The Customer is Always Wrong
p2p news / p2pnet:- In this brave new world of ‘authorized music services,’ law-abiding music fans often get less for their money than they did in the old world of CDs (or at least, the world before record companies started crippling CDs with DRM, too), says the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation).
Boy! Did they get that right !
In a brilliant analysis, the EFF offers chapter and verse on what the promises really mean as opposed to what they say, especially when it comes to Protection – but for the cartels, not for you.
Read on >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The Customer Is Always Wrong: A User’s Guide to DRM in Online Music
Electronic Frontier Foundation
There is an increasing variety of options for purchasing music online, but also a growing thicket of confusing usage restrictions. You may be getting much less than the services promise.
Many digital music services employ digital rights management (DRM) – also known as “copy protection” – that prevents you from doing things like using the portable player of your choice or creating remixes. Forget about breaking the DRM to make traditional uses like CD burning and so forth. Breaking the DRM or distributing the tools to break DRM may expose you to liability under the Digital Millennium Copyright
This guide “translates” the marketing messages by the major services, giving you the real deal rather than spin. Understanding how DRM and the DMCA pose a danger to your rights will help you to make fully informed purchasing decisions. Before buying DRM-crippled music from any service, you should consider the following examples and be sure to understand how the service might limit your ability to make lawful use of the music you purchase.
“Just 99 Cents, Plus Generous Personal Use Rights”
The Facts: You Bought It, But They Still Own It
Imagine if Tower Records sold you a CD, but then, a few months later, knocked on your door and replaced the CD with one that you can’t play in your car. Would you still feel like you “owned” the CD? Not so much, eh?
But Apple reserves the right to change at any time what you can do with the music you purchase at the iTunes Music Store. For instance, in April 2004, Apple decided to modify the DRM so people could burn the same playlist only 7 times, down from 10. How much further will the service restrict your ability to make legal personal copies of your own music? Only Apple knows.
Another hallmark of ownership is the right to give away or sell your property. That’s called “first sale,” and it’s explicitly protected under copyright law. Yet Apple’s DRM frustrates first saleâjust ask George Hotelling, who had to give away the login and password to his iTunes Music Store account in order to resell a single song.
As the table below shows, there are many other ways that Apple’s DRM limits what you can do with a song you “own.” Many other a la carte download services choose to impose similar restrictions. How “generous” of them.
Additional iTunes Music Store Restrictions
- Restricts back-up copies: Song can only be copied to 5 computers
- Restricts converting to other formats: Songs only sold in AAC with Apple DRM
- Limits portable player compatibility: iPod and other Apple devices only
- No remixing: Cannot edit, excerpt, or otherwise sample songs
Microsoft Touts…
The “Plays for Sure” labeling for Windows Media Audio DRM compatibility:
“Choose Your Music. Choose Your Device. Know It’s Going to Work”
“Match logos … [it's] no hassle.”
The Facts: With DRM, Nothing Truly “Plays for Sure”
Your investment in CDs has paid all kinds of dividends over time because third parties could freely enable novel uses, like ripping MP3s or creating your own ringtones. But when you buy DRM-crippled music, you’re locked into the limited array of software and devices that DRM vendors say you can use.
Many online music stores offer songs wrapped in Microsoft’s Windows Media Audio (WMA) DRM, but not every device supports this format. You have to check for the “Plays for Sure” label, and, even then, only a few media players support “subscription” WMA content, like songs offered through Napster To Go. Not exactly hassle-free.
Microsoft’s campaign is meant to make you comfortable with its limited universe of compatible products. But what happens if you later want to switch to a WMA-incompatible iPod, or a superior device that Microsoft won’t license? You’ll have to rebuy your music collection. Unlike MP3s, you can’t easily convert DRM-crippled music to a different format. Likewise, if you switch music stores, you might have to buy a new set of compatible devices. And if the time comes that stores and devices no longer support your DRM, you’re entirely out of luck.
RealNetworks Advertises…
“‘Freedom of Music Choice’ … to help consumers break the chains that tie their music devices to proprietary music downloads.”
The Facts: RealNetworks Doesn’t Offer Real Freedom of Choice
RealNetworks pitched a fit because songs sold at the Real Music Store could not be transferred to Apple’s iPod. Real’s “Freedom of Choice” campaign says that consumers should be able to play their music using the device of their choice.
That’s what you want, but it’s not what you’ll get from Real or any other service that sells songs wrapped in DRM. Real’s customers are chained to the narrow set of software and devices licensed to unlock Real’s proprietary DRM or Microsoft’s Windows Media Audio (WMA) DRM. Want to stream music throughout your home with Creative’s Sound Blaster Wireless Music? Too bad. Can’t do it with music from Real.
Your CD collection has become more valuable over time because third parties could freely enable new uses, like ripping MP3s or creating your own ringtones. That’s not the case with music you buy from Real. Even if you own devices compatible with Real’s DRM or WMA today, what happens tomorrow when you want to buy a superior device that Real or Microsoft won’t license? You’ll have to rebuy all your music in a compatible format. Unlike MP3s, DRM-crippled music can’t easily be converted to other formats.
