I have been active on the social network site Twitter for only several months but due to the nature of the people I am following I have an outlet for hundreds of quality links that are relevant and up to date on everything that interest me. I must admit though that my time on twitter is intense; it is a powerful place that I give myself time to go there because I will be turned on to something cool, and I'll want to explore something that I did not know before.

That is what twitter does for me, it takes me to something that I did not know before. The amount of links that comes through twitter feels intense, akin to shutting your eyes and looking at the sun come through trees as you pass by in a car, or like the little light on a desktop that blinks schizophrenically as info is processed through your PC; it can be intense. It's worth it, but beware, manage your time well because there is a lot to learn there; and it would suck to end up in a twitter twelve step.

DRM stands for Digital Rights Management; DRM is achieved using code written into the music file transfer that makes the digital song nontransferable to other music players and computers. Effectively eliminating the ability to share songs directly from mp3 player to mp3 player but not disabling the user from burning a CD and ripping the CD to other computers.

Yeah, musicians need to make money, but does digital rights management have the artist in mind? Many artist I talk to want their music to be shared and popularized; if an artist can get onto the national scene they can possibly sustain themselves financially and grow as a musicians. If they become popular people will buy more of their music and the opportunities to play live will increase with the visibility they receive from file sharing.

Here is an example related to me from a close friend of how sharing music helps musicians become popular around the world. My friend bought a hot local salsa band's album for ten dollars from CDBaby @http://cdbaby.com/ to give to his professional dancer sister-in-law for Christmas. He also burned a copy for his wife who is a grad student in Montreal and his brother-in-law who is a musician living in Hartford Conn. After Christmas the family disbanded and the professional dancer and musician husband went out dancing with other world class salsa dancers in a crowded loft party. The sister in law, having liked what she heard, put the album in the stereo that is driving the frantic dancing session. Now, twenty fellow salsa dancers, who are not close enough to share music with for free, are "turned on" to a new band and ask many times "Who is this"?
Now, twenty dancers have found a new hot salsa band and will most likely go home, buy the album themselves and take the music to their local scene.
At the same time my friends wife returns to grad school and after her dinner party plays the album to a classy group of young professionals experiencing similar results as the professional dancer. The young professionals then go become friends with the band on MySpace and buy their album making the band popular on the campus in downtown Montreal. Quickly, because of file sharing, this band becomes hot in several major markets in two countries. Now these markets have become viable locations for that band to go there and play live to a full venue of fans, selling more albums, making money for the live show, and spreading their influence growing their band financially and artistically.

Who is making the decisions to charge more for the artist music, the bands? Or the suits who sell the music. I must commend CDBabay @http://cdbaby.com/ and @http://www.vulpvibe.com/for making sure the artist recieve 91% of the sale of the albums they sell online! Prior digital sales the artist received 30% at most.

It seems that when music sales are interpreted in the millions and tens of millions the percentages of DRM become arguable and arguments ensue; but the reality of music enjoyment, sustainability of musicians, and creative expression does not exist in these percentages. Music is free, make it!

Final word: If you don't like the charge for DRM, don't buy it. It seems to me that DRM is only a speed bump so that a song does not bluetooth it's way across the country; not a big issue if you burn and rip.

For great music distributors dedicated to ensuring musicians get paid for their art check out CDbaby.com and vulpvibe.com

CDbaby.com Online Music Store

VulpVibe.com online electronic music store

Let me know how YOU feel about DRM...