The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has released the Digital Music Report 2007.

The major takeaways:

*Digital music sales estimated to double to around US$2 billion in 2006
*Single track downloads estimated up 89% at 795 million
*Available tracks double to 4 million, via 500 online services in over 40 countries worldwide
*Portable music players help drive digital music consumption
*New revenue streams and business models emerge
*The...winners in the rise of digital music are consumers. They have...been given access to 24-hour music stores with unlimited shelf space.

Of particular interest is the IFPI's discussion of DRM.

Often, in public discourse on DRM, and ensuing debates on the DMCA and user rights with licensed media, only the narrow aspect of restrictions a la DRM are considered. In actuality, DRM provides flexibility in online transactions and enables scaled offerings in goods and services.

...Today, the industry – in particular major labels – remain strongly committed to DRM. Yet at the same time many recognise that there are serious impediments to further progress which must be resolved. DRM has attracted some heated debate and much misplaced criticism....

A key concern has been the limited opportunities for consumers to transfer their purchased music between services and devices. However, this is not a problem caused by DRM itself, but by the deployment by some technology companies of non-interoperable proprietary DRM systems. Record companies strongly favour interoperability, which can only be achieved through the agreement of these technology companies.

In general, governments have sought to take a cautious and balanced line and to allow the issues to work themselves out in the market. Market mechanisms remain the best means to achieve a balanced outcome and the record industry prefers this solution.

Thus, the problem is not DRM itself but how it is deployed. Governments should keep on their path of allowing markets to sort things out between consumers, copyright holders and device makers.

A few (in my view, uneven-keeled) policy commentators may argue that DRM itself represents non-free market principles, however, this fails to consider what DRM enables and the value it adds to free market competititon. What is important, when considering copyright policy and DRM, is what actually happens in the market, not whether various business models reflect, in and of themselves, certain political or religious values.