Slashdot Mirror
Former Apple Exec Speaks Against DRM
Wysz writes "Mike Evangelist, former Director of Product Marketing for Apple's "Pro" applications, has blogged his thoughts about DRM. Like many of us, he is offended by the fact that the record labels and movie studios treat their customers like criminals.
While he notes in the comments section that iTunes is the best of the worst, he admits to using third-party tools to remove the DRM from iTunes tracks."
Easy for you to say; you've already bought everything!
Just kidding.
Seriously, good luck with that. I'm sure, like when Homer Simpson told Moe that he wouldn't buy any more "Flaming Moe's", Apple and others will be able to hear your "You just lost yourself a customer!" declaration over their excited, yelling customers and ringing cash registers.
You know how just about every department store puts a don't-steal-me tag on the clothes that has to be removed before you can wear it? They're treating you like a potential criminal, too. Just something to think about before you boycott an industry that takes irritating measures to keep their stuff from getting stolen.
For what it's worth, although I avoid buying CDs that aren't real red book Compact Disc (I want to rip my music with no limits), I have no problems with Apple's DRM.
Insert simplistic political, ideological, or personal proselytization here.
From his blog:
I agree. This has been my philosophy for a long time. Unfortunately, you can only find out after the fact you've bought something with crap built in. If there is any disclaimer at all on the packaging, it's microscopic (look at the recent Beastie Boys CD). The first thing I do with a new CD is rip it, verify it plays on all of my PC's, and all of my CD and DVD players. If it doesn't, I return it. (And, yes, I even erase the ripped music.)
iTunes is the best of the worst
That's like commending Syphilis for not being AIDS.
Trolling is a art,
Yet I bet it comes with more protection next release.
Let us use OUR downloads as WE want. That means any player, any time, as long as I own it. Until then I will download for free or rip from CD.
...former Apple Exec sued by the RIAA...
If I could, I'd destroy you all.
The fight against DRM cannot be won. Visions of a future where media companies and other copyright holders kowtow to consumer demand and release all of their content in an unprotected format to be infinitely copied are ludicrous. The only reason this occurs now is due to the consumer technology gap. If I buy a Britney Spears CD, it has to work in the CD player I bought in 1990. Companies can't implement any real DRM without breaking backwards compatibility.
Expect this to change, soon. Your content will be encrypted at the source and will only be decrypted by the hardware, at the last possible phase, using your personal key and with proper authorization from the license server. As long as we put copyright law on the books, technology will be developed to allow it to be enforced. Live with it.
domain combinatorics
he is offended by the fact that the fact that the record labels...
Did anybody else notice the disturbance in the Matrix?
Bradley Holt
Where art thou RIAA? He voluntary admits it and all! Sue! Sue! Sue! I hear there's an attorney named THompsons whose case just went away. Maybe he can help you out...
If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
What I really dislike about DRM is the general consensus that everything actually will have DRM in the future. Even many hardcore geeks at Slashdot seem to reason DRM is here to stay and, if anything, we should try to use the lesser of all the evils. Well, I don't agree (and I didn't vote for Bush either, *shrug*) and the sooner the consumers unite somehow and nicely tell the record- and movie industry we don't want their freaking DRM the better.
Microsoft, being a maker of software based DRM-solutions, plays along nicely by reinforcing the record/movie industry's "threat" that they are "forced" to use DRM if future content should be playable at all in the future. This is _untrue!_ Even if many content industries want DRM, it's not needed, and we shouldn't give up and let them have it that way. Think about it, if a CD can be played in a stereo, even if the stereo has some kind of DRM, any competent taiwanese manufacutrer should be able to create a player for the computer, regardless if RIAA, MPAA or Microsoft likes that or not. That's the way it should be.
I am worried someday, somewhere, some freaking moron political figures will rule the computer is an "entertainment device" and must be managed with DRM (think Vista, Trusted Computing etc). That's the day we are all fucked, even if don't actually listen to music or watch TV.
Come on. Are we really supposed to believe that they had a Director of Product Marketing named Mike Evangelist? And I suppose they've got an engineer named Dave Engineer too. And users named Joe Sixpack. And an HR guy named Steve Jobs.
Software sucks. Open Source sucks less.
http://www.magnetbox.com/riaa/
What I really like is that how you go out and fork over $20 for a new DVD, then as soon as you put it in the player you are forced to watch a short video telling you such crap as "You wouldn't steal toys, you wouldn't steal shoes, why would you steal a movie?" I own the stupid thing, and they make me so mad I rip a copy just to get rid of their garbage. And by the way, "Own it now!" is their line...so I guess if we own it, we can do what we want with it...
Does the name George Orwell mean anything to you people. Wake up and smell the coffee! Big Brother is coming, and we need to stop it now before its too late. I'm serious...stop laughing dammit...ok now I'm ticked! Seriously though, we as Americans and citizens of other Free Nations need to stand up and say that "we will not allow corporations to take away our rights and freedom no matter what". Send a clear message to the RIAA, boycott their products, and spread the word that you can boycotting them and why. All that's needed to start a landslide is a single pebble. Are YOU that pebble? Think about it.
