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The Day Against DRM
by John Vining posted October 2, 2006
October 3rd is the Day against DRM. The least we can do is educate ourselves.
Depending who you talk to, DRM can either stand for Digital Rights Management or Digital Restriction Management. If they wear a suit and make more money than you the chances are they they use the former, and if they are wearing headphones and actually listening to music they might use the latter... or, they might not be able to give you an answer. Most people can't, so here is an overview for the uninformed:
DRM (officially, its Digital Rights Management) is the name for any technology that restricts the usage of digital media. Although not limited to music, the DRM in the music industry has been criticized more than other mediums in recent months. DRM exists in many forms, including files downloaded from the iTunes music store (and a host of other online stores), Sony's Rootkit and Copy Controlled CD's. In the case of Apple's iTunes, DRM allows music files to be copied to a maximum of 5 computers, limits mobile use to iPod music players and restricts editing of the file. Possibly the most malicious piece of DRM, the Sony Rootkit scandal broke when users discovered that music CD's they had purchased were secretly installing software that "installs itself as a root kit, which is a set of tools commonly used to make certain files and processes undetectable, and they're the favored tool of crackers who are, as Wikipedia puts it, attempting to 'maintain access to a system for malicious purposes.' In fact, root kits are often classified alongside Trojan horses." (Molly Wood, C-Net Article about Root Kit). Users hated this and Sony quickly released an apology and fix, but the clandestiny of DRM was compromised. Finally, Copy Controlled CD's are music CD's that are packaged with software that will not allow a user to copy the CD to his computer. I, being a person who deals with music in mp3 format 90% of the time, was disgusted and upset when I saw LCD Soundsystem's self titled release had this software and refused to buy it. For me it isn't worth the price of the CD if I can't have it on my computer.
Then why is the record industry attacking its customers? Well, they would say that it is the customers who are attacking them by pirating and sharing music, and that they are only defending themselves. In a press release on the RIAA site in 2003, president Cary Sherman was quoted as saying "...when your product is being regularly stolen, there comes a time when you have to take appropriate action. We simply cannot allow online piracy to continue destroying the livelihoods of artists, musicians, songwriters, retailers, and everyone in the music industry." So, to make it harder to distribute files illegally online, the RIAA and many record companies (most, actually) are making it harder for a person to copy, rip, and backup files, all of which can be done for personal use. Sherman was also quoted as saying "More and more P2P users are realizing that there are dozens of legal ways to get music online, and they are beginning to migrate to legitimate services." So are these technologies helping to save lost revenue and return it to the artists? RIAA says yes, a few grass roots organizations say no.
Backed by the Free Software Foundation, DefectiveByDesign.org wants to do away with DRM. They define themselves as "a broad-based anti-DRM campaign that is targeting Big Media, unhelpful manufacturers and DRM distributors." They continue: "These products have been intentionally crippled from the users' perspective, and are therefore 'defective by design.' This campaign will identify these 'defective' products, and target them for elimination." Groups like DefectiveByDesign.org feel that DRM only inhibits the use of media by people who have purchased and are using said media lawfully. Richard Stallman, president of the FSF, went as far as to say that "the motive for DRM schemes is to increase profits for those who impose them, but their profit is a side issue when millions of people's freedom is at stake; desire for profit, though not wrong in itself, cannot justify denying the public control over its technology."
From my own experiences, DRM has not stopped piracy. As this is being written the LCD Soundsystem album mentioned earlier is available online, illegally. There is another interesting fact worth noting: Big Media, which includes the RIAA and MPAA, has been against most new technologies involving media (VHS, MP3 Players, Tivo ect...) while they were in the beginning stages, fearing a lack of profit. This time, instead of adapting their product they are crippling it.
So what should you, the average music listener, do? First off, don't take my word for it; do some more research and get yourself informed. Pay attention to what you are paying for, and if you want to download music without DRM you can head over to emusic.com or some of the other DRM-free sites.
*At the time this article was written, of eight news stories on the RIAA's homepage seven were about illegal music downloads and counterfeit CD's and the other was about the new "Gold And Platinum Award For Ringtones."
