Screw DRM says Cambridge-MIT researcher

Alexander Turcic · 03-29-2006, 06:22 AM

The anti-DRM crowd has to be encouraged by some of the latest bashing comments from researchers and thinkers. Dr. Ian Brown, Cambridge-MIT Institute senior research manager, spoke at the Changing Media Summit this week, and he suggested that DRM wouldn't protect the music and film industries, who have spent the last decade lobbying for new laws to protect their content but neglected trying to find better ways to monetize their offerings.

"Software companies have sold DRM as solving problems it can't solve... Damaging to copyright law and public's respect for it, this 'newspeak' that goes on around DRM. Industry make blood-curdling pronouncements, conflating opening up standards with protecting copyright which is very damaging... As people come to understand the technology they see that it's the business models that need to change," he said.

As an example how to commercialize music without relying on DRM he mentioned the rock band U2, who, he claimed, doesn't make their money primarily from selling music, but instead use music as a tool to successfully promote their touring and merchandise.

On Brown's website I found this older presentation which is related to what he said on the conference.

MatYadabyte · 03-29-2006, 08:15 AM

Thats The Way!

rmeister0 · 03-29-2006, 09:22 AM

I certainly agree to an extent that piracy is not a technological problem, and therefore technology will not be able to solve that problem. A change to the business model is inevitable, it is just a question of how long the changes will be in coming and how much damage is suffered along the way.

I'm not sure every band can make money by things other than album sales, but recording contracts are known for not creating wealth for the musicians anyway. How does that same idea work with writers of books or filmmakers, for instance? The artifact of their work is all they have to make money with.

Snappy! · 03-29-2006, 10:31 AM

Maybe some writers guild like sourceforge to let writers publish their eBooks would be good. Minimal fee so that they get most of the returns, and consequently, lower the cost. In short, do a Michael (as in Dell Michael, not the other M) and remove the middle man!

MatYadabyte · 03-29-2006, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snappy!

Maybe some writers guild like sourceforge to let writers publish their eBooks would be good. Minimal fee so that they get most of the returns, and consequently, lower the cost. In short, do a Michael (as in Dell Michael, not the other M) and remove the middle man!

Why sourceforge,why not US?

Snappy! · 03-29-2006, 05:34 PM

US as in? oh, I was referring to sourceforge as an example of its structure, rather than having them do the actual hosting.

Anyone can do it, sure!

But expect some authors to be afraid in joining initially. They would not want to get into the blackbook of the publishers.

MatYadabyte · 03-29-2006, 06:34 PM

Yea thats a real good point Snappy.

Alexander Turcic · 03-30-2006, 04:41 AM

On a related note: According to research house Mintel, the retail music industry already needs to fight for survival.

"The growing distance between the music industry and its consumer is due to a number of factors," said Justin De Santis, analyst for Mintel. "These include lawsuits against individual consumers, payola practices, and, most recently, restrictive use of digital rights management."

http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=88519

Alexander Turcic · 03-30-2006, 04:50 AM

And this came in via BoingBoing today:

I Hate DRM: a new site dedicated to something I love -- hating crippleware systems that let other people control your technology.

03-29-2006, 06:22 AM	#1
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 12,179 Karma: 68037 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Sony Portable Reader	Screw DRM says Cambridge-MIT researcher The anti-DRM crowd has to be encouraged by some of the latest bashing comments from researchers and thinkers. Dr. Ian Brown, Cambridge-MIT Institute senior research manager, spoke at the Changing Media Summit this week, and he suggested that DRM wouldn't protect the music and film industries, who have spent the last decade lobbying for new laws to protect their content but neglected trying to find better ways to monetize their offerings. "Software companies have sold DRM as solving problems it can't solve... Damaging to copyright law and public's respect for it, this 'newspeak' that goes on around DRM. Industry make blood-curdling pronouncements, conflating opening up standards with protecting copyright which is very damaging... As people come to understand the technology they see that it's the business models that need to change," he said. As an example how to commercialize music without relying on DRM he mentioned the rock band U2, who, he claimed, doesn't make their money primarily from selling music, but instead use music as a tool to successfully promote their touring and merchandise. On Brown's website I found this older presentation which is related to what he said on the conference. __________________ Follow MR on Twitter

03-30-2006, 04:41 AM	#8
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 12,179 Karma: 68037 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Sony Portable Reader	On a related note: According to research house Mintel, the retail music industry already needs to fight for survival. "The growing distance between the music industry and its consumer is due to a number of factors," said Justin De Santis, analyst for Mintel. "These include lawsuits against individual consumers, payola practices, and, most recently, restrictive use of digital rights management." http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=88519 __________________ Follow MR on Twitter

03-30-2006, 04:50 AM	#9
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 12,179 Karma: 68037 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Sony Portable Reader	And this came in via BoingBoing today: I Hate DRM: a new site dedicated to something I love -- hating crippleware systems that let other people control your technology. __________________ Follow MR on Twitter

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03-29-2006, 08:15 AM	#2
MatYadabyte Zealot Posts: 108 Karma: 136 Join Date: Aug 2005	Thats The Way!

03-29-2006, 09:22 AM	#3
rmeister0 Addict Posts: 267 Karma: 298 Join Date: Mar 2005	I certainly agree to an extent that piracy is not a technological problem, and therefore technology will not be able to solve that problem. A change to the business model is inevitable, it is just a question of how long the changes will be in coming and how much damage is suffered along the way. I'm not sure every band can make money by things other than album sales, but recording contracts are known for not creating wealth for the musicians anyway. How does that same idea work with writers of books or filmmakers, for instance? The artifact of their work is all they have to make money with.

03-29-2006, 10:31 AM	#4
Snappy! Addict Posts: 260 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2006 Device: SHARP Zaurus C1000	Maybe some writers guild like sourceforge to let writers publish their eBooks would be good. Minimal fee so that they get most of the returns, and consequently, lower the cost. In short, do a Michael (as in Dell Michael, not the other M) and remove the middle man!

03-29-2006, 05:34 PM	#6
Snappy! Addict Posts: 260 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2006 Device: SHARP Zaurus C1000	US as in? oh, I was referring to sourceforge as an example of its structure, rather than having them do the actual hosting. Anyone can do it, sure! But expect some authors to be afraid in joining initially. They would not want to get into the blackbook of the publishers.

03-29-2006, 06:34 PM	#7
MatYadabyte Zealot Posts: 108 Karma: 136 Join Date: Aug 2005	Yea thats a real good point Snappy.