Universal/Copy Protection
Can we stop this fallacy that removing DRM is going to dramatically increase sales? Taking away Apple’s monopoly, and building new retail outlets?
On the Web, EVERY store is right next door. It’s not about multiple locations, it’s about the BEST SITE, otherwise there’d be ten Amazons, not one. The problem here is the price. Not raw availability.
So let me get this straight. Everybody’s going to start paying a buck or more for a track at Amazon, et al, and then download said song into iTunes and load them onto their iPods… The only people who know how to do this, who are comfortable doing this, are those who don’t buy music! If you’re that computer-savvy, you steal!
But Universal, rather than biting the bullet, rather than realizing that with their ownership of the BMG publishing assets they can now dramatically restructure online sales, lowering the price, dips its toe into the future which is really the past. DRM lost the war over half a decade ago. The only people who don’t know are the labels. And the Street they report to. And the Street is getting hip to their tricks.
Tracks can’t cost a buck. That’s no competition for free. And lawsuits haven’t stopped free…
How about an eMusic deal with Amazon. You can buy ’em and own ’em, sans copy protection, for a very low price. People would pay to avoid the hassle of theft. Hell, that’s what the little success the iTunes Store has is built upon. CONVENIENCE! People too ignorant, or too busy, or to afraid to steal, pay. You get what you want, almost instantly. How many more people would pay if the price sank? I mean would I pay for tracks I have to surf online for months for? Not for a buck, but for a quarter? A dime? Absolutely!
Grow sales. That’s the goal here. DRM removal is only a piece of the puzzle, a VERY SMALL ONE! The fact that the labels are even debating this shows how ignorant and afraid they are. So afraid of losing what they have through the front door, that it’s being stolen out the back door. By time they deliver a product without copy protection at a lowered price of eighty nine cents a track, NO ONE WILL BE BUYING!
Lower the price now. Make it easier to buy than steal. Make stealing not worth people’s while. The iTunes Store was a step, but a BABY step. Even Steve Jobs says iPod owners are buying hardly any tracks. Trying to put Jobs in his place is like GM trying to lobby against the import of Ferraris. Sure, they’re automobiles, but most people can’t AFFORD THEM!
This movie is just amazing to watch. The public is comfortable in the new world, where they can get almost anything they want, for free. The acts have just gone on the road for exorbitant prices. The only ones who haven’t woken up to the new reality are the labels. SELL MUSIC HOW PEOPLE WANT IT! Not only DRM-free, but a lot for a little. Sell trading licenses, I’ll buy one to avoid being sued. But to continue to think you can eradicate the marijuana problem via criminalization and education is just plain wrong. Legalize the way people get music. Or go out of business.
