Author Cory Doctorow has good reason to be wary of digital rights management. After switching from Mac to a Linux OS, he tells of the months-long task of laboriously converting his extensive DRM-controlled audiobook collection to the universal MP3 format. Ouch.

Digital rights management has long had its critics, who argue that piracy prevention efforts are more of a burden on honest consumers than on illegal sharers, who will find a way to “crack” the content–DRM or no DRM.

Random House has joined the many music labels who have decided to abandon what some characterize as draconian protection measures on content sold online in favor of–they hope–more sales. The publisher announced last week that it will now sell audiobooks on eMusic.com in MP3 format, which has no restrictions on where it is played. That means customers will be able to buy the product and listen to it however they like, whether that be on an iPod, Zune, burned CD, etc.

Compare that to Audible.com and iTunes, who refuse to sell non-DRM audiobooks, even if the author doesn’t want such protection. (Random House will still use rights management for those publishers who feel it will prevent illegal distribution.) Amazon.com, new owner of Audible, has said it will stop encoding audiobooks if the public complains. So if you’re for universal file formats, barrage them with annoying emails and phone calls!

In its refreshingly down-to-earth announcement (PDF link), Random House acknowledges piracy as a “fact of life,” and shares the results of an experiment it conducted with eMusic that bolstered their decision to discontinue mandatory DRM. They watermarked MP3 versions of a variety of titles, sold them through eMusic, and hired a company to watch for them to show up on filesharing networks. Not one has yet appeared, according to Random House.

A big step has been taken by a publishing giant, opening the door for further changes in audiobook distribution–and many thinkers in the book industry are hoping this development will soon extend to e-books.