News Corp Implements some DRM "Magic"

Todd Chanko | February 13, 2007, 03:01 PM

There’s really no easy way around it. DRM, that is. While the music biz scuffles about what to do post-Jobs outburst, its video analogues are still searching for a solution. Today News Corporation announced that it would implement a scheme to track unauthorized uploading of video content to MySpace. Furthering its test last fall of Audible Magic’s system to track Universal Music content, News Corporation is extending Audible Magic’s database-centered approach to video. The system relies on a database stored by Audible Magic of “digital fingerprints” derived from the media content supplied by the content providers themselves. These “digital fingerprints” are then crosschecked against the media files uploaded by MySpace users. Unauthorized files won’t make the cut.

Sounds all well and good, but the real question here is – is it worth it? Audio Magic’s proposition relies on some heavy lifting by media companies – the provision of thousands of hours of media content to Audio Magic for ingestion and “fingerprint” processing. Having worked in network television, I know firsthand that coordinating efforts among producers, tape librarians and Avid editors is no easy task. In fact, it’s a big drain on resources and diverts precious energies away from a media company’s core business – creating content. Moreover, media companies would be obliged to continually supply Audio Magic with new TV shows, films and music as such content is produced. That’s a real expense. Given the media industry’s historical reluctance to pay for DRM – the cost for conditional access, for example, is borne by Pay TV operators – would media companies be amenable to Audio Magic’s approach?

Moreover, the situation for MySpace is not without considerable irony. How long will the site continue to attract fans if the uploading of personal creativity – copyright be damned – is thwarted? Of course, this assumes that Audible Magic’s solution would work so flawlessly. In the meantime, News Corporation can take the lead in advancing both the causes of media companies’ intellectual properties and user generated websites – a delicate balance indeed.