So during my 12 second breaks at work I browse the net and keep bumping into DRM. What I’ve read is really discouraging, my short take:
Skip the rant and go right to DRM free $0.25 Downloads. DRM free means you buy and play anywhere, no iSteve, no ironGates, no RIAA, no proprietary players or hardware, just music – http://www.emusic.com/
DRM does not exist to protect the music biz from piracy as they state, it exists so that the music biz can control the content dictating where and how you view/listen, how often you view/listen and most importantly so they can charge you repeatedly for viewing or listening.
Take iTunes for example (~80% of the music download market). You “own” the tune but can you burn it to a CD and listen to it in your car? Can you play it with any media player other than Apple? Can make a party tape and send it to a friend?
No to all AND if you wanted to get the tune to work on another Media player, say from Creative or Samsung or… you would have to buy it again even though you already paid for it.
TiVo is another example where you’ve lost control of content you paid for and have traditionally owned once purchased. The TV show you paid to watch disappears from your disk, possibly while you were on vacation or to busy to watch it. So you would have to pay for it again if you wished to watch.
In short all your entertainment is being rented and the landlord controls their property remotely and can change the lease at their whim. All your art is us.
So wtf is a guy to do…? I dunno, you can protest at the checkout counter, you can go all “indie” in regard to music and film, and you can search out non DRM vendors like Yahoo Music or this site I just found: http://www.emusic.com/
Anyhow when my grandkids listen to Daltry spit out “t t t t-talkin bout my generation” it’ll cost em $3 for the first listen and $1.50 for each one there after, as long as they use an approved device on an approved platform from an approved vendor and even then they will have to pay again after the content is one year old. Unless we the pioneers of things digital act now.
… the good part if we loose the battle it will surely spawn another independent system of artists and consumers and perhaps spell the death of the mega corps who have no vision or understanding of art .