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DefectiveByDesign - Wake up Warner, DRM is dead!

defectivebydesign.org — The suits at Warner Music just can't let go of their DRM dream - locked down customers. Help them get the message and join the fun with today's Warner executive phone in.

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  • 1800yolk, on 10/12/2007, -30/+4One step closer to buying lossless music online... Wow, that would be cool.
    • gometro33, on 10/12/2007, -1/+41You realize this has nothing to do with the quality of what you download, right? This is about what you're allowed to do with your music once you _own_ it. I think that's the bigger issue.
    • tpzoso, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6Lol, if I were them, i would just leave my phone off the hook, forever
    • mightyarmenian, on 10/12/2007, -20/+0jesus christ why does there have to a new DRM article on the frontpage 10x a day
    • ganjadude4391, on 10/12/2007, -1/+29this is a good idea.... IF people take it seriously and not call up saying things like you guys suck DRM is dead bla bla bla. Sound educated. EXPLAIN WHY DRM is a detriment to the tech sector and our person. BE courtious and dont be a jackass and we MIGHT just get what we want
  • Nanook, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7I love DefectiveByDesign. I've been a member since they started and I support their cause completely. Sometimes I wonder, though, if gradual progress is good. Does anybody think that if the record labels remain ridiculously stubborn and unmoving (as Warner has done), that it will eventually cause drastic change? I wonder if the alternatives to music piracy have to be extremely bad (as they are now) for a complete revolution of philosophy and policy in terms of music consumption. Or maybe that revolution is unrealistic and it is best to make progress where ever we can. I don't know.

    Anybody have any thoughts on this?
    • idugcoal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Gradual improvement trumps no improvement any day of the week. I will never buy any lossy, DRM'd music online when i can download it, lossless and without DRM, for free. If they stubbornly want to adapt to my (and many other people's) preferences as slowly as they can, that's fine--I can only assume they must not want me (and people like me) as a customer.
  • uscfan7690, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5DefectiveByDesign is the greatest =)
  • brashley46, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Hey nanook, it's not music "piracy"; if I put an mp3 of one of my bought CDs on my Lyra, or if I buy an mp3 from one of themusic stores and copy it to the Lyra, I have not cost Warner any sales. Warner is stupid, shortsided and will go the way of the apatosaurar2HH.
  • inukki, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1it's not piracy if you make a homemade music video is it not? or do I need a license, because it feels I have been living in a cave or something and all the bright room is making me nervous
    • tobias1482, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4It depends... did you make the music to go with it?
    • inukki, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1you got me there, i was just being stupid and I still am being stupid
  • ArneBab, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Making a homemade music video and giving it to your friends is piracy in the definition of the worse part of the big music labels.

    But maybe that will change some day, too, when they realize that there really is free music on the web, and that people might just flock to really freee music when they just push them hard enough:

    - http://neppstar.net
    - http://www.jamendo.com/
    - http://magnatune.com/
    - http://ccmixter.org/
    - http://www.phex.org/wiki/index.php/Free_and_Legal_Content
  • Sharkee, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I tried calling all the numbers, each would just keep ringing, then I got a busy signal. Maybe the voicemails are already full. (1:30am Central time)
    • pedershk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6You think a record company has manned phones at 1:30AM in the morning? Why would you think that again?
  • pdaz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Shhh...ignore, do not buy. Silence works better than whining. Money talks, and lack of attention is the worst enemy.
    • Fhwqhgads, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4That works in theory, but unfortunately there are too many suckers who will buy it so us boycotters will make no impact on their sales.
    • fotbr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Worse than that, they'll blame your lack of buying on piracy, and use it to support their cause.
    • bitplane, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Money does talk, the best thing we can do is buy ipods and support DRM-free paid for downloads. I bought an ipod as soon as the announcement to move to DRM-free audio was made - as soon as I can get my hands on some legal DRMless audio I'll start buying it through iTunes. Once Warner see they're missing out on all that loooverly money, they'll have no option but to drop the DRM.
      Of course I will share the music I download, because I believe art is meant to be shared and enjoyed, and I don't expect anyone to buy it if they can't afford it. For the rest of us - we can make a difference, not by whining, but by buying a product Warner don't provide from their competitors.
    • mroseberry, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I do PC repair and when I encounter a customer with DRM laden music I tell them about what DRM does and how it affects them. People I talk to about it are either very appreciative or they don't say anything about it but no one says they don't care or would rather not know about it.

      People I've encountered who are ignorant about DRM are not ignorant by choice, they are ignorant because no one has told them about it.

      We can NOT count on the media to tell people about DRM because the media fears the MPAA (what would Fox, ABC, and CBS do if the cost for them to run a popular movie went through the roof or they were denied the ability to play it all together) and RIAA (MTV, VH1 and so on).

