1. In a DRM system including a DRM server, a central repository, a policy monitoring agent, and one or more client machines, a method for generating a usage license for use in DRM operations prior to receiving a request for a usage license , the method comprising: accessing a usage policy for DRM protected content, the usage policy describing how and under what conditions one or more principals can use the DRM protected content; storing the usage policy in the central repository; detecting a pre-licensing event within the DRM system; subsequently initiating a pre-licensing process for the protected content based on the usage policy and in response to the pre-licensing event, including: identifying each possible consumer of the protected content from the usage policy; for each possible consumer: determining how and under what conditions the consumer can use the DRM protected content from the usage policy; performing cryptographic operations to pre-generate a usage license for the consumer, the usage license expressing how and under what conditions the consumer can use the DRM protected content; and allocating the pre-generated usage license for subsequent distribution to client machines, including subsequent distribution to a client machine in response to a consumer request to use the DRM protected content such that resource consumption to distribute the usage license to a client machine is reduced when satisfying a subsequent consumer request.