tal music downloads can be, the record industry has faced a big challenge in creating a system that matches MP3's ease of use and controls distribution and copyrights” (Jones). Many plans are being considered, but few concrete decisions have been made. The SDMI (Secure Digital Music Initiative) is a music industry organization formed to create a new digital music standard that protects copyrights. This will not be an easy task.At the forefront of this effort is the Secure Digital Music Initiative, a consortium of record labels, consumer-electronics companies and information-technology firms trying to develop new standards for digital music and the devices that play it--standards more to its liking than the unprotected MP3 files being so freely traded. Through a combination of encryption and watermarks--technology that controls the way in which digital music is replayed--the sdmi hopes to combine the ease of use and freedom of choice of Napster while protecting the interests of artists and their distributors. (Cohen)The future of the digital music revolution is difficult to predict. But one thing’s for sure: the revolution has begun....
