Light Weight Digital Rights Management (LWDRM) is being added to the MP3 standard by the Fraunhofer Institute (who controls the MP3 format and associated copyrights). No doubt they are under some pressure from both the RIAA and competing formats like WMA and RA(Real Audio), who have already implemented copyright protection. When added to MP3 files LWDRM allows copying files only if the user is willing to register a digital signature, and mark copies with it. Thus, when a file appears on Kazaa, the culprit could be swiftly found …

To make this appealing, they are also adding 5.1 Surround Sound. “MP3 Surround files are backward-compatible, so they play back as stereo tracks on existing player” and their encoding choice involves using “psychoacoustic techniques” to capture only spatial and speed information for the extra channels, in order to keep the traditionally compact MP3 file size.

What remains to be seen is whether anyone will actually implement this in their media players and rippers.

PC Magazine has the full story

The fact of the matter is that “Digital Rights Management” remains a thinly veiled euphemism for “Digital Copying Restrictions” and is recognized immediately by even the most naive digital music lovers. So the real question remains: what will happen when DRM starts feeling unavoidable? Will people just go along like nice little sheep?

Somehow, I doubt it. . .