Why DRM will die out......

There is a conflict of interest at the heart of the whole digital media / webservice business model.

Fundamentally, service providers want to rent assets to users, because that gives them most of the market power.

Users are not dumb however, and prefer to own the asset wherever they can.

(this is not just in the digital world, it would appear to hold in most arenas, especially if there is any sign of abuse of power by the renter)

DRM is - looked at in this light - an attempt to transform an owned asset (a song I bought for eg) into a rented asset.

Users will do anything in their power to avoid this scenario, as it is fundamentally an abuse of power from the user's point of view.

And its users who give you money...without users, you have no business. The whole point of the towers of song, the film factories, the marketing, the artists even - is to delight users.

DRM promoters will kick and scream, but the innate illlogic of a system that "screws over" the people who are its own customers will eventually cause its demise.

QED end of DRM

(Seems like its finally dawning on a number of Meedja people too...)