      We are the only ones who can educate the the masses because they are not likely to just trip over the information walking down the street and read about it. DRM is one of those things that some won't get unless it's discussed and explained.
  • FPF422, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Bad for everybody... for the users as well for business
  • 1911wolf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Isn't Warner's top dipstick the guy that said over his dead body, or something to that effect in response to dropping DRM? If so, is he going to be cremated or buried? I want to attend.
  • ForTheUnknowing, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Uhm, why should we need to talk to them about this?

    It's obvious we don't need the "music industry" anymore, their business model is based on content distribution,
    and with both the internet and CD-R's their services have grown redundant.

    They need to change their ways in order not to wind up like the hostler, drayman or telegraph operator [1],
    all outdated professions, but I don't see why this should be our problem, it's theirs.

    This just feels too much like trying to conserve a species that has evolved so badly
    it needs life support from day 1. Let it die already. It's had a good century.


    [1] http://www.careerprospects.org/Trends/past-future/trend-Past.html
    • mroseberry, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Please bear with me because this is an important concept.

      The analogy...
      Try thinking of this as a war (WWII for example) where the RIAA (for Germany), the MPAA (for Japan), and the FCC and Microsoft (for France) make up the Axis countries and the consumers are the rest of the world but only those people who actively oppose DRM would make up the Allied forces.

      Every song that uses a closed format or DRM (whether downloaded or on copy protected media) is Germany taking another town.
      Every movie that uses a closed format or DRM (whether downloaded or on copy protected media) is Japan taking another island.
      Every new technology that the FCC incorporates DRM into (such as HDTV's Broadcast Flag [cut down by Congress], HD-DVD and Blu-Ray) and every MS OS and MS software using DRM (such as Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows Media Player 11, and the Windows Genuine Advantage tool (which some consider to be spy-ware)) is France... well you should be getting the idea.
      [Please keep in mind that this analogy is for visualization purposes only and should not be taken personally.]
      (I won't compare the RIAA's mass lawsuits and extortion of children and their parents to the Holocaust because that would be offensive.)

      The point...
      The use of DRM must be opposed wherever it is encountered because every use builds legitimacy and increases the number of people who accept crippling and freedom robbing DRM as "the way it is" and "what can anyone do about it".

      We CAN make a difference in this war but ONLY if we all try.

      DRM is short for Digital Rights Management. Read more about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management
      Consumers of digital media are allowed to make one copy for backup use but we are not allowed to sidestep copy protection to do so. This is called Fair use but it seems less than fair to me. You can read about Fair use at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use

      Thank you for your time.

      P.S. An executive for Disney (one of the worst users of DRM) said that once people find out what they are doing they will have failed. This is because DRM is intended to prevent you from doing what you want with your purchased media silently in the background and un-noticed by the lay person so when a person buys a Sony BMG CD and they can't rip it to their MP3 player they just give up, or buy it again online for their DRM using iPod or Zune, or they get it through file sharing and get sued by the RIAA.
  • Teelar, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1I'm sick of these "call to action" ***** posts on Digg.
  • look4alec, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This site is blocked from my work. Can someone post the number to call?
    • DRFighter, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The numbers are:

      Laird Popkin 212-275-4016
      Position:Director of Digital Technology

      Alex Zubillaga 212-275-2000
      Position:Executive Vice President for Digital Strategy and Business Development.

      Edgar M. Bronfman Jr. 212-275-2000
      Position:Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Regarding his children and illegal downloading music, Bronfman said, "I’m fairly certain that they have, and I’m fairly certain that they’ve suffered the consequences."

      PR
      Will Tanous 212-275-2244
      Susan Mazo 212-484-6484
      Amanda Collins 212-275-2213
  • GregoryHeller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I spent some time calling around this morning. Everyone I spoke with at Warner was pleasant and non confrontational. I told them our position, and my personal feelings about DRM and my buying habits (as in, I am in the habit of not buying anything with DRM!)

    When you make your calls, post up the results here or on http://www.defectivebydesign.org/actions/warner_music_wake_up_call
  • amoore260, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Wow! I just called a few of the phone numbers that were listed in the story. I let them know that, I would not be buying any music from Warner as long as they distributed their content with DRM. I couldn't believe that there would be actual people picking up the phone and answering!!!!!! EVERYONE should call and let them know how consumers fell about DRM!!!!!
  • pupeno, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2On reddit as well: http://reddit.com/info/1m1rb/comments
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    http://stretch-wizard.com/westlife-artist/art1462/ mp3 Westlife
    http://stretch-wizard.com/back-home-artist/alb1324 ... Back Home
    http://stretch-wizard.com/call-me-irresponsible-sp ...
    http://stretch-wizard.com/michael-buble-artist/art ... mp3 Michael Buble
    http://stretch-wizard.com/call-me-irresponsible-sp ... Call Me Irresponsible (Special Edition) cd1
    http://stretch-wizard.com/mothership-cd1--artist/a ...
    http://stretch-wizard.com/led-zeppelin-artist/art2 ... mp3 Led Zeppelin
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