DRM offers bountiful opportunities, so the industry believes

[Alexander Turcic]

It's not a secret that we from MobileRead consider Digital Rights Management (DRM) a major step backwards in terms of basic consumer rights. Barney Wragg from Universal Music Group disagrees with us and he even believes that DRM could offer bountiful opportunities for his company and the music industry as a whole. Check out his interview with TheFeature, where he talks about the mobile industry, P2P, and the need for DRM technology.

[derekweb]

Interesting reading there. He's definitely a mid to high level exec however, ... he was bandying around some mighty big words in that article.

Further, he talked an awful lot about the music industry interests, and only a few times mentioned the needs and wants of the consumer. /shrug/

Color me blue, but isn't that the whole problem? The music and movie industry just don't listen to us, the consumers? Then they get "upset" when we start voting with our cash. Go figure.

[Traecer Prime]

Originally Posted by derekweb

Color me blue, but isn't that the whole problem? The music and movie industry just don't listen to us, the consumers? Then they get "upset" when we start voting with our cash. Go figure.

IMHO, that is exactly the problem. The RIAA/MPAA member companies have tied themselves to a business model based on high production costs and the physical scarcity of media, which low-cost computers and the Internet have completely eliminated. Rather than come up with another business model, they try to force their old business model (both technologically and legally) into an environment where it is irrelevant. Rather than listening to their customers and giving them what they want (a hallmark practice of good business), these companies have decided to pay no attention, focusing only on protecting their bottom lines. They have forgotten that their bottom lines only exist because of the customers they're ignoring. They will not be able to ignore them forever; eventually, people will get fed up with this, and they will stop paying these companies, whether they've gained legal protection for their business or not.