La gestion des DRM en perspective

B- Associated DRM and costs

The costs associated with the distribution with the contents on line are, in the examples which we had the occasion to treat distributed in two principal forms : the subscription where the purchase with the unit.

1- A the Unit

For APPLE and iTunes, the price is 0,99$ per downloaded title and the price of the albums varies according to the groups. For Wallmart, it is the same principle but the price of the title is to 0,88$. ^239(*)

One will note that if the purchase with the title remains, in spite of his price of low calls to US, rather expensive. But there still, the modes of consumption changed and it is according to the choices of each one. If the ones prefer to discover the whole of the album and not to restrict itself in the choice of a single title they can always do it and the reverse is true. Thus, a flexibility in function use of the needs for each one allows this adaptation. More generally, it would seem nevertheless that one directs oneself towards a model « with the access » of consumption of cultural goods.

2- Subscription

The concept of subscription seems to be in the middle of the European offers ; it privilege the monthly subscription which seems according to the offers to offer a good quality ratio/price if the Net surfer takes time to compare in fine the whole of the offers which are proposed to him.

One will note the important found variation, between the purchase of two CDs via a site of remote loading and a site of E-Trade.

2.1- Monthly subscription

The FNAC proposes two different formulas :

With these offers one can add those done to the members who can profit from a surplus of appropriations according to the selected subscription. The system functions as follows :

- Free : to listen to a 30 seconds extract is free,

- 1 credit : to listen to the title in entirety costs 1 credit,

- 10 appropriations : to download the title for l'écouter as long as you remain subscribed

- From 59 appropriations: download the title, you definitively can l'écouter, to engrave it and transfer it towards a compatible numerical reader.

Numéricable offers when to him another formula of subscription which is formulated kind.

However, if one looks at the average price on the site of a title, the system functions in the following way :

- 1 credit : to listen to the title

- 1249 appropriations : remote loading of an album of 15 titles = 83,2 appropriations per Title (ex : album « Who Of Us Two per M ")

- 1249 appropriations : remote loading of an album of 13 titles = 96,07 appropriations per Title (ex : album « South In North by Cheb Mami »)

- 199 appropriations : remote loading of a title

And, if calculation is made, by album, in the two above mentioned cases one arrives at a price by album and according to the formula are equivalent to :

What remains much less expensive than a purchase in traditional line in a shop E-Trade like Fnac.com or Amazon.fr for example.

* ²³⁹ One will note with interest that for APPLE (but that seems to be valid for the other distributers) the remote loading on line is not especially profitable. Indeed, on the 99 hundreds of a song the diffusion manufacturer/perceives only 10 hundreds... Remain however the enormous impact, for APPLE, of Ipod which allows, only, to listen to the downloaded songs. Indeed, the sales of the walkman generated a sales turnover of 264 million dollars, i.e. 13,8% of the incomes of the manufacturer (the world sales of discs move back, but the paying remote loading is not profitable, 8/04/2004, www.atelier.fr).