Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jordan
Even ignoring all that, the simplest rule isn't always the best to go by. Leaving products unprotected usually leads to theft... which is exactly what is happening to e-books. That is a simple fact..
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This point of view contains at least 2
massive flaws:
1) The assumption that DRM prevents theft*
2) The asumption that most people will share DRM-free (copyrighted) media
#1 The fact is that DRM does not prevent piracy. Visit any torrent site and search for any movie, TV show, book, CD or software.
It is ignorant to state that DRM stops piracy. It doesn't. DRM may prevent some small amounts of 'casual' piracy, but that's not what the bulk of piracy is.
#2 is very cynical. It is also based on the false assumption of #1 that media with DRM is safer from piracy than non-DRM media.
I'd like to make 2 counter points:
1)
At best, DRM puts a small dent in piracy by stopping 'casual' lending and copying. This is
best case scenario for the copyright holders. The bulk of piracy is via downloading, and a DRM-free copy of a CD is usually available
before the official release is available on iTunes.
2) At worst, DRM makes products unusable to the buyer. Some examples:
My housemate has bought songs on iTunes. He didn't realise that he can't play them on our media center because they have DRM. He also loses that music unless his next MP3 player is an iPod. I was planning on giving him my old Zune when I upgrade.
Confusion. When I bought an ebook reader Iwas astounded at all the different formats out there. I don't wish to lock myself into one format/company so I don't buy books with DRM
I understand that publishers/record labels, etc. need to protect their income, but they are going about it in a way that will destroy them.
I flat out refuse to buy anything digital with DRM, and more and more people are taking this stance. I don't mind DRM on rental material e.g. to watch a movie once or to subscribe to certain content. But I will only pay a price comparable to a physical product if I get to use it as I wish.
These idiotic corporations ignore the benefits of technology and try desperately to bend it to fit an old supply/demand system. They should realise that I have an ebook reader that can hold more books than a house full of book cases and I have an MP3 player that can hold thousands of music tracks...and I'm willing to pay for the media to populate these devices. But I'm not going to run the risk of buying something that in a year or two may become unusable due to DRM, and I'm not willing to pay the same price for a digital book that doesn't have the same manufacturing costs associated with it (shipping, materials, printing, etc., not to mention the - perhaps illogical - sense of value of a physical item).
Digital copying is not going to go away. If the publishers understood the technology they would know that. They need to take their dummies out and go and figure out a way to get people to pay for their products despite the ease of piracy. Some people will still pirate, but there is still a lot of money to be made by the companies that do the right thing by the customer.
Interesting facts:
bottled water makes a lot of money
iTunes sells millions of songs despite now being DRM-free and almost every song on iTunes is easily available on peer-to-peer sites
Since getting an ebook reader I have spent more money on books than in recent memory, and haven't bought a single item with DRM
I now buy all my music online, have bought quite a lot lately due to the ease and convenience of online buying, and have not once bought a track with DRM (*I accidentally bought 1 song with DRM. I have since deleted it because it doesn't work on my main music playing device).
* I know some posters don't like the term 'theft' here, but there's no point splitting hairs or obfuscating the issue. Copying copyrighted material without permission of the copyright holder is bad regardless of the fact it's not a physical object. The issue here is whether DRM is workable, not whether all media should be freely copied.