A RealNetworks executive has claimed that Linux risks being excluded from the consumer market if it does not add support for copy-restriction technologies. But the Free Software Foundation Europe countered this claim on Thursday, saying that consumers have made it clear that they do not want DRM restricting their use of digital media.
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Member since:2005-09-15
"You have a choice. The situation is getting worse, but don't give up on it: use it to inform people you know about how it's crap, and will get them screwed in the long run."
true. Fortunately for me my music tastes have changed anyway as I've aged. I listen to more celtic/modern folk, vocal, and world music now which there is (so far) plenty of on the DRM free sites such as mp3tunes. The ones that aren't have hit the big time; Haley Westenra for example I'm content with buying the physical CD and then ripping it to FLAC.
But I do believe I'm right on that RIAA is planning on killing the normal music cd just like they killed 8 trac when cassette came out, and then cd's took over and so on. PBS Frontline ran a special that examined the real causes of RIAA's financial issues on a program called "The Day the Music Died" and it talked about how their numbers are largely based on fictional numbers. The "high profit years" were due to people replacing their cassette's with cd's. Then after a few years the cycle was done and their profits settled down to a normal level. RIAA then cried wolf and claimed they were losing money due to piracy. The show also revealed the litterally millions wasted that they lavished on their singers and bands and interviewed some of the best singers and songwriters in the business that pin poinoted RIAA's mistakes in that regard and how today they turn 1 song and force the singer to get 10 other crappy ones ready so they can release an entire cd just to sell the 1 song on.
No my friend, that part is not FUD, that is the history of how they do things.
The one monkey wrench in their gears is the 'net and satellite radio that has the ability to get unknown/local artists out there and a direct distribution model is obtained. Will it work though? Time will tell.
Member since:2006-01-02
I'm not disagreeing with how they do things. They, however, are not music. The people writing and performing are. Non-RIAA labels have been growing for several years. As the RIAA continues to screw itself, they will grow more.
My point on FUD was the DRM-only hardware being the only way to go, rather than having the kind of choice that we've had for decades (the line input).
A group like The Beatles would not be allowed to to go from pop crap to truly skilled artists, today. They'd get dropped in a second at the thought of it, and what they made would never be released. Or, it would be released, and given no chance of success (not stocking stores well, no hype at all, no help getting a tour together, etc.).
The 'net isn't the only monkey wrench: the human mind is. We've made and listened to music for at least as long as we have history. It's a part of our being. Some distribution model will work, because there is demand. That demand can be diverted, but not removed. The RIAA hasn't been good for several decades--but until recently, their methods worked the best. Now, they don't.
"I'm content with buying the physical CD and then ripping it to FLAC."
...you mean you don't do that for all of them? 
It's been at least a year now since I have directly listened to a factory CD. That is one issue I have with DRM: I now use FLAC. Anything else is made from them. I like it.
If I can't do that, or can't get similarly DRM-free lossless files, I have no reason to pay for it. The files on the computer are now the primary sources, and the CDs are the backups. I will not support a system more restrictive, and will support one as free (my last album was $23) or more free.
Member since:
2006-01-02
"that arguement doesn't work anymore when there is no other choice for music."
Giving up, already? You have choice: don't buy it. It sucks sometimes, with some albums not available in a good format.
"It's a matter of time before the CD format is dumped and the music is an install program to DRM the songs into your DRM player anyway"
So don't buy a player that requires DRM (or replace the firmware)! Don't buy media you know has DRM tech used on/from it.
"car cd players go away and instead have a jack for your mp3/drm player to go to play."
That is plain old FUD. That jack has been in tape and CD players for ages: it's called a line-in. They'll continue to do just what they do now: call them something special, like an iPod port.
You have a choice. The situation is getting worse, but don't give up on it: use it to inform people you know about how it's crap, and will get them screwed in the long run.