Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Audio, iTunes
The Sad State of DRM Today
I've got two different DRM stories for you to read today. The first is more dangerous than the second, but the second is more annoying because it affects iTunes and the iPod. Both, as far as I can tell, only affect Windows users. But we should all be aware of what the media companies are doing with DRM.Story, the First
Sony has been releasing CD's that apparently (on Windows machines) actually install a rootkit on users' computers without their knowledge. This article is highly-technical and definitely Windows-geekified, but it's still an astonishing development in the world of DRM. Sony is apparently so paranoid about people copying songs from a purchased CD, they are willing to cause irreparable harm to a user's computer. If an inexperienced user attempts to uninstall the rootkit, it can cripple his computer. There's a lawsuit waiting to happen here, I'm sure.
Story, the Second
Again, we have Sony pulling strings in the DRM market. This is a well-written 4-party story about how weird DRM has gotten and how, in this case, the DRM doesn't appear to be about protecting the songs from being copied, but about disabling their playability in iTunes and the iPod. So DRM, as the author points out, is now being used as a competitive weapon rather than for anti-piracy.
After reading these stories, I am, like many others, on the verge of a personal boycott of Sony's products. I don't necessarily like Apple's DRM, but it's not crippling my computer or overly blocking how I use the songs I purchase. The same cannot be said of how Sony is approaching DRM.
For the record, I think Apple should open up iTunes-purchased songs to be playable on other MP3 players. For instance, I'd like to be able to buy a song from the iTunes store and then play it on a PSP or a Creative MP3 player. I also believe the iPod is the best portable audio player on the market and that it's stayed at the top not because of lock-in but because of its superior design. And I don't think that's going to change.
What does have to change is media companies treating their customers like criminals. They need to stop surreptitiously installing software on our computers and allow us reasonable use of any media we purchase. I've always felt that Apple's DRM is a relatively sane middle ground between the "no-DRM" and the "crazy-Nazi-DRM" camps. These developments by Sony (seemingly the worst offender here) are only reaffirming that.
But don't just take my word for it. Go read the stories and make your own decisions on what's acceptable and not acceptable.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John Hopper said 11:09PM on 11-02-2005
The thing with DRM is it's a total failure. Anyone who spends a little amount of time searching on the web can find an app that will disable it. All it does is prevent normal people from using their media fairly.
I believe DRM used to lock people out of their own media will always be cracked because they make available a program to decode the DRM with the media they've encrypted. You're given out the lock and the keys, you just have to figure out how to use them together.
Is there any DRM that hasn't been cracked yet? DVDs, FairPlay and Windows have all been cracked AFAIK. Add on top of this, video and music are eventually turned into a form that can be captured outside a computer, ie. a tape recorder or a video recorder. They really need to give up, spend more money on promoting artists and art and less on prosecuting their customers.
I know if they had Apple Lossless or Flac files on iTMS, I would buy from them more.
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George said 11:13PM on 11-02-2005
Just dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb........ Sony is digging its own grave. What in the world was it thinking?
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MR. Bungle said 12:35AM on 11-03-2005
And it wouldn't surprise you a bit to know that Sony is one of the biggest corporate boosters of the Trusted Platform Module, would it?
They've done a good job of keeping it on the down low, but don't be fooled; Sony is it's own worst enemy. The consumer electronic/PC side of Sony may not survive the entertainment side's efforts to quash legal copying.
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Andrew said 1:28AM on 11-03-2005
Actually, I uninstalled Sony's Musicmatch player and it seriously messed up my computer. I cant install programs anymore becuase for some reason when the computer reads a setup file on a cd, it tries to install musicmatch or an update for my sony walkman mp3 player (????????). I can't even install games anymore becuase of sony and I have no idea how to fix it. Please post something if you find out how to get rid of this annoying problem please!!! THANKS
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R said 1:55AM on 11-03-2005
Fine then, Sony
i will continue to buy music from the other labels as i always have, but to keep from you screwing up my hardware i will only steal your music... happy now?
and to the artists with deals with sony:
you will make no money from me by forging deals with sony (the devil)
if you want a career in music better find a different label.
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Mike said 7:55AM on 11-03-2005
I was going to buy the new Imogen Heap CD on Tuesday, it was even reasonably priced at my local record shack. Despite the wide availability of MP3s on the net, I usually buy physical CDs, if only to be fair. After I read about this, screw Sony. I don't think customers should be treated like criminals, and will find the album some other way.
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Small Paul said 5:51AM on 11-04-2005
Amen to not being treated like criminals. I'm signed up to Amazon's DVD rental service in the UK. They send me DVDs in the post, I watch them, it's all great.
Except at the start: I'm treated to an unskippable infomercial telling me that I wouldn't steal a car, and I wouldn't steal a CD, so I shouldn't download a film over the internet.
1. I've just paid for this DVD. Maybe I'm not your target market for this message?
2. Stealing a car is theft. Dishonestly appropriating someone else's property with intent to permanently deprive, to paraphrase the Theft Act 1967. Downloading a film from the internet is copyright infringement: an entirely different offence, thank you very much.
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Vadim Lozko said 9:21AM on 11-03-2005
If it's an artist that I like then there are two places that I *may* get it from (not saying I do): Usenet or BitTorrent. Artists get nothing from album sales when you compare how much they make on tour. So support the artists by going to their shows. Screw the companies who are the real culprits.
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Brian said 10:15AM on 11-03-2005
When you're desperate, you're desperate. Right Sony?
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Austin said 1:26PM on 11-03-2005
Can I recommend registering your dissent in a way which 'moneterises' you objections at www.karmabanque.com!
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