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Shocker: Despicable Conduct From Disney
An Anonymous Coward writes: "Phil Lelyveld, (email) a Vice President for Disney, has written to the FCC to tell them to ignore Digital Consumer's comments on the Broadcast Flag issue. The Broadcast Flag is an inter-industry conspiracy to turn over the keys to general-purpose computing to Hollywood studio execs -- under this proposal, no one will be able to ship digital television technology (like DVD recorders and FireWire) without Hollywood's permission. Lelyveld wrote to the FCC -- who are taking comments on the proposal -- without mentioning his day-job, to tell them that Digital Consumer, a civil liberties groups with more than 40,000 members, is nothing more than a "two dot.com millionaires" working to create a world "where we are all artist/waiters." Joined the EFF Yet? (or is it time to renew?) Update: 12/06 14:55 GMT by M : Lelyveld is not a lawyer. Here's a summary of his background.
Anyways, just felt like saying that...
We have so much time, and so little to do - strike that! Reverse it. Tryn Mirell
Now, I'm not suprised to hear that one of Disney's lawyers (or any lawyer paid by a large corp/interest group/gov) would behave in such a way. That said, it'd be nice to see, oh, the email, or confirmation by someone who would know. I didn't see such material in any of the links in the article.
I would love to live in a world where everybody is an artist. No more megacorps to dictate what gets published and where, or how movies are made.
This is a good thing.
Just think...if just half of their effort that was spent on influencing government regulations were focused on truly making artistic/good movies, think of the truly creative products they could come up with, isntead of rehashing old ideas. Especially with Disney's latest movie, which did rather horrible at the movies. I can see why.
I'll probably get trolled for this... but c'mon, folks, the whole attitude in the United States is "ME! ME! ME!" and people will get what they can, however they can, and the more they get, the more they can rationalize and justify putting any ethical considerations aside.
So who's surprised that a big company like Disney is sending some fucking lawyer to do clandestine dirty work for them in the name of profit?
evil adrian
Interestingly, Google has (as of yet) no mention of the phrase "where we are all artist/waiters."
Are we supposed to believe that the story submitter a whistleblower of some kind? Or what?
When I moderate, I only use "-1, Overrated". That way, I never get meta-moderated!
What's happening to this planet ?
(1) You can't buy a cd/dvd/firewire product w/o permission.
(2) Taxi drivers have to pay royalty if their passengers listen to radio.
(3) New audio cds which will not work on standard audio equipment, but only on PCs with security locks.
(4) The DMCA which just abt doesnt let you comment/work on any digital product.
(5) Billing Kazaa users - no small amounts either
(6) MP3 compression usage now demands a royalty fee.(br) These people seem to be forgetting that they exist because of us, the customers. And they are trying to upset those very people that help them stay in business. These guys are trying to push us into a corner and will probably start charging us for the air we breathe... soon. It disgusts me, and OPEN SOURCE makes all the more sense to me. Looks like there is gonna be a war... on intellectual property and rights.. soon.
|/________
|\A|ALYS|
Okay, maybe if this guy was screwing his dog, or locking his children in his basement, or running a spam operating out of his garage, I could understand calling it "despicable conduct". But what is this guy doing, really, other than his job?
Is this somehow unexpected?
Every time you pay $12.98 for a music CD you tell them you approve of the way they act.
I agree that a federal mandate is always bad but...
Does Hollywood think they're going to be able to succeed where the satellite and cable industries have failed? Is somebody telling them that content protection can be achieved in digital where analog methods have failed?
There is no fool-proof protection. Making it easy for the consumer means making it easy for the cracker. Making it hard for the cracker means making it hard for the consumer or the provider.
Unfortunately, "Number of the Beast" was a steaming pile of camel dung, written after Heinlein got onto his sex-with-young-women-who-happen-to-be-your-relativ e schtick.
I second the endorsement of the EFF ... but shouldn't we be above throwing money at a problem? ;-)
Especially when Disney/Fox/AOL-Time-Warner/etc have far more money than the EFF can rustle up. Don't get me wrong - the EFF is surely worthy of support - but you won't beat these guys at their own game.
Write letters to, or telephone, the FCC and tell them what you want. Get petitions signed and send them in. Explain clearly and eloquently why you want the opposite of our good buddy Phil. Venting of the spleen usually accomplishes very little to further your cause, and can often prejudice people against your argument.
Ho! Haha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Ha! Thrust!
The same could be said about oil and munitions.
But one can at least say, however the market chooses to remunerate them.As a tech-savy musician, I saw Napster coming way ... uh ... back in the day. I also know a lot of roadies, audio techs and graphics people that get a lot less work lately. Music was over valued, now it's going to be undervalued. If you build castles made of sand, don't complain about the tide
Today I saw a promo on TV about guys who had big time tech jobs and were now delivering pizza. Internet skills were over valued, now they're going to be undervalued. How many programmers does the world need? Labor is always devalued systematically, and US and Euro tech workers are now going to compete more and more with an entire world of poorer people
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
Pastor Martin Niemoller
Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it.