*Another Note: This article was written using entirely free, unDRM-ed software: Unbuntu Linux and Google's Writely. I wish I could be this un DRM-ed all the time. (That's right, your Windows disc has DRM, too)
Related Links
C-Net: DRM this, Sony! by Molly Wood
The Electronic Frontier Foundation: Guide to DRM
RIAA Press Release, Sept 8, 2003
Defective by Design.org
A Few Alternatives
Emusic
Audio Lunchbox
Bleep
Magnatune
Depending who you talk to, DRM can either stand for Digital Rights Management or Digital Restriction Management. If they wear a suit and make more money than you the chances are they they use the former, and if they are wearing headphones and actually listening to music they might use the latter... or, they might not be able to give you an answer. Most people can't, so here is an overview for the uninformed:
DRM (officially, its Digital Rights Management) is the name for any technology that restricts the usage of digital media. Although not limited to music, the DRM in the music industry has been criticized more than other mediums in recent months. DRM exists in many forms, including files downloaded from the iTunes music store (and a host of other online stores), Sony's Rootkit and Copy Controlled CD's. In the case of Apple's iTunes, DRM allows music files to be copied to a maximum of 5 computers, limits mobile use to iPod music players and restricts editing of the file. Possibly the most malicious piece of DRM, the Sony Rootkit scandal broke when users discovered that music CD's they had purchased were secretly installing software that "installs itself as a root kit, which is a set of tools commonly used to make certain files and processes undetectable, and they're the favored tool of crackers who are, as Wikipedia puts it, attempting to 'maintain access to a system for malicious purposes.' In fact, root kits are often classified alongside Trojan horses." (Molly Wood, C-Net Article about Root Kit). Users hated this and Sony quickly released an apology and fix, but the clandestiny of DRM was compromised. Finally, Copy Controlled CD's are music CD's that are packaged with software that will not allow a user to copy the CD to his computer. I, being a person who deals with music in mp3 format 90% of the time, was disgusted and upset when I saw LCD Soundsystem's self titled release had this software and refused to buy it. For me it isn't worth the price of the CD if I can't have it on my computer.
Then why is the record industry attacking its customers? Well, they would say that it is the customers who are attacking them by pirating and sharing music, and that they are only defending themselves. In a press release on the RIAA site in 2003, president Cary Sherman was quoted as saying "...when your product is being regularly stolen, there comes a time when you have to take appropriate action. We simply cannot allow online piracy to continue destroying the livelihoods of artists, musicians, songwriters, retailers, and everyone in the music industry." So, to make it harder to distribute files illegally online, the RIAA and many record companies (most, actually) are making it harder for a person to copy, rip, and backup files, all of which can be done for personal use. Sherman was also quoted as saying "More and more P2P users are realizing that there are dozens of legal ways to get music online, and they are beginning to migrate to legitimate services." So are these technologies helping to save lost revenue and return it to the artists? RIAA says yes, a few grass roots organizations say no.
Backed by the Free Software Foundation, DefectiveByDesign.org wants to do away with DRM. They define themselves as "a broad-based anti-DRM campaign that is targeting Big Media, unhelpful manufacturers and DRM distributors." They continue: "These products have been intentionally crippled from the users' perspective, and are therefore 'defective by design.' This campaign will identify these 'defective' products, and target them for elimination." Groups like DefectiveByDesign.org feel that DRM only inhibits the use of media by people who have purchased and are using said media lawfully. Richard Stallman, president of the FSF, went as far as to say that "the motive for DRM schemes is to increase profits for those who impose them, but their profit is a side issue when millions of people's freedom is at stake; desire for profit, though not wrong in itself, cannot justify denying the public control over its technology."
From my own experiences, DRM has not stopped piracy. As this is being written the LCD Soundsystem album mentioned earlier is available online, illegally. There is another interesting fact worth noting: Big Media, which includes the RIAA and MPAA, has been against most new technologies involving media (VHS, MP3 Players, Tivo ect...) while they were in the beginning stages, fearing a lack of profit. This time, instead of adapting their product they are crippling it.
So what should you, the average music listener, do? First off, don't take my word for it; do some more research and get yourself informed. Pay attention to what you are paying for, and if you want to download music without DRM you can head over to emusic.com or some of the other DRM-free sites.
*At the time this article was written, of eight news stories on the RIAA's homepage seven were about illegal music downloads and counterfeit CD's and the other was about the new "Gold And Platinum Award For Ringtones."
*Another Note: This article was written using entirely free, unDRM-ed software: Unbuntu Linux and Google's Writely. I wish I could be this un DRM-ed all the time. (That's right, your Windows disc has DRM, too)
Related Links
C-Net: DRM this, Sony! by Molly Wood
The Electronic Frontier Foundation: Guide to DRM
RIAA Press Release, Sept 8, 2003
Defective by Design.org
A Few Alternatives
Emusic
Audio Lunchbox
Bleep
Magnatune