A couple of days ago it was FairUse4WM, now it isQTFairUse6. The fact is that current DRM schemes are fundamentally flawed. Until we move to a system where the user and the content provider exchange encryption keys (asymmentric encryption), this will keep happening over and over again. Apple may be able to protect the content they sell on iTunes slightly better because unlike Microsoft (for now) they control the iPod hardware and can therefore easily update the firmware to change the encryption method once compromised, but that will only buy them some time before it happens again.
This spells deep trouble for the iTunes music store, but even more for all the music subscription services such as Napster. Today for a very small monthly fee you can sign-up for the service and download everything you want. Once you have all the content you need you can use FairUse4WM to strip the DRM protection and move the songs to your iPod. Imagine, millions of songs for free, as there even is a free seven days trial period.
So, what happens now? It is clear that neither DRM or the threat of the DMCA is stopping hackers to get what they want. It is very unlikely that it the near future every citizen in the world will have its own unique private key, issued by the government or a trusted organization. I guess that this leaves us only with two options, trust the consumers (unlikely) or prosecute harshly all those who illegally share music or videos (very likely), but this applies only in countries where the police are capable of doing so and actually care (which excludes more than half of the globe).
At the end, those who will suffer more are recording companies and artists. Gone are the days when a single hit could make you a millionaire and generate revenues for life. Artists will still make a lot of money but they will have to work harder to earn it. They will have to perform live and tour the world. Obviously, for those who just have a single hit it will be harder, they will probably have to tour with others, but hey, life is tough for all of us. After all, what shows like American Idol have demonstrated is that there isn’t a lack of talent. In every industry, when that happens, salaries go down. Why not in the recording industry?
Today many industries such as the radio, television, press, books and movies are all in jeopardy because of the Internet. Among those, music is the most likely to survive, because many people are willing to sing and compose songs for free, just or the fun of doing it, even though production quality will suffer. I care much more about some of the other industries affected by the Internet, and I think that so should everyone.