from perfect, is a step closer to a world in which users are able to exercise choice freely without being locked in to a certain product. Interestingly, Microsoft has chosen to abandon this more open approach in favor of a vertically integrated approach, in essence hanging out to dry its vendor partners and users who may have chosen to rely on the ecosystem Microsoft had supported for years. With the introduction of its new Zune media player (reputedly intended as an "iPod killer"), Microsoft has chosen to utilize a new and more closed DRM system - in short, its new media player and service will be utterly incompatible with PlaysForSure products and services. PlaysForSure devices that users may prefer over the Zune will not be able to function with Microsoft's new service, and users of the Zune will be restricted to only using Microsoft's store. While PlaysForSure will continue to exist separately, this step by Microsoft greatly weakens the value of the brand to consumers, who must now differentiate between Microsoft products and other, incompatible, Microsoft-licensed products. This is a step away from a world of interoperable devices and towards one filled with parallel vertical silos, all mutually incompatible. Microsoft is presumably convinced that this model will lead to an ultimately more successful product and service in business terms, a point of view clearly based on the phenomenal success Apple has had with exactly this model. While it remains to be seen whether or not Zune will rise to the level of success of the iPod, and it is even less clear to what degree the "walled garden" approach will encourage or discourage the success of the product, this approach seems less than optimal for the consumer of music. Only time will tell whether consumers will continue to be enamored of Apple's, and now Microsoft's, integrated and insulated approach or whether they will eventually prefer more interoperable solutions. For more information on this story, visit Wired News. |
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