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I didn’t want to dwell on DRM anymore, but after responding to a comment on Tuesday’s post, I felt the need to play devil’s advocate—to prove that we’re not just idealists, but seriously thinking about this stuff.

My original suggestion was to remove all protection, embrace the effects of copying and change the pay structure. Ideally, the net result would be fewer pirates, thus more revenue. But maybe that’s just as radical as putting DRM on everything—who knows if it would really work?

The truth is: this stuff is still evolving. There isn’t a perfect model of DRM out there that works in the best interests of both the publisher and the user.

However, rather than be defeatist, I’d like to share with you one that does a fairly decent job by taking the middle path.

Steam: now we’re cookin’

If publishers insist on DRM, I suppose I could live with something like Steam.

I give up some control, but I benefit from their fast distribution network, fanatical dedication to maintaining the quality of their games, and community. In short, they have a social contract with their users. Valve makes a good attempt to address everything that causes people to pirate –except the DRM– and they do their damnedest to make up for this by constantly being awesome.

Valve made Team Fortress 2 so much fun, to be allowed to play it, I’d probably let them hit me with a sack of hammers.

If piracy is progressive taxation, perhaps DRM ought to be seen as a kind of tax, as well. Both the publisher and the user pay in opportunity costs lost to DRM, so they should both get some value from the transaction other than merely swapping an intangible copy of something. That’s what Steam does.

The platform that delivers DRM also gives me benefits I’d have to pay for on a console: score tracking, fresh content, free demo weekends, etc. Valve gets a treasure trove of user data in the bargain. It’s not without its flaws, but at least it’s a two-way street.

One last thing

More than anything, I deal with Steam because it’s the cost of doing business with Valve. Quite simply, they make an outstanding product and they do so consistently enough that they’ve earned my trust as well as my dollar.

You want me to swallow DRM? I’m giving you two good ideas: 1.) give me added value for my transactions; 2.) rock my socks off every time I come to the table.

Preferably, both.