Ballmer Says iPod Users are Thieves 1108
A 'music thief' (apparently) writes "According to Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft: "The most common format of music on an iPod is 'stolen'."
He appears convinced Microsoft will lead the way in Digital Rights Management and also believes Microsoft will steal a march on Apple in making the digital home a reality because Apple "doesn't have the volumes".
"There is no way that you can get there with Apple. The critical mass has to come from the PC, or a next-generation video device," he said."
How much of your iPod is stolen? (Score:1, Interesting)
I urge them to use MP3 (or some other non DMAC format) because it is a pain when using multiple computers, but I can assure everyone, that most of the music in this case is legitimate.
So I ask everyone... how much of your iPod is "stolen"?
B
He doesn't get it (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I'm either being synical (Score:2, Interesting)
Before you argue... (Score:3, Interesting)
Think about it....
CD's, DVD's all were successful either because of the PC or the "next-generation device".
Of course one could argue that the iPod is the next generation device and just needs to be expanded to the stage where it does video.
Hang on, then hasn't Balmer just predicted that the biggest portable music player will get to define the format in the same way as VHS beat Betamax ? Maybe the only real issue is...
Will Apple learn and license ?
Its a long way around the story but I've just realised that this is Barmy Monkey begging Steve Jobs to license the iPod technology as Microsoft can't compete with the market leader.
And he couldn't just say that because it hurts to much.
Quickie Slashdot Poll... (Score:5, Interesting)
1) Roughly what percent of your music collection is unauthorized files from P2P like Kazaa, FTP, etc.?
2) Roughly what percent of your music collection comes from sources like iTunes Music Store, eMusic, etc?
3) Roughly what percent of your music collection comes from shareable sources like Creative Commons-licensed music?
4) Roughly what percent of your music collection comes from rips of your own CDs?
5) Roughly what percent of your music collection comes from rips of friends' CDs?
(and what am I missing?)
Re:Ballmer and FUD? Who would have thought?! (Score:5, Interesting)
it has to do with the fact that the RIAA wants DRM, and the user doesn't. so Ballmer's looking after the corporate interests ahead of the user interests.
What's funny is that he doesn't realise that new entertainment formats are mostly demand driven. People don't like div-x (the old one, where you had to "connect" to get movies), people don't use it. Same with DVD-A and SACD. Invariably, formats with draconian restrictions on them don't work. And although he wants to label people thieves, there's a very good reason why the iPod is popular, and MS's DRM isn't. The irony is Ballmer himself points it out in the article - "My 12-year-old at home doesn't want to hear that he can't put all the music that he wants in all of the places that he would like it". This isn't about stealing, it's about fair use. 12 year olds just want to do whatever they want to do with their music - like the rest of us. If stolen, free music is the only way we can get there, then so be it. Why pay for restrictions, when freedom is quite literally free?
It makes me laugh, the 12-y-o son of the man running the most powerful IT company in the world gets it, but Ballmer himself doesn't.
Which oddly enough is a theme repeated in the second article - his vision for the digital home - which involves "converged devices that integrate video, audio and computer technology". He's pretty much ripped off Steve Jobs' digital hub strategy [macworld.com] from two years ago... and then he goes on to say: "There is no way that you can get there with Apple."
Sorry Steve, the only organisation you can be guaranteed to not get there with is Microsoft. It makes poor copies of good products, labels consumers who want freedom "thieves", and calls out organisations who innovate as not being good enough.
-- james
Re:Ballmer and FUD? Who would have thought?! (Score:1, Interesting)
Open Market (Score:4, Interesting)
If I am a criminal, why would I buy the device that makes my job/avocation more difficult.
In either case, why would I buy the device who's biggest cheerleader treats me with such disdain.
Consumers want too much (Score:5, Interesting)
... according to Ballmer.
"My 12-year-old at home doesn't want to hear that he can't put all the music that he wants in all of the places that he would like it,"
I don't want to hear that either.
The most common format of music on my WinXP box... (Score:5, Interesting)
So what if "[you've] had DRM in Windows for years" Microsoft? Windows did anything but halt the 13.6 million Napster users [wikipedia.org] "stealing" music, et cetera.
Re:Quickie Slashdot Poll... (Score:3, Interesting)
Maybe 1%. And (honestly) I tend to delete what I don't like and buy what I do.
2) Roughly what percent of your music collection comes from sources like iTunes Music Store, eMusic, etc?None at all.
3) Roughly what percent of your music collection comes from shareable sources like Creative Commons-licensed music?
None at all.
4) Roughly what percent of your music collection comes from rips of your own CDs?
Maybe 5-10%
5) Roughly what percent of your music collection comes from rips of friends' CDs?
2% ish.
Vinyl, baby, vinyl
Re:Quickie Slashdot Poll... (Score:4, Interesting)
6) Roughly what percent of your music collection is your own music?
7) Roughly what percent of your music collection is your friends own music?
So for me this comes down to:
5) 75% (6 MP3s, sent to my by friends, because they wanted me to hear those songs.)
7) 25% (2 MP3s, the one was mixed by a friend of mine who is sound engineer, the other one was performed by another friend of mine)
Ok, this boils down to eight pieces of music stored on my computer
Steve Ballmer is a Douchebag (Score:5, Interesting)
So Steve, STFU and GTFO. The reflected light from your forehead is blinding us.
Ha (Score:5, Interesting)
My roommate is a die-hard Microsoft fan. I don't just mean he uses Windows over Linux, either. I mean he will get compromised because of a failed update, have to reformat and reinstall, and he *still* favors MS. Why? Because of usability. Linux does not cater towards him and it certainly doesn't offer the gameplay. Mozilla/Firefox, despite what I try to tell him about security, is laughable. After all, why should he use a browser that takes 4 seconds to load a 2 second page?