All the media companies are facing a horrible prospect - no longer can they control the path between the artist and the public. If they don't
learn to cope with the new world they will die.
I think you're confusing marketing and mass production with the ability of a single individual. Don Henley can't sit in his studio and burn CD's by the millions, now can he? But he can put up a website, with 10 or 20 MP3's, and let me use PayPal to download the ones that interest me. Can Don make money this way? Depends on his overhead and success with his fans. Can he get stinking rich? Not until the corporate stench leaves the room, no.
The major houses have no qualms about taking advantage of any artist they sign. None.
Anyone that imagines I can cause pain to a recording artist by duplicating his/her CD at home needs to study the economics of the recording industry just a bit closer. I worked in that industry just long enough to decide there was nothing glamorous about the way signed artists are treated.
My point is this...the houses make a profit any way they can. I make a statement any way I can. One of us can sleep at night.
Another question to ask is "How were artists, composers and performers renumerated prior to the advent of the recording industry?".
There is no shortage of music (though, of course not audio recordings) dating from before the record industry so I am certain that music and other entertainment arts would survive (in a changed form) the demise of the current record and movie industries.
Here's the thing, folks.
Broadcast is good, right? And the flag is GREAT! So, the Broadcast Flag sounds all nice and wonderful. You have to be technically aware to realize what it is:
VCR Poison. One swallow of tainted material, and everything dies.
The FCC is being asked to mandate that every VCR dutifully swallow any poison sent by a content provider. To refuse the poison would carry large fines and possibly jailtime. And the poison is cheap! The only cost would be a single switch:
Kill VCRs? ( ) Yes ( ) No
It's Just That Simple.
It's not "The Broadcast Flag". It's VCR Poison, and the FCC is deciding whether or not to allow it. This is still a democracy, folks -- what do YOU want?
Yours Truly,
Dan Kaminsky
DoxPara Research
http://www.doxpara.com
Actually, I am getting the sense that Slashdot is becoming more and more dominated by mp3 traders who spout empty slogans like "Information wants to be free" or "Oh, I don't like the cost of CDs, so it's perfectly OK for me to copy them and share them with all my friends".
The problem with these kinds of people is that it is obvious that such people are really not concerned with the people who make the music in question; they are only concerned about getting the fruit of those people's labor at the lowest possible cost.
When comments like this get moderated down, I know too many people who blindly support self-serving file trading and have no consideration for the people who actually make the music are becoming moderators.
Let me put my position out there: I am opposed to any type of software piracy. I think Microsoft software costs too much, so I use Linux. I think most CDs cost too much, so I go over to mp3.com or buy the RAP CD ($15, 4 CDs full of music) instead of buying mainstream music. I think most movies and TV suck, so I only watch movies or TV as a social gathering. Instead, I hang out with college students or go online.
Yes, I am opposed to legislated technological solutions because they make anyone with a digital recorder guilty. The RIAA's efforts of 15 years ago, which created the HRRA, killed the DAT audio format. I am sure that the RIAA, unfrettered, would destroy the PC revolution.
- Sam
The secret to enjoying Slashdot is to realize that it should not be taken too seriously.
You make some good points, and, even though I disagree with your fundamentals, they are honest.
However, there is one aspect that's often disregarded; it's that of quashing competition from free/sources using legal means.
Exactly the alternatives you subscribe to, such as using free software and buying non-mainstream music, are fundamentally threatened by commercial moves to technically and legally regulate how we consume information.
I realize that this is taking the slippery slope argument ad absurdum, but I can easily see something like broadcast flags (among other legally mandated means of content regulation/control on hardware devices--imagine that!) eventually leading to a world where I am prevented from consuming exactly those alternatives.
No, I do not own a DVD player, yes, I run FreeBSD, yes, I buy (mainly older and used) CDs--but what if I'm no longer allowed/able to access my entertainment because, say, new CD copy protection breaks my old bookshelf system, my PC doesn't work with my cable modem provider anymore because they require access to check my OS, and my (little-used) TV doesn't let me access even broadcast shows anymore because (a) free TV has been forced into some sort of content protection scheme which doesn't work on my old box?
Great prospects..
Cole's Law: Thinly sliced cabbage
The poem cited above was written by a man who was vitctim of the nazi holocaust. It's magnificient, but I feel it's a little out of context here...
I mean, the DRM/'right-to-backup-your-media-debate' is important, but the holocaust issue is in another league entirely. Literally millions of people exterminated. Get a perspective, please, don't trivialize REAL atrocities.
Go ahead, mod me down.
Are you a grammar Nazi? I'm trying to improve my English; please correct my errors!
Its kinda like how the failed computer science and computer engineering students switch to management science to graduate. Then they become our bosses _and_ the CS and CPE departments look to them for advice on how to train us to be good little cubical drones.
