Virgin Digital Red Pass
p2p news / p2pnet: The korporate kontrol klans have decided digital rental mp3 ’services’ will be the way to go and that you will use them, like it or not.
Fostered by the Organised Music cartel, downloan subscriptions depend on your willingness to pay X-dollars per month for DRM tracks which become instantly unplayable if and when you cancel the service.
So forget about permanent collections.
Now, Virgin Group is, "set to launch Virgin Digital Red Pass, the latest choice in the increasingly competitive field of comprehensive subscription music services," says Reuters.
Red Pass rentals will cost $8 a month "without a contract" and punters will be temporarily able play — songs in Microsoft’s WMA format only.
As usual, "Apple Computer’s iPod devices are not compatible with any subscription service," says the story, adding:
"One of Red Pass’ unusual features is that users can let their subscription lapse, yet all of their downloaded music and options will be restored when the account is reactivated."
Red Pass?
Pass.
Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local political representatives. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance.
See:-
Reuters – Virgin flashes Red Pass for digital music, November 14, 2005
November 14th, 2005 at 4:44 pm
With this “music service,” will the quality of the music be really good? What if I took the output (digital or analog) from the sound card and fed it into the input of another computer? Or, even better, once I downloaded the DRM version, I then download the uninhibited version? Since I can prove that I already paid for the exact title, would a court hold me innocent of infringement (I wouldn’t count on it)? “Gee your ‘Honor’, I bought the song from Virgin Digital Red Pass, but I could not get it to work on my mp3 player. I just wanted to be able to have fair use.”
Didn’t a previous downloader get a lawsuit dropped when he proved that he had already purchased the product he was accused of downloading?
Depending on other circumstances, this might be a way to cover one’s legal arse.
November 14th, 2005 at 8:53 pm
“What if I took the output (digital or analog) from the sound card and fed it into the input of another computer?”
In the not too distant future…
Digital covered by DRM, software and hardware restricted. Analog will be taken care of by provisions added to the “analog hole bill” to “protect” audio copyrights.
“I just wanted to be able to have fair use.”
Given the current political climate which do think will win, corporate profits or citizen’s fair use rights? Fair use is dead.
November 15th, 2005 at 1:02 pm
Virgin is another Musicnet store like Yahoo Unlimited and iMesh nothing to see here …….
November 15th, 2005 at 3:09 pm
If that is the case, it will be time to break out the soldering iron and take a tap off of the wires going to the speaker. Some simple rc filter circuits can be built to strip the DRM (Screw the DCMA) from the signal so that it can be freely stored and redistributed. If it can be seen or heard, then it can be copied.
Fair use is going to win whether it is by courts, legislation, hacking, or customer refusal to buy hobbled equipment. I know that I do not buy equipment if I cannot make it perform as I WANT it to do. If the cartels want me to own equipment that works for them as they see fit, let THEM BUY IT FOR ME!!!
By the way, I am forced to run Winblows in order to use a government mandated program. The version of Winblows I use is Winblows 98 because I do not have to worry about activation, etc. If I am going to pay for something, I demand that I control how I use that something. I’m sure most other people feel the same!!!
November 15th, 2005 at 4:46 pm
Will the service feature artists from other labels or just Virgin records?Can I be notified when service is ready…….Thank You! donadams1134@yahoo.com..e-mail