DRM-Free Music, Better for the Artists?
kensai — Fri, 02/22/2008 - 23:59
I like a band called Blindside, their music is inspiring, their sound and lyrics are unique. In fact, thats what I like in a rock band, originality and quality of lyrics above all. I tend to like European bands more than American bands because their music is, most of the time, unique. Truth needs to be said, a lot of American bands are unique as well. Hey, sorry, I'm breaking apart from my main point here. The point is the excerpt that follows.
Also, all tracks sold by this web site has no DRM or copy protection built in. DRM is easily circumvented anyway and just puts obstacles in the way of enjoying music. We treat our customers with respect and do not automatically assume you are criminals. We know you're smart enough to understand that buying music, rather than stealing it, is the right way to go.
Thinking about Linux, and the mindset it promotes: 'free', 'sharing' and 'open source', I think that for some artist it might be good to sell DRM-Free music. Simple logic is used, they won't loose the customers who buy DRM protected music, they will buy anyways, because when they buy, they have no clue of what DRM is or simply don't care, in the majority of the cases. But, the people who do care about this, have an extra push to buy an album, an album who they otherwise wouldn't have thought of buying. Also, theres the fact of one of the points expressed in the excerpt above, DRM can be easily circumvented anyways, if someone is going to do something illegal with their music, they will do, with or without DRM.
Now, is DRM-Free music as important to you? Do you think this is non-relevant to the way we buy our electronic albums? Have I got too much Linux into me lately?
Updated, to better reflect the point of the story, I often have trouble staying in topic, as you can see with my first paragraph. :D
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wrong question...
foxbunny (not verified) — Sat, 02/23/2008 - 08:50You've just answered a question of little relevance to the topic: "Would Kensai buy DRM-free music simply because it is (among other things) DRM-free."
I'm not sure, though, others feel the same way. Most consumers probably won't mind (care about) DRM issue. Some probably won't even share DRM-free stuff.
Anyway, the question was if DRM was good for the artist. The difference between software and music is that music is almost exclusively for personal use. Software vendors will allow pirated versions on the loose because it's a free sample they can capitalize on in enterprise environments later. But music doesn't work that way, and vendors will likely attack bootleggers as soon as they see them. So, musicians may feel that it hurts their reputation among the fans. From that perspective, DRM may hurt musicians. OTOH, there are probably musicians who care more about their profits than public relations. But still, I don't think that's gonna be a big issue since, as I said, most consumers don't even care about it.
Yeah, thanks for the suggestion...
kensai — Sat, 02/23/2008 - 09:08I often break away from my point, and thats a problem. So, I have updated the post to better reflect the point. But, theres a point about the difference between software and music. In fact some artists believe pirated music helps them fill concerts, which is better for them, but bad for the record label. I'm not promoting the pirating of music, but the artists needs are different from the record label needs.
Interesting point...
foxbunny (not verified) — Sat, 02/23/2008 - 09:13Yeah, that about concerts is an interesting point. I never go to concerts (hate the crowds) so it's no wonder I never thought of that.
Anyway, it'd be interesting to hear what actual musicians think. :P
When napster was the...
kensai — Sat, 02/23/2008 - 09:41When napster was the most popular p2p network for pirated music, there was Metallica who hated napster to death, and there was Limp Bizkit, who were pro-napster. Here are some quotes:
There were many more, but just a glance of it is cited.
Okay, so you 'fixed' the post.
foxbunny (not verified) — Sat, 02/23/2008 - 09:06Okay, so you 'fixed' the post. But still, if it says
it is more about advocacy than "won't scare the consumers who always buy DRM protected music". It is, IMHO, there to promote DRM-free music rather than simply making DRM-free-lovers happy. OTOH, it may simply be a marketing scheme with us, OSS users as targets. :D
Matt and Trey of South Park
foxbunny (not verified) — Thu, 02/28/2008 - 19:23Here's what they are saying about downloading South Park episodes, and a lot of toher topics...
http://www.reason.com/news/show/116787.html