[advocacy] DRM in OGG - A Proposal

[Daniel James]

> "GNU GPL is a form of DRM"
>
> Yes it does manage digital copyrights, however that hardly puts it on the
> same level

In that one is good and one is bad?

> No DRM solution ENFORCES your right to burn it to CD.

Maybe it's time we did have a system that did that. The Personal Music Licence 
which I wrote ages ago does that.

> People
> have many other perfectly legal reasons for doing exactly what pirates do.

I disagree. I've never felt the need to duplicate millions of Britney Spears 
CD's and sell them across the world, without paying a single dollar in 
royalties. We should align ourselves with artists and against the 'pirates' - 
I'd prefer to call them 'unauthorised commercial duplicators' or 'non 
royalty-paying distributors', since what they do is much closer to a legit CD 
plant and record label than what a home CDR compilation maker does.

(In the 'pirates' favour, at least they are honest about their intentions when 
it comes to paying the artists. Many a major label artist has ended up broke 
- even the Rolling Stones had to leave England because they couldn't pay 
their tax bill, and Wings had to tour out of the back of a van because the 
Beatles money owed to Paul McCartney was all tied up by the lawyers. "You 
never give me your money, you just give me your funny paper.")  

> Which is why I believe DRM will have to be forced down our throats. And
> even then it will fail to protect the rights of artists. DRM will only
> steal the rights of consumers who would willing part with them.

I'd agree with you there.

> The thing
> all related corporations are going to need to learn (again). Is that no
> matter how you match wits, how much you put up a fight, in the end the
> customers will have their way.

If that was true the music industry would be pushing very different 
recordings. You can only buy what they are selling, and the lowest common 
denominator rules.

> And if you lose business because the
> customers where not willing to put up with your crap and went somewhere
> where they did not have to. 

Unfortunately there seems to be a consensus that some form of DRM will be 
implemented by the major labels, who seem to control 90% of artists. Most 
listeners don't seem to know much about the issues of DRM yet either.

> The music industry is not failing because of a lack of rights management.

Maybe too much capital invested in too few artists, who then fail to provide 
adequate return on investment?

> Its changing. Whether it changes hands, or merely changes is totally up
> those who currently hold the ball.

I'd totally agree with you there. We're witnessing a period of transition 
where the companies that made their name in the 78rpm era are exposed as the 
dinosaurs they really are.
 
Cheers

Daniel

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