Finally it seems someone has put the music industry execs in their place and at the same time provided some ideas for still allowing those same execs to continue making money. I am speaking of the keynote that Andrew Orlowski gave to the In The City convention held in the UK last month. As I read through his speech, it was important to remember that Andrew was talking to a hostile crowd, essentially telling them that their current business strategies and enforcements (i.e. DRM) were rubbish. Told them that instead of enacting rigorous controls on the listening masses (you & me), they should instead look at ways of allowing us more freedoms pertaining to the music we listen to. I can only imagine the looks he got from his audience.
I for one am sick and tired of the music industry being driven by greed. I live in a country purported to be based on freedoms, yet in this country I am hindered from enjoying the music that I love so much in whatever form I find convenient at the time. I respect the artists and I purchase their music legally. But when it becomes a burden to extract that same music into a form that allows me to enjoy it in a more free manner, I do believe my rights as a music appreciator have been impeded upon.
I’ll reiterate what every other anti-DRM person has said. We are at a delicate place in time where technology is evolving faster than copyright law can be ammended to keep up. In a knee jerk reaction the music industry is choosing to arrest 12-year-olds rather than evolve with the times. And that reaction is driven by greed, they are afraid of losing money plain and simple. If anyone in the music industry has half a brain, they will see that the ideas put forth by Andrew are viable and music listener friendly.