Or what if Real someday gives up the digital music business and its formats go unsupported in all devices? The CDs you bought 10 years ago still play in every CD player you can buy today, but you might not be able to say the same about Real’s music.
Additional Real Music Store Restrictions
- Restricts back-up copies: Song can only be copied to 3 computers
- Limits audio CD burning: Same album or playlist can only be burned 5 times
- No reselling songs
- No remixing: Cannot edit, excerpt, or otherwise sample songs
- DRM restrictions can change: “DRMs may be able to revoke your ability to use a Download â if you violate the usage rules associated with Downloads.” “Real may modify this Agreement [which sets out the usage rules] at any time in its sole discretion.”
Napster 2.0 Promises…
“All the Music You Want. Any Way You Want It.”
The Facts: Music “Any Way You Want It” â So Long As You Pay for It Over and Over Again
Napster 2.0 and many services like it provide celestial music jukeboxes, but you better bring a sack of quarters. Using DRM, they charge extra for many traditionally free uses of your music.
For a monthly subscription fee, the Napster Unlimited music rental service offers you the ability to stream and download as much as you like from its entire catalog. If you miss a monthly payment, the DRM renders the downloaded music unplayable.
Even while your subscription lasts, however, the DRM ensures that you don’t get to use the music “any way you want.” Want to move your music to a portable player? That’ll be an extra five bucks per month for Napster To Go â and you’ll still only be able to play it using software or devices licensed to play WMA-protected subscription content, which excludes the iPod and most other portable players. How about burning a song to CD? Napster’s DRM requires you to cough up 99 cents more. What if you want to copy music to more than three computers? Pay another monthly subscription fee, or 99 cents per song. And what if you want to mix a song snippet with a home movie? Forget itâthe DRM forbids that entirely.
Explaining Napster Restrictions
Napster 2.0 is divided up into three services. They all share one thing: complicated, restrictive DRM.
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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win – Mohandas Gandhi
September 2nd, 2005 at 3:08 pm
The music died when CD’s replaced the LP. Now we only have digital distortion.
September 2nd, 2005 at 3:18 pm
Yet another article by an ignoramus. As anyone who uses iTunes Music Store knows, once you download a song it is your forever. The person who wrote the article purposely left out iTunes big feature: you can burn audio CDs of any songs in your playlist, whether they came from IMS, your own music collection or wherever. As many CDs as you want, to be palyed on any CD player as many times as you want.
Maroon
September 2nd, 2005 at 3:39 pm
Yet another post by a brainwashed Apple freak
September 2nd, 2005 at 4:08 pm
dont care what the RIAA or anyone else says… I bought it, I own it… Its in my home, in my posetion… I will do with it as I see fit… dont care what they think. =P
September 2nd, 2005 at 4:22 pm
In that case would you please send me a copy of some of your favorite CDs? You own it, you can do what you want, and you don’t care what they think, so please send me a copy.
Please send in mp3 format.
My email address is reportpiracy@riaa.com
Thank you.
(Yeah, that’s what I thought, Captain Toughguy)
September 2nd, 2005 at 4:58 pm
Yes indeedy.
- Lossy Compression
- Pay $0.99 for the track in 128Kbps
- Lossy decompression to audio
- Burn it to audio CD
- Rip the CD to MP3
- More lossy compression
- Now listen to it on your favourite MP3 player.
- More lossy decompression to audio
So $0.99, plus poor quality, plus all that work, just to remove the DRM that shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
Somehow reminds me of the Dave Matthews Band describing the hoops you had to go through to get round the DRM on their CDs.
Just Say No To DRM. You know it makes sense.
September 2nd, 2005 at 5:39 pm
Nice to see the RIAA posting on p2pnet. It’s a pity it doesn’t have anything intelligent to say.
Morg
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:48 pm
isn’t it against the law to ask someone to send you copied cds? especially some riaa douchebag? would that be entrapment, or just being a complete wad? hey, i’d happily send you cds, so you can legally insert them into an orrifice of your choice.
September 2nd, 2005 at 11:02 pm
say, what would be a great idea, is the mail system was more like what the music industry will be, that if you wanted to send an email, but the law says you still have to pay for a stamp and an envelope, then were forced to subscripe to the post office to keep the message, maybe the message disapears if your subscription is unpaid, or better yet – pay for each time you read it. Throw in a few thousand dollar fine, or possibly a few years in prison if you dared send a message without paying for the extras. Yeah, and you can only read the message in a designated room, alone. That would be just swell. I can’t wait untill all aspects of life are dominated by the great DRM, and i have complete faith in all of our elected officials having the best interest of the common person as thier priority.(put a rfid chip in me, i’m done.)
September 3rd, 2005 at 11:08 am
All of these bastards are alike.
September 3rd, 2005 at 7:35 pm
Eventually, once they lose enough market share and their public image is so bad, not even the pr/spin guru’s can help them, then they will come begging on their knees to the public for support. And guess what, it will be too late by then.
If they worked with the public and gave us what we wanted, then all this can be prevented. Instead they prefer to bully and intimidate everyone into forcibly buying their sub standard products.
I see this as a revolution of the consumer. No longer shall we heed to the whims of these corporate monsters. They are here to meet our demands, not the other way around.