> -----Original Message----- > From: Martin Belam [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: 28 February 2007 10:08 > To: backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk > Subject: Re: [backstage] Percentage of License fee going towards DRM? > > On a related DRM tip, I just thought I'd chip in with some > comments my wife made last night. We download podcasts from > the BBC, and from Virgin Radio (thanks Mr Cridland!), but > obviously it is all talk related, not full track music content. > > My wife asked me "Are there any podcasts from XFM or > something like that, where they just play you the new cool tunes?" > > and then she said the immortal words that no anti-DRM zealot > ever wants to hear... > > "I wouldn't care if I could only listen to it once and it > just blew up" > > So there you go, you have to keep in mind that the people on > this list are not representative of the public in general, > whether it is about clicking web adverts, or avoiding DRM > like the plague. > > As a consumer my wife is savvy enough to understand the concept of DRM > - and she just doesn't *care* that it restricts her use and > re-use of downloaded material. She's just interested in > downloading time-shifed radio programmes with full music > tracks in it, and being able to listen to it once.
Well then, I perceive this as there being a difference between the way you and she consume your music. Certainly, it's not how I want to consume my music - I want it to be more than muzak, I want my music to be memorable, to associate it with good times, to have a long-lasting impression on me. DRMed content doesn't really lend itself to 'anytime, anywhere, anyhow' playback now on any device I can get my hands on, does it? If she wants to treat her downloaded music in the same way she'd treat her local Gcap network radio station (on in the background at work, churning out playlisted top 40 tracks all day long) then that's a fair application for DRM, because the content loses its appeal and stales rapidly. Not so for 'music' music, music people want to keep over a long period of time. Thinking to the future, say you'd purchased music online from HMV or through an OD2 wholesaler. What happens if they go out of business, taking their DRM license server offline with them? People are reet scuppered then. That's one of my primary concerns for DRM - that lynchpin in the whole chain, the central server, and it's one of the reasons why I dislike the whole system. It's not the only reason, mind. So, I guess I agree with you that the people on this list aren't representative of the public in general - but that's only because we're thinking further into the future than they are. I'm trying to ensure that I can listen to the same music I have on my DAP, my PC and my PDA (well, two tracks in the PDA's case) not only next week, but next decade too. DRM totally stops that from happening. Regarding the person's comments about why the iPlayer has to be used to access the BBC content - that's all to do with the royalty and licensing requirements for broadcast media, which I perceive to be much more complex legality-wise than securing the rights to play your usual 4 minute single on the radio. So, I guess you should be blaming the BBC's insistence on their iPlayer software on the bodies of people who negotiate royalties and monies for the performers, actors, production crew etc... Reminds me of the classical music industry: digging a moat around themselves and refusing to move into the 21st century and embrace change. It'll take at least half a dozen years before TV-over-the-web reaches the same stage as even simulcast radio... The BBC's in a prime position to spearhead this change and make changes for the better, but for now, baby steps. I will get very angry - and maybe even write a letter! - if they don't start to do something about all royalties red tape during the next decade, though ;) Christopher - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/
