No, of course not.
But REUTERS, the esteemed organisation that it is, used a Billboard article by Antony Bruno to propose just this (second paragraph, even).
In 2007, the majors will get the message, and the DRM wall will begin to crumble. Why? Because they’ll no longer be able to point to a growing digital marketplace as justification that DRM works. Revenue from digital downloads and mobile content is expected to be flat or, in some cases, decline next year. If the digital market does in fact stall, alternatives to DRM will look much more attractive.
At least the article has a good look at the 1Q2007 market we’re all returning from holiday periods to face, reviewing:
- Amazon
- Limewire
- MySpace
- eMusic
- Yahoo! Music
By volume, I think MySpace has a chance of driving demand for liberated MP3s.
By quality, possibly David Goldberg’s deals with Sony BMG and EMI Music could influence the marketplace.