Michael "TheZorch" Haney
thezorch@gmail.com
http://thezorch.googlepages.com/home
When you buy clothes from a department store, the tag is removed and you are free to wear alter, and lend out the clothing however you see fit.
That's because their shirt can't instantly become six billion more shirts, which you can give away for free (or sell for next to nothing, like AllofMP3.com does) and take away any reason for anybody else to buy one from them.
Selling recorded music is a multi-million dollar industry, the owners of which surely don't want to just give up, just because technology has made it fantastically easy to rip them off.
If you don't like DRM, suggest another way for them to sell music. (And no bullshit answers about giving it away and making their money off concerts and t-shirt sales. Suggest a solution which doesn't involve simply giving up all that sales revenue.) If you can't come up with anything better than what's out there now, why would you be surprised that they can't either, and are desperately experimenting with so many bad ideas?
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
> He's basically fed up with format change, and he's ticked off that there are things he
> thinks he ought to be able to do with the new format (copy it freely to every digital
> device) that he can't do.
No, it isn't the format change. We all know that is unavoidable. This is different. This is THEM assuming total control. In the past, all media was essentially free. You could loan it to a friend, make a working copy (dump an LP to tape for the road, etc) make mix tapes, etc. You couldn't make and sell copies, not because of a technoligical restriction but simply because, well it is illegal. Not anymore. They want the right to dictate where and how you will play it, how long you can play it and eventually will insist on the right to charge you by the play. Unless we say NO, right now.
Democrat delenda est
Now shut the fuck up and go join the rest of the sheeple at the mall.
Sincerely,
The RIAA
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
I understand that this guy wants to live in a world where entertainment data (audio CD, DVD, downloaded audio, etc) is released without DRM. He can create that world today. All he has to do is produce content that everyone wants and release that content with no DRM at all.
The best way to win over the hearts and minds of the people is to live your life as a shining example of the good behavior that you want emulated. That's going to be much more effective world change for DRM than whining in a blog.
If you don't like DRM, suggest another way for them to sell music. (And no bullshit answers about giving it away and making their money off concerts and t-shirt sales. Suggest a solution which doesn't involve simply giving up all that sales revenue.) If you can't come up with anything better than what's out there now, why would you be surprised that they can't either, and are desperately experimenting with so many bad ideas?
This seems a little over-the-top to me. Consider this example. Ford has just "invented" the assembly line. It's now possible to build cars extremely cheaply. In other words, the cost or reproduction has gone down by an order of magnitude. Let's say there had been car-makers before that, but they made custom cars to order, one at a time. They would see this sudden new method of production as a threat, and try to artificially maintain inflated prices. Would they be justified in shutting Ford down?
I'm well aware this analogy doesn't really work, but there are elements of it that are important. Firstly, the real change here is in production. Music distributors DO NOT MAKE MUSIC. That's what bands do. So when you buy a CD from a Warner or whatever, you're not paying Warner for the music, you're paying Warner for the CD. Of course, you're also paying Warner to market the CD, you're paying them to possible promote the band. And part of your money is actually going to fund the band itself.
So essentially the music industry has become a big middle man. They don't make music, they promote and distribute it. But now they are no longer needed for distribution. The method of production has gotten cheaper and anyone with a PC can do it. They arguably don't need to promote it either - with the internet it's possible to disseminate information for free - or almost.
So before you, or anyone gets all high and mighty about "they make a living selling music, blah blah blah" you have to ask yourself - are they really needed any more? And if not, then why should we keep them around? We don't keep blacksmiths around either. Of course the industy has a vested interest in keeping itself alive, but that doesn't mean we have to roll over and let them extort money from us when they no longer really have much to offer us.
So what should replace this business model? Clearly bands need to get paid or we won't have full-time artists anymore. So money needs to change hands. That is clear. I'd recommend dropping the price on physical CDs considerably - like $5 bucks a pop. If the good is sufficiently elastic you'll make the m oney back in increased revenue. Shift to an online model. There are plenty of sites that want to sell music cheap. Reduce the price for an mp3 to 10 cents or something. Share the profits more equitably between distributor and band. There you go. Let fan sites handle promoting.
That may or may not be the perfect solution, but here's the key point. It's not the consumer's job to come up with a new business model. And if the currrent business model has become irrelevant, we don't have an obligation to develop a new one before pointing out that the current one is irrelevant.
Let's be realistic. Change is inevitable. The industry can fight it, and be crushed eventually, or they can downsize and reinvent themselves. Painful, yes, but nothing like the alternative.
stormin
The Southern Baptist Convention has creationism. On Slashdot, we have porn.
There. Fixed that for you. ;-)
Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
If you don't like DRM, suggest another way for them to sell music.
Ok, here's one: sell music without DRM. CDs, mp3s, DVDs, whatever floats your boat.
