VxMusic

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Philosophy6 min read

The State of Digital Rights Management (DRM)

January 10, 2025

DRM is a controversial topic. To some, it's necessary protection for artists. To others, it's consumer hostile. Here is VxMusic's stance.

The Problem with Walled Gardens

When you "buy" a movie on iTunes or a game on Steam, you don't own it. You own a revocable license. If the platform shuts down, your content is gone. DRM enforces this lock-in by encrypting files so they only play on authorized devices.

Fair Use & Interoperability

We believe in interoperability. While we respect copyright and do not facilitate piracy, we architect our software to be agnostic. Our local player supports unprotected FLAC, MP3, and OGG files from any source. We do not add DRM to your local files.

Web3 and NFT Music

Can blockchain solve this? Maybe. We are monitoring the "Music NFT" space. The idea of a universal, transferrable token that grants access to media across different apps is promising, but the user experience isn't there yet.