I don't think anybody likes DRM. Customers certainly don't like it: they want to listen to music and watch video where and when they please. I don't think it's that popular with the content providers, either, because it's not a perfect solution. It might cut down on some piracy, but by no means eliminates it entirely.
DRM has come up recently in a few places, and companies have set up camps at two ends of the spectrum. Amazon.com is doing a booming business selling DRM-free music, sometimes for better prices than at the iTunes Store. On the other hand, we have NBC, who may or may not be partnering with Microsoft to create device software that (somehow) determines if a particular music or video file has been stolen.
As much as I'm sure that both Zune users would appreciate having access to NBC's video library, the problem remains of how exactly Microsoft would do that, aside from splashing giant watermarks across everything. My money's on unicorn tears.
How much more investment will there be in DRM before content providers realize it's an inefficient, ineffective way of deterring piracy? Sound off in comments.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-09-2008 @ 10:25AM
Chris said...
I just want to know how long it'll be before the US Government steps in and nails the big 4 media companies for price fixing again. The only way Amazon is selling tracks for less than Apple is that they're buying the tracks from the big 4 at a price cheaper than Apple can get them.
They want Apple to lose control. And why not? Tt was only Apple that showed the world how to sell media content to the masses. Good business.
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5-09-2008 @ 10:26AM
cod_soup said...
"As much as I'm sure that both Zune users..."
That's right - 'both' of them.
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5-09-2008 @ 10:41AM
Aron T said...
Seriously, hilarious.
5-09-2008 @ 12:00PM
imatt said...
I saw that too and thought it was a typo b/c it didn't sound right the first time I read it. Then I got it. Funny Stuff.
5-09-2008 @ 10:28AM
Andrew Wicklifef said...
I'm actually not buying Hill Street Blues S3 from Amazon's unbox just because of the DRM. With Microsoft canceling the MSN music store support... it just doesn't seem safe.
An automated download-and-burn-to-DVD process would fix these problems....
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5-09-2008 @ 10:29AM
Aron T said...
The lame thing with DRM is that it assumes honest people are pirates and it doesn't stop pirates from doing anything at all.
That being said, I'm proud to ignore the DMCA and bypass DRM every chance I get.
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5-09-2008 @ 12:56PM
Dave said...
"The lame thing with DRM is that it assumes honest people are pirates and it doesn't stop pirates from doing anything at all."
I agree.
As for the DMCA, I'm not in the USA so it doesn't carry much weight for me.
5-09-2008 @ 10:39AM
Galley said...
I still buy CDs. They're lossless, DRM-free, cheaper than digital downloads, and they even come with their own backup copy!
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5-09-2008 @ 10:56AM
Justin said...
Their own backup? Oh?
If your CD is stolen, scratched, lost or burnt down in a house fire I don't think that backup does much good. Apple WILL let you re-download purchases if you shoot an email off to customer support. I can vouch for that from multiple personal experiences.
Not saying I don't prefer the quality of CD to most downloads - though Apple's 256k AAC is pretty darn good. I wish they'd sell stuff in DRM-free Apple Lossless.
5-09-2008 @ 11:30AM
mrsteveman1 said...
AAC isn't the problem, the tracks on iTunes are mastered poorly sometimes. I have personally heard a number of them sound completely horrible, because the master Apple was given was horrible, or someone ruined it somewhere along the way.
5-09-2008 @ 10:42AM
akatsuki said...
Without a perpetual guaranty, why would you ever shackle yourself to a Kindle or a Zune or whatever...
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5-09-2008 @ 10:53AM
Tanner Osborn said...
Aaaaahaahahahahahaha
"both Zune users"
"My money's on unicorn tears"
seriously made my morning man :)
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5-09-2008 @ 11:29AM
Mister Paul said...
Some of the content providers are married to DRM. The relationship lasts until death doth part them.
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5-09-2008 @ 11:31AM
mrsteveman1 said...
The Zune filtering could work like this:
Microsoft creates a public private keypair for each content producer, the public keys get shipped with and updated on the zune periodically, the private keys stay with the content owners. They sign each legitimate piece of media, DRM'd or not, and the Zune checks that signature on playback. If it doesn't match or has no sig, it won't play.
This obviously means nothing outside of Big Content will play unless MS gives users their own private key or allows them to load their own stuff, but at that point they can load pirated stuff too.....
The alternative is to do a whitelist/blacklist, maintain watermarks of specific media, and refuse to play them. This of course is cat and mouse and would end up being a huge list.
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5-09-2008 @ 12:10PM
Sean Flanagan said...
Content producers will start to realize that DRM doesn't work when they realize that the people PAYING for their content are not trying to steal it at the same time. Offer better quality and other reasons for people to buy rather than steal the same content, and you'll make the money. Honestly, if individuals can put HD-quality DRM-free content on Torrent sites, I think the content producers can do it it too. Deterring people from buying content by offering lower quality and higher restrictions will never sell that content.
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5-09-2008 @ 12:28PM
supagold said...
How do you have an entire post on the state of DRM, and only obliquely mention the ITMS? The quality of the music is a joke, and whatever people's personal experiences, the fact remains that the official policy is no redownloading of lost music.
Oh, and while the Zune can't compete with the Touch or iPhone, it runs rings around the Classic - and that's pretty good for 2nd generation product. Plus, since both parties have retracted the "content scanning" story, why continue to push it?
I like this site, and I love Apple products, but why not grow a pair and actually criticize them when they deserve it, especially considering they're the market leader in the exact practices the post is about?!
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5-09-2008 @ 12:38PM
Robert Palmer said...
I like how the fact that I have different opinions than you means I'm testicularly-challenged.
5-09-2008 @ 12:43PM
supagold said...
What is your opinion? We wouldn't know, because you didn't say.
Is it that consumers don't care that ITMS products are DRM, yet they do for every other store carrying DRM? That a non-story about MS supposedly filtering content is more important?
5-09-2008 @ 1:02PM
Robert Palmer said...
Well, I said that I don't think anybody likes DRM. That is my opinion. Because I didn't use that as a platform to criticize iTS, as you would, doesn't mean my opinion isn't there. I just chose not to write about it. I agree, though, it merits discussion.
If you're implying that I made a "news judgment" issue out of the DRM scanning story, then I think you're grossly exaggerating my media influence.
5-09-2008 @ 1:07PM
Girl Friday said...
I'm sorry for this question. It isn't techno at all.
What are unicorn tears and why are they relevant? I googled it, but couldn't find anything other than warm fuzzy stuff.
Peace
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