The following excerpts indicate the remarkable lengths to which the record industry has gone to respond to the unpopularity of DRM, as described in a recent NYT article (my italics):

“… the expansion of the online marketplace, coupled with ever-worsening CD sales, is now all but forcing the music companies to tread on ground they once viewed as off limits.”

“Starting this week, Suretone Records, a label distributed by the Universal Music Group, plans to distribute video files featuring popular acts […] on file-sharing networks that the industry has long viewed as illicit bazaars for pirates… the video files will not be wrapped in protective software to limit copying, executives say. But they will also be incomplete: users who download them will see perhaps half the video and will be directed to the label’s own Web site to watch the complete version.”

“RCA Records […] plans to advance its promotional campaign for Avril Lavigne’s new album with the first in a series of short manga — Japanese comic-book episodes … The video clips, which run two to three minutes each, are expected to be released in unprotected form as free podcasts on iTunes, among other outlets. Fans will also be able to use special software, probably offered on a label’s Web site, to take snippets of the episodes and rearrange them, executives said.”

“[Suretone Records’] files are being distributed online in an arrangement with ArtistDirect’s MediaDefender unit, which is better known as a contractor hired by labels to place fake, or decoy, versions of songs or other media files on file-sharing networks to thwart would-be pirates. Before the Suretone video deal, the company had also begun planting fake files containing promotional messages for advertisers like Coca-Cola.”

Link: Music Labels Offer Teasers to Download (NYT)

See also: Engadget overview of reactions to Steve Jobs’ DRM declaration

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