Music Industry and DRM: They're actually "afraid" of someone...

[MikeTheC]

MacRumors.com: Music Industry Fears Apple and is also Subject to iTunes Popularity Rankings (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=644953)

Thank God they're finally afraid of somebody.

Discuss...

[MikeTheC]

Wow. It's amazing to me how nobody here cares about this, even though the Linux community is the first to decry the use of DRM by anyone. Do you all dislike Apple so much you are unwilling to admit to yourselves that they're helping to push the music industry in the right sort of direction?

[Grant A.]

Well, I don't really think that there is much more work to be done here... since DRM is now gone from iTunes, Wal-mart, and Amazon, I think we've pretty much won. Microsoft has reintroducted DRM to the Zune store, but that will most likely lead to their downfall.

[SuperSonic4]

I'm uncomfortable with Apple gaining even more power over the music industry. Near monopolies are bad for the market - look at microsft in computers.

A compromise needs to be reached and I loved the way you linked to Applerumours, that's not going to be a neutral and balanced source

[Grant A.]

I'm uncomfortable with Apple gaining even more power over the music industry. Near monopolies are bad for the market - look at microsft in computers.

Not necessarily, some companies are much better off to have a monopoly over something than another company. Steve Jobs has opposed DRM on music for quite some time, and he is an avid supporter of open source. I mean, he even open sourced the darwin kernel which is based off of the proprietary mach kernel and the Free FreeBSD kernel. He did not have to do that considering that FreeBSD is licensed under the BSD license. He has also open sourced countless other apple products, while Microsoft loves to steal from GPL sources, and never release the source. Would you really prefer Microsoft having a monopoly here?



A compromise needs to be reached and I loved the way you linked to Applerumours, that's not going to be a neutral and balanced source

Is anything on the net these days really unbiased anymore?

[MikeTheC]

I'm uncomfortable with Apple gaining even more power over the music industry. Near monopolies are bad for the market - look at microsft in computers.
On the one hand, I absolutely agree that I don't like having a monopoly anywhere. On the other hand, even ethics must give way to practical physics. The only entity with the meaningful capability to take on the music industry is Apple. If you look at Apple's statements and actions over the years vis a vis music and the general public, they're obviously on *our* side. They've had every opportunity to turn and twist things to their exclusive advantage, yet they've always chosen not to do that.

Looked at another way, I physically am capable of killing another human being. However, for the last 36 years of my life (which is how many years old I am) I have chosen not to do that. Does that make me a potential killer "at any time", or does that make me someone with a clearly-established track record?


A compromise needs to be reached and I loved the way you linked to Applerumours, that's not going to be a neutral and balanced source

Applerumors? Are you actually incapable of quoting correctly what I typed in my original post?


As a side note, having worked for Sony for five years (and therefore being something of an expert on their corporate culture) I assure you that whatever the nature of Steve Jobs' heated exchange on Christmas Eve with Sony Music, Steve was in the right and Sony was not. Period.

[Kopachris]

Is anything on the net these days really unbiased anymore?
If anyone answers that question truthfully, they themselves could be accused of being biased. But you know what? It's all right. It's human nature to favor one thing over another. Ever since we were cavemen (and women), we were biased against poisonous plants when we decided which berries we would pick, eat, and live off of. Our biases, related to fear, are what help keep us out of danger. In today's society, however, I would agree that there is more bias than is actually necessary.

On the subject: I too am glad that they're finally afraid, as they should be. Even though real open source advocates are hugely outnumbered by the rest of the people using computers, most of those people simply don't care one way or another. Once you take those people out, FOSS supporters greatly outnumber those against open source.

A quick Google search returns:


"pro drm" - 59,600 results
"anti drm" - 273,000 results


Although not a true head count for each army, it represents how many people are outraged by this DRM fiasco fairly well. The tactics of the MPAA, the RIAA, and the AACS have backfired immensely. They attempted to censor the 09 F9 code, but the Blogosphere just wouldn't have it. Digg even defended those posting the code from the onslought of the AACS. Even many those who didn't know what to do with the code, or didn't previously care about DRM woke up to join the modern Revolutionary War. It's the Streisand Effect at its finest.

I could go on and on about this subject, but it's getting late. I offer this last comment to those who just don't care:

In the famous words of Hat Man from XKCD, "Wake up, Sheeple!"

[jomiolto]

Wow. It's amazing to me how nobody here cares about this, even though the Linux community is the first to decry the use of DRM by anyone. Do you all dislike Apple so much you are unwilling to admit to yourselves that they're helping to push the music industry in the right sort of direction?

I don't know about others, but I simply don't care anymore (as long as RIAA/MPAA and buddies are not lobbying for stupid laws that will affect me). I completely stopped buying music and movies from major labels years ago and I don't see that changing, as long as they continue their holy crusade against their customers. I'd be only happy if the whole music "industry" suddenly disappeared overnight...

[Skripka]

If you look at Apple's statements and actions over the years vis a vis music and the general public, they're obviously on *our* side. They've had every opportunity to turn and twist things to their exclusive advantage, yet they've always chosen not to do that.



I'd sooner say that Apple's interests are pleasing consumers, at this point. They are not yet powerful enough to not give a rats derriere about the consumer, just yet.