EFF on DRM, iTunes: "The Customer Is Always Wrong"

MacNN ^ | 09/02/2005

[Panerai]

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has published a report that look at some of the shortcomings of digital rights management (DRM) schemes, which are used to sell music online by companies such as Apple. According to the advocacy group, online stores like iTunes actually give music buyers less for their money than traditional CDs. For example, if music owners want to make more copies of an album (for personal) use than the DRM allows, they may have to turn to various "hacks." Unfortunately, "breaking the DRM or distributing the tools to break DRM may expose you to liability under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) even if you're not making any illegal uses." The article also points out that Apple reserves the right to change at any time what users can do with the music they purchase at the iTunes Music Store. In April 2004, Apple decided to "modify the DRM so people could burn the same playlist only 7 times, down from 10."

[SteveMcKing]

I've come to believe that selling music like a product is fruitless. It must be sold as a service.

In real terms - don't invest in media.