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Chinese Users Get Nokia Music Service Sans DRM
angry tapir writes "Nokia has launched a version of its Comes With Music download service without digital rights management (DRM) for the Chinese market. Currently, the service is available in about 30 countries, but in those countries the music, unlike in China, is copy-protected."
>>>Why would Nokia waste time implementing a non-DRM scheme just for China?
I would think it would be quite simple to dump songs online without DRM. Adding the DRM is the major PITA. So - Why doesn't China have copyright laws? Sounds like the US in the 1800s - copyrights didn't apply to foreign nationals like Charles Dickens. His works were widely distributed by US printers without giving a dime to Mr. Dickens for his labor. (Perhaps that's why 1800s US literacy was 99% - lots of free, cheap books available for reading.)
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Excuse me, but do you realize that copyright violation is a nationalized industry in China?
You are welcome on my lawn.
If DRM is supposed to combat piracy, then why no DRM in the country with one of the highest piracy rates in the world?
Perhaps because DRM has nothing to do with piracy, and everything to do with screwing every last cent out of law abiding customers. Seems the chinese are smarter than that and simply won't stand for being screwed like that, so they are forced to actually offer a better product at a competitive price.
So what the west needs to do, is follow china's example, pirate more and eventually the record labels will be forced to stop treating us with such utter contempt.
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Piracy is readily accepted as a fact of life in China. Just about anything that is sold on CD or DVD media is available in pirate form. Small pirate vendors outnumber legitimate stores by a wide margin. It's actually harder to buy legitimate media than the pirated stuff.
Knowing this, Nokia anticipates total rejection of DRM by Chinese consumers. Using DRM to compete with pirates is business suicide. So they don't do it.
For whatever reason, Nokia thinks they can get away with DRM in other countries. Because consumers are stupid. If they don't need DRM in the world capital of piracy, why do they need it anywhere else?
How dumb are western consumers? Spam exists because a tiny percentage of morons are still opening the messages and buying herbal Viagra. DRM exists because a tiny percentage of morons is willing to by crippled products.
The copyright industry has made it clear: Only by adopting piracy on the scale of China will DRM will go away.