Has The Recording Industry Given Up On DRM For Streaming Music?
from the would-be-good-if-true dept
We recently mentioned that a big supporter of DRM stopped by in the comments to insist that DRM was here to stay despite plenty of evidence of its gradual decline in the market. Well, now the EFF has pointed out more evidence of the death of DRM. It wasn't that long ago that the RIAA was pushing for laws that would require DRM on any streaming music offering (yes, streams, rather than downloads). Since many streaming services simply stream straight MP3s, it's possible to record them, or to simply copy them from their "hidden" places on your hard drive. Yet, the EFF has noticed that even the big services that have officially licensed music from the big labels are using plain MP3 streaming, which would suggest that even the RIAA isn't insisting that its partners use DRM on streams.Of course, this raises a second important question. If these services are officially allowed to download MP3s to your desktop, is there anything illegal in then keeping the files? Most of these services work by effectively downloading the plain MP3 into a slightly hidden folder (it's not really hidden, they just don't make it clear where it is). Considering that it's a legal, RIAA-approved service downloading a plain old MP3 to your hard drive, it's difficult to see how they could claim copyright infringement if you were to keep that file, right? Of course, considering how much the RIAA is trying to charge these sites, they may not live all that long anyway.
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itsstillmycomputer
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Re: itsstillmycomputer
Remember with the DMCA it is not possible to "own" things in America anymore.
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No they havn't given up on DRM
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Re: No they havn't given up on DRM
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Re: No they havn't given up on DRM
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Re: No they havn't given up on DRM
You do realize that when you stop paying those 15 bucks, you lose access to those files?
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Re: Re: No they havn't given up on DRM
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Re: No they havn't given up on DRM
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Re: No they havn't given up on DRM
Microsofts zune (and XBOXLive) DRM scheme is the worst I have ever encountered and certainly one of the best examples of why DRM is bad for consumers. Around half the time (50%) DRM infected songs I purchase for my zune last less then two weeks (before DRM errors render them unplayable). It’s actually so bad that within a few weeks of the purchase of my zune, I stopped buying anything at all through Microsoft as the DRM renders it useless to me more often then not. On several occasions I had purchased the same song multiple times and never gotten it to play at all. Contacting zune support is useless as they have no concept of how the DRM works (they actually suggested at some point it was a problem with my XBOXLive gamertag . . . LOL?) and know very well that it’s a broken system (they get DRM calls all the time, constantly and are mainly interested in just passing you off as the problems can’t really be fixed). So they will simply give you a DRM pass key to down load the same song that didn’t work the three times you paid to download it. Guess what, becuase of DRM it won’t work with the code either. Ironically I have never had a single problem with any DRM free music I have on the zune or any other device (DRM infected music cannot be used off the zune).
Frankly your pointing to zune DRM as something positive leaves me baffled. It’s a terrible, clunky, buggy and irritating implementation that is a really wonderful example of why DRM alienates customers and is above all, just bad for business (if your business is moving content). My zune collects dust in a drawer and has for more then a year now . . . it’s useless mainly because of DRM.
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Re: Re: No they havn't given up on DRM
Zune Pass is good because you can access any song you want. I downloaded 30 GB for $15. Pretty good deal I would consider. I do not have to think which one to pay for. Just get them all and try them.
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Then again, didn't a torrent site get ordered to track IP's because they were "stored in RAM", which meant they had possession of the records?
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I guess they want to pollute the digital media arena so bad, people will just go back to buying obsolete CD's.
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they are following the law, is all
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Music, Movies - do I really need them ?
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A matter of time
They seem to forget that ultimately, WE choose how to spend our money, and WE ultimately pay their checks. Do what I do. Go see LIVE music. Support bands that market their own music. Do not buy major label music. Support artists that encourage the recording and free trade of their live shows. Then go see them every time they come around. The money goes to the ARTIST, not a bunch of greedheads.
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who owns your computer?
just a friendly reminder that if you want your computer to do what _you_ want, and not what microsoft, apple, and their media partners want your computer to do, then you have to run a free (as in feeedom, of course) operating system)
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Re: who owns your computer?
Yes, I remember that episode. As I recall a college student was sued by the DRM company because a research paper they had written included a description of the shift key "hack". The case was dropped by the DRM company after they were told that Microsoft's website published the shift key as a feature. And what is interesting is that MS had this on their website for some time. This DRM Co had spent a lot of money developing a silly at best attempt at DRM which is easily circumvented by a well known feature !
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recordings, data, the law, the death and birth of innovation
--Glenn
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DRM not dead....
Only thing is for indie bands, they can't necessarily afford an expensive DRM-adding service or license. The other thing comes to social media sites that stream music for artists- are they at risk of being sued just because they stream without DRM???
I just wish there were as many cheap or free programs to add DRM as there are to remove it!
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