UK Looks Into Clearer Labels for Digital Downloads

BBC News reports that a group of MPs in the UK is looking into a number of measures for digital downloads, like why UK iTunes customers pay more than their US counterparts. (Maybe BusinessWeek -- who ran an article on why the price of physical consumer goods varies around the world last month -- can look into this.)

The Beeb article spends most of its time looking at the issue of DRM, noting that the MPs' report recommends introducing labeling so that consumers will know exactly what they can or can't do with the digital media they pay for. Their recommendation also addresses a significant point -- the labels should make it clear what will happen if the DRM company goes out of business, if the DRM system becomes obsolete, or if you want to chage the gadget you intend to play the DRMed media on.

Speaking as someone who can no longer access three of the only four DRMed products he's ever acquired, I'd say this last in particular is a good idea. I'll bet if more people knew exactly what the limits were on what they were considering paying for, revenue would drop -- and maybe DRM-addled execs would get the message.

(You'll note that I never once mentioned the word "buy" here. That's too generous a term for paying for something you might not be able to use later.)