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Steve Jobs calls for an end to DRM in Music
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic/
Open letter from Steve Jobs posted to Apple.com a couple of days ago. Discuss.
Personally I hope he and Apple have some success. DRM isn't working, so why not remove it. It will make the world a more fun place.:D
Ballsy move anyway. First time I've ever seen a posting like that on Apple's pages.
Open letter from Steve Jobs posted to Apple.com a couple of days ago. Discuss.
Personally I hope he and Apple have some success. DRM isn't working, so why not remove it. It will make the world a more fun place.:D
Ballsy move anyway. First time I've ever seen a posting like that on Apple's pages.
Tell 'em, Steve!
You'll notice he doesn't pull the "Nelson Munt Laugh" (Haa HA!) out at Sony for their failed DRM-on-CD scheme. I'm sure he was thinking about pointing out their failed example.
What he says is essentially true. It's one of the early cracks in the wall that's protecting the Music and Motion Picture Industries. Soon, the days of corporations getting rich off of artists will be gone, their business model will utterly fail, and everything will come crashing down.
I don't think that this will be much better for the end consumer, you'll have to work to find music and movies that you like. However, it will be better for the movie and recording artists. Of course, it will be bad for the studios, who won't be around to provide organization and marketing for artists, which means essentially a "system reset" for this industry.
Eventually, perhaps 50 years after this reset occurs, we'll be back in the same place. Artists always need help organizing, marketing and selling their stuff, and there are always people out there willing to do that for a cut. Then, mergers and acquisitions will lead to the consolidation of the studios and we'll be right back where we started.
The wildacrd: Whether or not technology will evolve to solve the end-consumer problems of finding and purchasing music and movies they like. You can kind of do this on Amazon and Netflix now, if you like a certain movie, they suggest another in the same vein. Same with iTunes. If technology can allow the industry to sort of "self-organize" along these lines, perhaps the need for a middleman "studio" will be gone for good.
One can only hope.
What he says is essentially true. It's one of the early cracks in the wall that's protecting the Music and Motion Picture Industries. Soon, the days of corporations getting rich off of artists will be gone, their business model will utterly fail, and everything will come crashing down.
I don't think that this will be much better for the end consumer, you'll have to work to find music and movies that you like. However, it will be better for the movie and recording artists. Of course, it will be bad for the studios, who won't be around to provide organization and marketing for artists, which means essentially a "system reset" for this industry.
Eventually, perhaps 50 years after this reset occurs, we'll be back in the same place. Artists always need help organizing, marketing and selling their stuff, and there are always people out there willing to do that for a cut. Then, mergers and acquisitions will lead to the consolidation of the studios and we'll be right back where we started.
The wildacrd: Whether or not technology will evolve to solve the end-consumer problems of finding and purchasing music and movies they like. You can kind of do this on Amazon and Netflix now, if you like a certain movie, they suggest another in the same vein. Same with iTunes. If technology can allow the industry to sort of "self-organize" along these lines, perhaps the need for a middleman "studio" will be gone for good.
One can only hope.
Leber: The tech is there. People just need to make the connection and start using it.
http://pandora.com
http://pandora.com
horray for pandora internet radio!
While a lot of people would certainly like to see groups like the RIAA and the MPAA (and the major industry players they represent) fade away, economies of scale and common interest will tend to keep most artists/moviemakers from moving to an entirely independent model.
The main reason the iTunes store did well is because it was convenient enough, and the DRM lenient enough, that the average user never really noticed the difference. Contrast that with some of the competition, who have come up with the following strategies:
1. All the music you want for a flat monthly fee, unless you want to make a cd, or put it on another computer, or more than one portable player, then you pay for the specific songs you want again. (Most PlaysForSure-based music stores.)
2. Same as above, but all of the transactions are in Moon Money that you buy in blocks calculated using the same math that hot dog and bun makers have been using for years. (Zune store)
eMusic (and some even more obscure labels and distributors) had the right idea all along, other than the "monthly subscription" way they do their billing (but without the kind of market share iTunes has, that's probably the best way they can ensure profitability, or at least breaking even). Unfortunately, only independent labels and artists have gone that route thus far.
Looking forward, the rumor mill is saying that EMI might just be seeing the light a bit ahead of the curve. If their business doesn't implode overnight, it might be enough to bring the rest of the industry along kicking and screaming, much like how the iTunes music and TV stores first opened.
The main reason the iTunes store did well is because it was convenient enough, and the DRM lenient enough, that the average user never really noticed the difference. Contrast that with some of the competition, who have come up with the following strategies:
1. All the music you want for a flat monthly fee, unless you want to make a cd, or put it on another computer, or more than one portable player, then you pay for the specific songs you want again. (Most PlaysForSure-based music stores.)
2. Same as above, but all of the transactions are in Moon Money that you buy in blocks calculated using the same math that hot dog and bun makers have been using for years. (Zune store)
eMusic (and some even more obscure labels and distributors) had the right idea all along, other than the "monthly subscription" way they do their billing (but without the kind of market share iTunes has, that's probably the best way they can ensure profitability, or at least breaking even). Unfortunately, only independent labels and artists have gone that route thus far.
Looking forward, the rumor mill is saying that EMI might just be seeing the light a bit ahead of the curve. If their business doesn't implode overnight, it might be enough to bring the rest of the industry along kicking and screaming, much like how the iTunes music and TV stores first opened.
"You'll notice he doesn't pull the "Nelson Munt Laugh" (Haa HA!) out at Sony for their failed DRM-on-CD scheme. I'm sure he was thinking about pointing out their failed example"
i assume your talking about this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Copy_Protection
or do you mean this? (bastards at sony used both)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaMax_CD-3
EDIT: almost forgot
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2146367/garnter-piece-tape-defeats-cd
i assume your talking about this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Copy_Protection
or do you mean this? (bastards at sony used both)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaMax_CD-3
EDIT: almost forgot
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2146367/garnter-piece-tape-defeats-cd