-- Josh Turiel
"2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle."
That's the best quote I've heard in some time!
So the flag is not a barrier to those that are doing the hard-core copyright infringement, but only impeeding on fair use by average consumers.
I'd like to see MasterLock try to get away with that! "Sure this new lock of ours can be opened in 2 seconds with no effort, but most people won't even TRY to open it."
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
they would rather sit down and surf, watch TV, or even just vegetate rather than driving somewhere for a meeting or to even write a damn letter. I bet more than half the people here will bitch all they want, mod people up or down-but writing a letter takes too much time.
Have you ever thought that the public may not have the same issues as you do? I mean, there are a lot of more important issues in the world short of copyright infringement and the DMCA. I mean there is a whole world out there. You pessimists really think that the public is going to rush out and do all the things these lawmakers and their ridiculous rules tell us to do?
Simply put, most families are a tight rope act. Most people don't have the time to do much besides keeping that ship afloat.
Good luck. Most people have a heavy job responsibility, and a kid or two. It takes all of their time. AND I MEAN ALL OF IT. So the next time you think that the public doesn't care about issues, watch the ratings for the nightly news, Bill O'Reily, and CNN.
Don't assume they are idiots. It is not a crime to be a conservative or a liberal. It is not an assumption of someone's stupidity because they don't know DMCA rules implicitly. The public is not brilliant, but here in America, it is not dumb enough to believe everything it hears on TV, or from some corporate attorney.
Although many of you very vocal, very young ctivist types think we are all losers and you alone can save the world, TRUST ME ON THIS ONE: You will soon see the truth about all of this.
The public truly knows which end wags the dog, and who all of the bastards really are. Go ahead, take away all of our rights, see what happens in America.
So the next time you think that the public doesn't care about issues, watch the ratings for the nightly news, Bill O'Reily, and CNN
So who do they actually poll? Is it a truly diverse crowd? Then again do you see any other news besides those, and please don't tell me that FOX is a good news source, they are the WWF of News.
Don't assume they are idiots
Never have I made such an assumption. Ones choice of lifestyle does not qualify them as an idiot.
And yes your are totally correct about saying many people are having a hard time trying to make ends meet, but then I see so many people running up credit cards, renting lots of movies, drinking with the friends, and so much more so there must be some money and time somewhere. But I believe that you point about not having time to care is absolutely true. Everyone decides what gets their time and attention. My point was that a lot of people claim they don't even have five minute to write an email, but they have a couple of our to go out with friends or family. I was not saying to rip your life apart and totally dedicate to a cause that is just plain useless, instead just take five minutes here or there and write a letter read sometime, voice you opinion at the right place. Just to make a little change takes a little change not one dramatic change for a week or a month and then revert back.
My intention here was not to offend anyone, even though I obviously have, but just to make people realize that all the time they are spending complaining on the phone, to friends, to newsgroups, and where ever else; they could focus that energy directly towards the cause of their frustrations.
This SIG pulled due to lack of funding. (This damn war is costing too much!)
We lost control when
1. Congress became a full time job
and
2. When it started costing Millions of Dollars to run for office.
When the Federal Government started, Congress was not a full time job. Representatives came to Washington to take care of business, then went back home to Represent. As time went on, being a Representative or Senator went from a service position to a full time job. While this may not seem to be a big issue, it has lead to career Congress People (I don't know any 100 year old Congress People *Strom-cough*, do you?).
The biggest problem today is the amount of money it takes to run for office. A Representative has to run every 2 years, so that means they must come up with Millions to run every even-numbered year. A Senator has it a little better, their term is 6 years, so they have more time to raise the Money.
The result of these costs is that to run for Congress, one must raise the funds to run campaigns. A major source of these funds are (surprise) major Corporations. Most Congress People are not going to do anything to upset those who have helped them get elected -- and since most Slashdotters do not have megabucks to donate, that means we are ignored.
Beware of Sleestak
When he says, "We do not want to live in the world DigitalConsumer.dot is trying to create for us, where we are all artist/waiters." He really means it. Phil Lelyveld would hate to have a real job and do things for people. He does not want to live in a wold that does not sustain his and a few select others ability to rape everyone else.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
That's entirely true about me. I'm not concerned either with the people who make clothes, cars, food, etc, my only concern is getting those products and services at the lowest possible cost.
On the other hand, artists aren't concerned about us, either. Their only concern is selling the fruits of their labor at the highest possible price. The problem with "piracy" and DRM comes from this conflict: artists and media companies value the artists' creations more than the public does.
I have met a few musicians, I have had music lessons from professional musicians. I paid for those lessons. I agree that musicians are entitled to earn a living, like any other worker. However, I have never met a published musician who was poor. And the richest artists, who sell more records, are exactly those whose work is most pirated. The bottom line is that "pirating" music works more as advertising for the artist than as stealing music.