[The Chosun Ilbo, October 2 2007] Music Industry Debates Copy Controls

One of the major issues facing the global music industry is the debate over locking MP3 music files with DRM, or digital rights management.

On Sep. 25, Amazon, the U.S. online retail giant, announced the launch of a digital music store selling DRM-free tracks -- meaning customers can play their downloaded music on any device.

Amazon's move is seen as a direct challenge to Apple, whose iTunes stores is the leading digital music retailer. All of Amazon's tracks are DRM-free, while Apple's are not.

DRM is a code that restricts how files can be played and shared. Tracks with DRM can typically only be played on the device that they were first downloaded to.