RIAA: DRM is dead

Format C: · 07-20-2009, 01:45 PM

RIAA agrees: "DRM is dead"

Long-time proponent of digital rights management (DRM) protection for music files, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has finally acknowledged that DRM has become obsolete, according to a recent report from TorrentFreak. DRM prevents buyers of digital music tracks from copying them to other devices in an attempt to curb illegal copying. But now, with major music retailers abandoning the format to appease the wishes of the paying public, RIAA chief spokesman Jonathan Lamy says the protection's death is now a matter of fact.

Full Article here:
http://www.electronista.com/articles...ares.drm.dead/

Will it apply to ebooks, too?
Will we be able to buy from Amazon and to read on iLiad and Sony without risk a term in jail?

I hope so.

zelda_pinwheel · 07-20-2009, 01:57 PM

holy cow !!! the RIAA saying "drm is dead" is like some kind of miracle ! are you listening, publishing industry ?

thanks for that link ! i never would have expected to read *that* article !

jes1 · 07-20-2009, 02:01 PM

I had to double check my calendar to make sure this is not April Fools Day.

zelda_pinwheel · 07-20-2009, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jes1

I had to double check my calendar to make sure this is not April Fools Day.

seriously !!

Shaggy · 07-20-2009, 03:08 PM

The music industry pretty much admitted this back when they dropped the DRM restriction for iTunes. That was a while ago, I believe.

pdurrant · 07-20-2009, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

holy cow !!! the RIAA saying "drm is dead" is like some kind of miracle ! are you listening, publishing industry ?

You'd think so, wouldn't you? But no, many publishers (& pundits) argue that while music on CDs is easy to convert to MP3, paper books don't convert to a digital format so easily, and so DRM on ebooks is still necessary.

This position ignores the obvious point that it only requires one person to remove the DRM, or OCR the book.

I'm sure that within the next five years the book industry will come to the same realisation as the music industry - that DRM only affects their paying customers, not the people who download for free illegally.

Good quality content, easily found, and at a reasonable price.

So far the book industry is missing on all three
* Quality of commercial ebooks is poor. Lots of text and formatting problems, even in books that are already published from digital files (e.g. Lord of the Rings)
* Multiple formats split the market. Restrictive publishing contracts split the market. Find a book can be hard.
* As much or more than the cheapest new paper copy is not reasonable.

Some publishers know what to do (Baen), but even they don't have the work flow completely right - on first release there are often be problems caused by formatting conversions. At least they fix them fairly quickly, once reported.

Sweetpea · 07-20-2009, 03:42 PM

How long did it take for the music industry? It'll take twice as long for the ebook industry! (I think most publishers are more hidebound than record studies. Must be the materials they're working with...)

tompe · 07-20-2009, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

* Quality of commercial ebooks is poor. Lots of text and formatting problems, even in books that are already published from digital files (e.g. Lord of the Rings)

Guaranteed quality would actually be one thing I think people would be willing to pay for. And for that only a trademark or something similar would be needed and it would have legal protection.

It would be like buying an original Nokia battery instead of a cheap copy.

Barcey · 07-20-2009, 06:19 PM

Apparently he was misquoted. Teleread contacted him.

fugazied · 07-20-2009, 09:21 PM

Wait, someone told the RIAA that suing the elderly for copyright infringement wasn't winning the war for them?

If only publishers could look at how the whole Napster/MP3/RIAA thing unfolded and realise that draconian DRM and treating your customers like potential thieves doesn't help sales and their reputation.

07-20-2009, 01:45 PM	#1
Format C: Guru Posts: 753 Karma: 1496807 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: The Third World Device: iLiad + PRS-505 + Kindle 3	RIAA: DRM is dead RIAA agrees: "DRM is dead" Long-time proponent of digital rights management (DRM) protection for music files, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has finally acknowledged that DRM has become obsolete, according to a recent report from TorrentFreak. DRM prevents buyers of digital music tracks from copying them to other devices in an attempt to curb illegal copying. But now, with major music retailers abandoning the format to appease the wishes of the paying public, RIAA chief spokesman Jonathan Lamy says the protection's death is now a matter of fact. Full Article here: http://www.electronista.com/articles...ares.drm.dead/ Will it apply to ebooks, too? Will we be able to buy from Amazon and to read on iLiad and Sony without risk a term in jail? I hope so.

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07-20-2009, 01:57 PM	#2
zelda_pinwheel zeldinha zippy zeldissima Posts: 27,827 Karma: 921169 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Paris, France Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?	holy cow !!! the RIAA saying "drm is dead" is like some kind of miracle ! are you listening, publishing industry ? thanks for that link ! i never would have expected to read that article !

07-20-2009, 02:01 PM	#3
jes1 Zealot Posts: 139 Karma: 698 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Texas Device: Astak EZReader, Dell Axim x50v, iPod Touch, nook	I had to double check my calendar to make sure this is not April Fools Day.

07-20-2009, 03:08 PM	#5
Shaggy Wizard Posts: 4,293 Karma: 529619 Join Date: May 2007 Device: iRex iLiad, DR800SG	The music industry pretty much admitted this back when they dropped the DRM restriction for iTunes. That was a while ago, I believe.

07-20-2009, 03:42 PM	#7
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	How long did it take for the music industry? It'll take twice as long for the ebook industry! (I think most publishers are more hidebound than record studies. Must be the materials they're working with...)

07-20-2009, 06:19 PM	#9
Barcey Wizard Posts: 1,531 Karma: 8059866 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Canada Device: Kobo H2O / Aura HD / Glo / iPad3	Apparently he was misquoted. Teleread contacted him.

07-20-2009, 09:21 PM	#10
fugazied Wizard Posts: 1,305 Karma: 1958 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: iPod Touch	Wait, someone told the RIAA that suing the elderly for copyright infringement wasn't winning the war for them? If only publishers could look at how the whole Napster/MP3/RIAA thing unfolded and realise that draconian DRM and treating your customers like potential thieves doesn't help sales and their reputation.