Breaking Down The Problems Of DRM For Everyday Users
from the it-won't-work dept
We've discussed the pitfalls of DRM and copy protection many times, generally from the angle of the problems it creates for businesses, and how it does nothing to stop piracy, but just creates hassles for users and ultimately harms content companies by holding down sales. Many of these issues are easily lost on a lot of consumers, who tend to not really care, as long as their stuff works. However, the mainstream media is starting to pay closer attention to these issues, and the New York Times today uses the launch of the Microsoft Zune to explain to the average person what DRM means to them: that music they've bought from one service that works with one device may not work if they get a different brand of device. This sort of lock-in ultimately holds back the market by distorting competition: if users can't switch brands of music players without losing access to music they've purchased, they're much less likely to switch. This is why iTunes as a loss leader works for Apple -- every song a user buys from the iTunes Music Store is another reason for them not to switch away from the iPod. This really isn't good for anybody other than Apple. It certainly doesn't do anything to help users, and it does little for record labels, either. Their continued insistence on using pointless, ineffective copy protection and DRM continues to shoot themselves in the foot by holding back the market. Perhaps as more members of the general public understand how copy protection impacts them, they'll begin voting with their wallets and affecting some change.
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DRM is like Republicans
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Re: Republicans?
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Re: Re: Re: Republicans?
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Re: Erika9009
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I just like my cutie pink nano and think its a pain to have to put some songs I bought on cd then import them on to my laptop. Just wish I could copy over my network and have them work.
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Second you ignorant sap, this is tottaly off topic. DRM sucks and it'll be a while before its gone cause about the only way is to NOT buy it and well people will put up with a lot of bs.
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money
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Re: money
You wonder how long it will take the music industry to realize that there is only a limited market for music by and for pimps, whores, gangsters and strippers.
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Republicans? Politics? Here?
STICK WITH THE POINT!!!!!!!!!!
For the love of god this site is starting to get more and more like /. or digg.
Anyhow, I brought this up in my world history class, and literally all but 3 people went "huh? what the hell are you talking about?" Once I enlightened them on what it was, they all said "that doesn't seem that bad". When I told them why it was bad, they still looked clueless. I believe that if someone (better at explaining then I am) in the news or even in some other random publically easy to see or read place could tell more people about this, DRM would be abolished...eventually...as people stopped buying music online. (or as more people learned the hard way).
Ok, i'll shut up now.
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Stop buying? I doubt it.
It'll come, when is another question.
Bill W
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I'm sure people will argue the DMCA prohibits such action, but I'd like someone to point to a case where this action has been successfully prosecuted. What would they do erase my music?
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Now days ALL movies have DRM, as do songs purchased thru Itunes or other legal sites, and breaking or disabling that copy protection is what is illegal, not backing up your music or movies, that’s fine. You just aren’t allowed to break the copy protections that stop you from using your rights provided under the Fair Use laws.
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The music would probably get destroyed in the process. But I'm sure you will have other things to worry about.
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DRM ???
so ,build DRM, do whatever to original files, that DRM fails to protect anyway against file conversion :))
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why not have a shock and awe? we have the bombs. level iraq and afganastan. just do it. who's going to attak us? oh yeah, n. korea, pakistan, china...a number of middle eastern countries.
hummm.........
oh yeah, i'm gay
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I explain this more in my blog...
The record industry is served perfectly well by DRM. It isn't an attempt to curb theft. We all know that's just as much a ruse as the notion that Apple is trying to make money with its iTunes music store by selling music. It's all just LEVERAGE for other purposes.
Also... the record industry isn't attempting to call its customers "criminals". That's just it's meaningless rationalization for the model it seeks to perpetuate. It's not the end goal. If they could change the argument and serve the same end, they would do it.
With the popularization of DIGITAL CONTENT... the main product of the entertainment industry is quickly closing in on being un-resellable from the publishing level. DRM is simply another artificially induced method for making content resellable, and expiring rights with an individual, virtually eliminating the "Used Media" marketplace that has become so bothersome.
The current trend of consumers feeling suspicious when a popular movie is released with one DVD is well justified. Eventually an "enhanced" version of that same product is released, simply to be repurchased. Meanwhile, Apple lobbies to let consumers buy single songs, and then have that single song purchase counted towards a latter purchase of an entire album later if that customer returns. This also is counter to what the recording industry wants, and we all know it.
Let's make up our mind and keep our eyes on the ball. There's a reason behind the expiring nature of all things. There's a reason why we don't have freely broadcasted renewable energy.
Let's do our job, and vote with our dollars, while we pay close attention to lobbying our senators to make sure our rights aren't taken away on the legal level. As long as fair-use isn't being willfully abused... like by those selling "additional" versions of a product as part of some nebulous "service"... we have a shot at an ever expanding future of options by innovative, forward thinking companies like Apple who focus on consumer "choice". Backwards thinking companies like Microsoft focus on removing choice and dumping their ill-concieved products on the market until their competitors dissolve away (if you're looking for the recording industry whore, look no further).
The moment our "enemies" begin changing as often as our moods, and consumer CHOICE... as evident in the popularity of services like iTunes... is somehow pissed upon in a misguided attempt to find an opponent... we're sunk.
Apple is finding a way for you to use the same content in every room of your house (iTV, iTunes), and to carry it with you (iPod). The recording industry would love us to kick iTunes and act as if they're doing us a disservice. Personally? I'd rather use devices like iRecord or software like Audacity to "free" my music or movies of DRM via the analog-hole, than to have the music industry think they need to work harder to restrict our content because the Russians are out of control, the hackers are going to town, and illegal filesharing is going crazy. Screw that. My opinion? Know the enemy. Know its methods. Support the artists. Support good services. Stop complaining about DRM. It's ALWAYS been here. It never left.
--But that's just me.
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DRM removal software
That's all. It simple
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1. Insert a CD-R or CD-RW disc into your CD-ROM drive.
2. Burn your playlist to make an audio CD.
3. After the audio CD is successfully burned, insert the disc into your CD-ROM drive again. Then you can use iTunes to import the music tracks on the burned disc as MP3 files.
Or you can get some software to help you. I use TuneClone M4P Converter ( http://www.tuneclone.com/m4p-converter/ ) to do this. Though not free, it is very well worth a try. It generates a virtual CD drive to help to remove DRM from iTunes.
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useful info ...
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