Paul McCartney Releases Album As DRM-Free Download

Medieval Cow writes "Sir Paul McCartney has a side project called The Fireman and he's just released their new album, Electric Arguments, as a digital download. Why this is of interest to this community is that he released it 100% DRM-free. You can purchase just the digital files, or if you purchase a physical CD or vinyl copy, you are also given access to the digital download. Not only that, but the download is available in 320-kbps MP3, Apple Lossless, or even FLAC format. If you're interested in trying before you buy, you can listen to the entire album in a Flash player on the main page of the site. It's so nice to see a big musician who gets it. Bravo, Sir Paul!"

Comments

Re:Interesting how artists, when given a chance...

[QuantumG]

Paul McCartney was one of the biggest proponents of that attempt to get retroactive copyright extension of sound recordings a few years back. Maybe he's changed his attitude towards copyright since then.. or maybe he's just interested in making a buck (or a bob) any way he can.

Not quite your average artist

[MosesJones]

One point to make though is that Paul McCartney is the sort of guy who can afford to go DRM free, if this album is ripped, lobbed on bit-torrent and limewire then Macca is unlikely to be out on the streets through lost revenue. Its great that he has done it but the _fear_ of being ripped off is going to be less for one of the biggest selling artists of all time than it would be for the average band.

Kudos indeed, but this isn't just a random artist choosing DRM this is the bloke from the Beatles who co-wrote the first hit for the Rolling Stones and the Frog Chorus.

Re:Not quite your average artist

[MosesJones]

You are supposed to make music because you like to do it, not as a full-time job.

Stallman is that you? Are you serious?

Artists don't have a right to make money from their art, it just happened to work well.

WTF? So Michaelangelo should have done the Sistine Chapel for free? Da Vinci shouldn't have taken that commission for the Mona Lisa? Mozart should never have taken that court job or done those popular operas?

The multi-millionaires rock stars didn't exist before the invention of disc records and probably won't exist after that.
Go and have a look at some of the musicians, opera singers, composers and the like (who didn't drink it all away) from previous centuries and realise what a piece of muppetry you are saying.

I don't have the right to listen freely to their music, it just happens to work well.

I've never felt like condemning copyright violation as outright theft before but your mentality really does seem to be in that category of "F-U, F-everyone" and "I'm alright Jack" asshole that just deserves to be up before the judge. I don't have a right to my neighbours car... and you know what I won't be taking it for a joy ride no matter how well it would work for me.

Oh hang on, you are clearly actually an RIAA plant because no-one could be that big a sociopath.... could they?
 

Re:Not quite your average artist

[oojimaflib]

Despite the very real risk of being whooshed, I'll bite.

You are supposed to make music because you like to do it, not as a full-time job.

Stallman is that you? Are you serious?

Artists don't have a right to make money from their art, it just happened to work well.

WTF? So Michaelangelo should have done the Sistine Chapel for free? Da Vinci shouldn't have taken that commission for the Mona Lisa? Mozart should never have taken that court job or done those popular operas?

Being fair to the GP post, I think you are perhaps reading a little more into it than is there... It's fair enough to say that artists don't have a right to make money from their art. They don't have this right now, and never have had it. The fact is, if the art is good, people will pay for it. If not, they won't. Copyright is neither here nor there. Indeed I'm not sure that any of the examples you cite enjoyed any significant copyright protection on their work.

The multi-millionaires rock stars didn't exist before the invention of disc records and probably won't exist after that. Go and have a look at some of the musicians, opera singers, composers and the like (who didn't drink it all away) from previous centuries and realise what a piece of muppetry you are saying.

Quite.

Re:FLAC

[QuantumG]

Come on man. Feel free to buy the FLAC and convert it to your preferred format. It's lossless compression, you can't ask for more.

Re:Interesting how artists, when given a chance...

[JavaRob]

Paul McCartney was one of the biggest proponents of that attempt to get retroactive copyright extension of sound recordings a few years back. Maybe he's changed his attitude towards copyright since then.. or maybe he's just interested in making a buck (or a bob) any way he can.

Yeah, I don't think he's doing it because he's suddenly anti-copyright.

This is a particularly good time in the history of the recording industry to be one of the "good guys" who drops the DRM and gets press for doing it.

Notice the huge free ad he just got on Slashdot?

And think about it -- if you're choosing between paying for a Metallica vs. paying for this one, what goes through your head?
* I hate that @#$%in' DRM...
* Metallica! Those DRM-loving pricks. @#$% 'em, I'm just getting this one off the internets.
* McCartney! He removed the DRM... Maybe I shouldn't rip him off.

It's a marketing experiment. There'll probably be more freeloaders, since the people who *wanted* to get their music for free but couldn't figure it out will have an easier time of it. But if sales are boosted enough by the good press and goodwill, the experiment will have succeeded.

Re:Flac rocks

[onceuponatime]

Flac *is* lossless. I have no intention of loading that into any players, merely it's a good lossless source that allows me to record to whatever format I wish to play in, namely ogg. Suggesting a proprietory format as an alternative really is not the way forward :-) I thought everyone here wanted out of proprietory formats.