Whither DRM?

[greatbearmd]

Finally.

It appears that Apple will be selling all music through the iTunes store without DRM. It's about freakin' time. While the FairPlay DRM scheme used by Apple was one of the more flexible out there as far as restrictions and the ability to use your music on a number of computers and iPods, it was still not without it's problems. Those who

Comments

[greatbearmd]

True. But the main thing is the freedom to use the files in any sort of player, and 'sharing' can be limited to a few trusted friends rather than the internet as a whole. That sort of sharing builds interest in music and can actually help sales. Those who want to traffic in illegal file sharing will always find a way to do that, and will use methods to strip ID info and DRM off of files when doing so. The flexibility in having non-DRM music is added value for just about everyone, even if they have one computer and a single iPod.

I am curious what will happen if someone has, for example, a thumb drive filled with music (I do this constantly, btw) and loses it. If the finder happens to upload it to s file sharing site or service and the RIAA goons track it down, what would the outcome be? It's going to be an interesting ride, that's for sure.

[greatbearmd]

See the reply I gave to Bruce. The comparison can be made, but it has to allow for the difference in technology. How people use that technology is the root of the conundrum.

[greatbearmd]

I should have quantified my statement. It is the same, but far easier and cheaper. But the same is true in the acquisition of music. iTunes and other services make buying tunes an instant gratification bliss right from the comforts of home. But there are also a lot of other factors at play in the decline of music sales. The big one is the economy. A lot of people are cutting back on spending, and things such as music are at the top of the list to cut. The decline of the CD has come about not just from piracy and legal downloads, but a big factor is the unwitting return of the 'single'. People have the option of legally (and illegally) obtaining the one track they like from the CD, leaving the rest. The emergence of the net has raised awareness of the actual value of music and how that is set by the industry. People wonder why the same money is essentially charged on a per-track basis for an album download and the physical product. That sort of thing leads to the dissolution of the perceived value of music. It also has allowed artists

[ciddyguy]

I'm all for the DRM free era. Part of the large problem I've seen is the lack of decent music to WANT to pay for it, but that said, there has always been the component of the population that simply wants everything ideally for free but the whole argument from the RIAA has been going on for over 40 years and yet, piracy has still managed to happen, but the rock stars have always managed to find a way to make money, that is if they are any good but the real crux of the matter is that so many wannabe bands just suck and the music industry exploits them to make a quick buck, plain and simple to a large degree

[greatbearmd]

There are a lot of artists who initially refused (and some continue to refuse) to sell their music in anything but a full album format. In the case of concept albums, picking out a track or two often defeats the purpose behind the whole work. In the case of a lot of pop music, people are fed up with paying anywhere from 10-20 bucks for a CD just to get one or two songs, then finding out the rest of the CD pretty much sucks. Pop 'aficionados' of today find it much easier to simply buy the track they like. This nets the label less than a buck, of course, in most cases. What has basically happened with the advent of the 'net is that the music scene is more like the 50s, with the single being king

[ciddyguy]

Indeed and that's part of what I was trying to get at, at least amongst the mainstream players.

If you look at my collection, it's a motley assortment of vintage stuff, jazz, rock, classic rock, southern rock, what I call the underground (Frank Zappa, Velvet Underground, Capt Beefheart et-al) and in more recent years, techno etc although I've not bought any thing major in the way of music in most forms in what, 2-3 years, outside of replacing some poor copies of stuff via the 'net for mix CD's.

[nyrimmer]

Corporate Amerika fucks us daily so I have no problem with people fucking them ! When they start acting responsible and stop sending our jobs to fucking China and every other slave labor country they might have a valid argument but until that day arrives we should all do our best to screw them any way we can . Sharing music files is a good way to start fighting back!