If you are a content owner, creator, or distributor, you might have already heard about Digital Rights Management (DRM). While you might also know that it helps improve the security of your content, ever wondered what it actually means and how it works? Read this post to find out.
Be it videos, music, games, or e-books; there is no saying as to how someone would use your content once it is available on the internet. Even when you only allow your subscribers or paid users to access the content, an unknown subscriber/paid user can misuse the content in many different ways.
With the internet now becoming the primary source of entertainment and knowledge, content creators, owners, and distributors need to make sure that their online content is adequately protected. Encryption was the go-to option for online platforms to keep their content protected. But if you offer premium content on your platform, simple encryption would not be adequate.
Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology was created to bridge this security gap. Let us have a look at what DRM content is and how to protect your content with DRM.
What is DRM Protection?
DRM takes encryption a step further. It puts technological restrictions on the content, allowing content creators to control how their content is used. For instance, with DRM, a video can be viewed but cannot be downloaded or shared, or an e-book can only be viewed on certain devices.
Content that is protected by DRM will have its own licensing server, legitimate digital rights, and a secure player. In most cases, 3rd party licensing servers are used for issuing decryption keys, and the content cannot be accessed without a legitimate key issued by the server. Many of the DRM service providers also offer additional safety through key rotation and synchronization with local system clocks.
In other words, any content protected by DRM will be encoded precisely and only be made available for authorized users and recognized devices.
Popular DRM Technologies
Rather than the vendor, it is the DRM technology you select that plays an important role in the safety and reach of your content. You should select technology as per your target audience. Some of the most popular options you can consider are-
- Apple FairPlay
- Google Widevine
- Microsoft PlayReady
How to Protect Content with DRM?
For creating DRM protected content you are required to encrypt your content. It needs to be packaged into a particular format like HLS or DASH. You can do this during the transcoding process or encrypt and package the content after transcoding. There are now SaaS-based packaging services available that support multiple content packaging methods for on-demand, file-based, and even live content.
Moreover, with multiple DRM technologies available, rather than creating a separate copy of the file for each technology, content platforms now make use of multi-DRM. This allows them to produce fewer copies of their content and also ensures that the content has maximum reach along with enhanced copyright protection.
Is Your Content DRM Protected?
If you are a content creator or distributor, you need to protect your content with DRM. There are now SaaS-based solutions available for implementing multi-DRM and packaging to make it easier for the platforms to start using DRM.
To ensure your content carries adequate protection and has the maximum reach, look for a reputed DRM licensing service provider to discuss your requirements