CD burners have been available for nearly a decade now. Mass copying of digital music has been feasible, and known to your average Joe, for years now. Broadband is pretty standard in most countries. Yet people still buy CDs by the millions.
Why?
Because the vast majority of people are honest. They'd LIKE to pay for things. I know it's easy to assume everyone is out to steal from everyone else, but the numbers simply don't reflect this. Mass copying of free digital music has been available and easy to use for years now, and yet people still buy CDs by the truckload.
You're always going to lose some sales due to piracy, sure. Maybe even a decent percentage (10-20%). But overall, most people are quite willing to give up some money for a quality product. Don't believe me? Here in Canada, copying CDs for personal use is 100% legal. Most interpretations of the law say that sharing/downloading mp3s is also 100% legal. Yet CDs still sell, and sell well. Record stores aren't going out of business in droves, people still have a collection of CDs in their cars, and the music industry is still making a profit.
Should copying be illegal? Maybe. That'll stop the casual users. DRM will never stop the dedicated. They're just not interested in buying your music. Short of not releasing it, you'll never stop these people. But the masses will happily pay for unencumbered mp3s.
It's kind of like bottled water. Water is free, right? Then why is bottled water a multi-million dollar industry?
Convenience. Imagine a music store with everything, and no DRM. I'd be paying thousands every year for music at the rate I chew through it, even though I could easily get it for free. DRM doesn't stop music from getting onto P2P networks, and it never will. All it does is stop me from buying music from iTunes, etc.
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
If you don't like DRM, suggest another way for them to sell music.
Easy.
Q: How has the internet changed things?
A: The cost of distribution is now effectively zero.
No smart business will even try to charge for something that is free. Even if they have a 300% markup, 3 * 0 is still ZERO.
Q: What's left to charge a markup on?
A: Labor costs.
The cost to create the album, book, movie or video game is where there is still opportunity to charge a mark-up. So, forget all about copyright which is (primarily) about controlling distribution. There is no value in distribution any more.
Instead, sell all the creations as work-for-hire to the public domain. Yes, let the public pay for the cost of creation plus whatever premium you can milk from them. If it costs $500K to produce an album, then ask for $1M up front from the public at large. Let the people pay whatever they think such an album will be worth to them. Take all those payments, put them into an escrow account and when it hits $1M you get to work. When you are done, release the finished album to the public domain and collect your $1M in payment.
This can work for the same reason that the cost of distribution is now zero - the Internet. The cost of collecting payments from millions of people is approaching zero too. We still need the right financial infrastructure to do it efficiently, but technically all the pieces are already available.
Q: How does "work-for-hire to the public domain" benefit the content creators?
A: It substantially reduces their risks by guaranting the return on their investment up front.
Q: How does "work-for-hire to the public domain" benefit the consumers?
A1: They will actually own the results - no worries about breaking the law to share with friends.
A2: They have much more of a say into what kinds of entertainment get created - not advertisers, not studio execs, but the actual consumer gets to vote with his dollar before production which is far more effective than "voting" after the production is already finished.
Q: What if not enough money is collected to reach $1M?
A: Lower the asking price, or give up and return all the escrowed money or spend some money on hype to encourage more buyers. This is the epitomy of a free market, no government involvement required at all.
All you've succeeded in doing is creating a boo-hoo story for the VP in charge of the Sony Music dvision. And it's legitimate. But it doesn't change the fact that when the market changes in fundamental ways some business models do not survive. Period. You have this HUGE industry that was essentially created to solve a problem: distribute music to consumers. At the time of creation the only method of distribution was physical. It was expensive and time-consuming to create phonographs, 8-tracks, cassettes, etc. So now you have this huge corporation that was built up around the fundamental problem: create physical media to distribute music.
Then along come computers and the internet. Now you can make endless copies of the music (digital files) and you have a method to distribute them without significant additional overhead (peer-to-peer over the internet). These are the facts of life. And it means that the entire music distribution infrastucture has become an out-dated dinosaur.
You seem to want us to understand the plight of the Sony VP. But that's not really relevant. The problem isn't that people are stealing music. That's a symptom of the greater problem: there's no longer a need for giant distributors with extensive physical capital to fulfill. And that is not anybody's fault. That doesn't make stealing OK. But everybody not stealing is not going to suddenly eliminate the market inequities.
The problem is that we're going through another economic revolution. Just as tremendous social upheavel accompanied the Industrial Revolution, this economic revolution from physical media to digital media is going to cause huge waves (maybe not AS huge, that remains to be seen). And just as some labor groups fought the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the physical media conglomerations are going to fight this revolution. But they have just much chance of winning as the Luddites did of banning machinery and factories.
We're completely wasting our time, efforts and money if we try to either prop up a failing and antiquated system or try to divert attention from the underlying flaws. The world has changed - and the only prudent thing we can do is try to change with it. That goes for you, me, and Sony VPs everywhere.
-stormin
The Southern Baptist Convention has creationism. On Slashdot, we have porn.