Amazon Music: DRM Free? > RIAA House of Cards

RIAA House of Cards

Yes, any day now till the stake is finally driven through the heart.

Good riddance.

The vampire analogy is fitting, considering that they
(and their lawyers) are a bunch of bloodsuckers, preying
on children, grandmothers, people without computers, and
even dead people. In short, those least capable of
defending themselves from their legal onslaught.
--
"The trouble with computers, of course, is that they are very sophisticated idiots." - Doctor Who (from Robot)

reply to Goober
The **AAs crumbling? I'll believe it when I see it. As long a the DMCA is still on the books and companies like Microcrap perpetuate it, the world is not safe from DRM.

Two different considerations you're talking about.

I didn't say that the RIAA was necessarily crumbling. My point is that the the RIAA's DRM house of cards and the lost sales because of piracy arguments may be falling down with the EMI actions.

First, I believe that as the EMI initiative continues to gain steam and support from retailers such as Amazon, etc. there will be pressure on the other labels to follow (as long as EMI's experiment truly is successful).

Second, if the above indeed happens, and if/when the other record labels fall in line, the DMCA as it relates to music and the RIAA will become toothless and moot.

Maybe a little too optimistic, but there seem to be at least some chinks in the RIAA armor.

Hi, the RIAA works for EMI (as well as others) so EMI releasing some DRM-free music has absolutely nothing to do with the RIAA or if they have a house made of cards.

As has always been, the RIAA is an agent of Recording Industry copyright holders who want to seek legal action against innfringement.
--
The worm he licks my bones

reply to Goober
Michael Robertson, the former founder of mp3.com and founder of Linspire (Linux distro), just announced last week the opening of AnyWhereCD.com on April 12th, which sells mainstream DRM free music. When you buy a CD, you can download it as a DRM free MP3 only or optionally download it AND receive the actual CD by mail. Well, you could until Warner Bros. got their panties in a wad on opening day, breached their contract with the site and caused the MP3 Only option to be removed for the time being. (Lawsuit pending)

»www.anywherecd.com/mp3/home1

reply to GlobalMind

reply to Jehu
I disagree. EMI's actions neuter the RIAA's initiatives to a degree. Think about it, if all the labels were to go DRM fee, a large part of the RIAA's job would evaporate.

reply to Kearnstd
you watch too much tv
--
The worm he licks my bones

reply to Goober
Hi, the RIAA existed long before DRM. DRM-crippled mp3s are but a small part of what they do.
--
The worm he licks my bones

reply to 8744675
Seeing as Robertson has a nice history of having his ventures legally gutted like a fish by the RIAA, I wish him best of luck!
--
The worm he licks my bones

reply to GlobalMind
Too much tv for you too.

reply to Jehu
I realize that. My first dealing with the RIAA was back in 2001 relating to internet music streaming.

But, my point is that the RIAA has become part of the collective conscious because of the DRM issues. When/if the DRM issue is negated by the record companies, a lot of the RIAA's present "business" goes away.

I see what you are saying, but I think you need to better parse out what you mean by DRM.

DRM, as a whole, ain't going anywhere. Neverevernever.

Methods of enforcing (read: being a pain in the ass to consumers) DRM will fluctuate and perhaps become quite transparent over time.

EMI's PR brainchild is to sell *some MP3s online with no DRM-crippling stuff built in. yay.

It is a useful PR move, and it's even more useful when, after selling DRM-free MP3s, they can say "see looky we're still getting pirated as much (if not more)."

win-win as they say.
--
The worm he licks my bones

I can't refute anything you're saying. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

reply to Doctor Four
But then again, the vampire comparison goes deeper: The RIAA and its Lawyers would surely resurrect once the sun goes down...

reply to Jehu
Not really. Take into consideration this:

"This isn't about infringement it is about control of distribution channels."

IMO, this is totally the case. Kind of like how nowadays, people are asking less and less for a Record deal but more and more for a Distribution deal.

Lots of people got in-house studios, they just want the label to flood the market with their music. The RIAA's is definitely not here to "apply the laws of copyright" as can clearer be seen by the CnD letters sent to people recording music off the radio or how they don't want anyone to make any kind of backup they don't see fit. How's that for watching too much tv?

reply to Jehu
Actually, I'd say he's pretty much on the money on that too. lol. Theres no such thing as a black and white issue when dealing with the **AA's.