Now, despite all of that, he uses iTunes. Why? Because where other "free software" fails, Apple does not. They provide a method for him to get what he needs when he needs it. And not only that, but he pays money hand over fist for services/music through iTunes.
So my question to Ballmer would have to be: If you've lost even your fanbois to Apple, who also has DRM, how exactly do you intend to actually gain a foothold in this market?
On a perfectly safe side note, the percentage of my "stolen" music collection used to be 100% MP3, now it's 80% MP3. Any MS representative want to take a guess as to what the other format is for my stolen music?
Why post this? (Score:3, Interesting)
Meanwhile, Apple has a decent lead in the online music market, their hardware is selling rather well, and their stuff works. Who cares what he has to say, as long as its empty crap talk? When he's presenting a concrete business product, let me know. Otherwise, you're just flamebaiting.
MS Numbers (Score:4, Interesting)
Less than 1 billion..
The future is not MS PC on mobiles..
Its J2ME
Re:Quickie Slashdot Poll... (Score:5, Interesting)
For me, about 90%.
ALL WHO ANSWERED THIS POLL (Score:1, Interesting)
I, for one, haven't bought a single CD since I discovered that you can download MP3s over the internet. People who make music were always grossly overpaid and I don't think most of them deserve it.
Isn't this an admission of guilt? (Score:4, Interesting)
How do they get away with this shit?
You know, I'm tired... (Score:5, Interesting)
Dang, what makes them believe that they are entitled to millions and care-free lives by making a couple of template "songs" about fucks and drugs?
Re:The most common format of music... (Score:3, Interesting)
Yes but you have to remember who is running the Music companies and head of the RIAA. Who don't have a half a brain between them all.
-S
Re:Quickie Slashdot Poll... (Score:5, Interesting)
However, Ballmer conceded it isn't going to be an easy battle to win. "Most people still steal music," he said.
Most people steal music? This informal poll might suggest a different story.
I'd love to know what numbers he's using to arrive at his assertation that "most people" still steal music. I seem to remember reading that many people have stopped downloading music from P2P sources [technewsworld.com] - they don't "still steal music," do they?
I don't know, it sounds like he's making a blanket statement to support his position without telling us how he intends to back his statement up. Perhaps he doesn't intend to?
F- Him (Score:5, Interesting)
Just because you have an MP3 does not mean you are a thief. just because you bought an OS-less PC doesn't mean you are a thief. Just because I own a soldering iron and am an EE doesnt mean I'm some 'evil hacker'..
I have 25GB on my 4G Ipod and not ONE song isn't from a CD I own.. I have several PC's, and NONE run some sort of pirated Microsoft OS.. Either I own a license, or its running a 'free' OS...
I'm sick and tired of being accused of something I'm not, and then getting legislation passed that restricts my activities, and increases their market share/profit. ( generic statement, this applies to most any 'media' industry )
To hell with them all. See how little of my money they continue to get from me..
Re:ALL WHO ANSWERED THIS POLL (Score:3, Interesting)
Do you think that perhaps the ones who are eager to answer this "poll" are so because they don't download most of their music off Kazaa and want you to know about it? Makes them look good, I suppose.
I think my quote of copyright violating audio files to authorized audio files/my own rips/my own compositions is something like 10 to 1. I'm not going to brag about that on Slashdot. You didn't either; you posted anonymously.
For the record, I've bought all CDs I own but one since the mp3-revolution. You should thank Kazaa for that, Mr Jean Michel Jarre.
Re:Quickie Slashdot Poll... (Score:2, Interesting)
How do you and your friends manage to keep your songs original and not accidentally copied [slashdot.org]?
Re:ALL WHO ANSWERED THIS POLL (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:ALL WHO ANSWERED THIS POLL (Score:2, Interesting)
Never ceases to amaze me (Score:2, Interesting)
Why is it that Microsoft's cheif bomb thrower is immediately picked up by the trade press and published to the PHBs that control most of the IT infrastructure at most companies? Ballmer's remarks were just plain infantile. I'm starting to wonder if the trade press is a bigger roadblock to wider adoption of more diverse platforms. Linux rarely gets a fair shake, Macintosh is still just a pretty little bauble, and neither having any real value to a serious computer user. All the advocacy of the professionals in your department regarding either platform is immediately lost by a piece of FUD in your PHB's trade mag of choice, or a Microsoft-funded "benchmark test", or "TCO Comparison".
The simple reality is that Microsoft once again missed the boat on an important innovation. They can't buy the technology so their fumbling attempt to copy it will need a few versions before anyone starts switching to the MS "solution". Apple keeps out innovating Microsoft at every turn and all guys like Ballmer can do is throw more gasoline on the PC vs. Mac fire. Ballmer simply doesn't have the charisma that Jobs does. He can't rile up the PC user base because the vast majority of them don't care about Microsoft the way Mac users care about Apple.
The iTMS + iPod combination delivers a simple solution on both the PC and the Mac, why switch to the DRM-laden, lock-in ridden MS alternative? I can still rip, mix, burn to CD in relation to my needs. I can legally buy music and upload it to my iPod. I don't have to waste money on entire records for the two songs I want. In essence, I don't have to illegally download music because Apple has made it easy to do everything legally.
This is simply MS sucking up to the RIAA in an attempt to squeeze out Apple from this market. The mantra is altered slightly to make the point of illegal downloads, but also take a jab at Ballmer's primary competition. We know that MS can't compete head-to-head on the technical merits of their products alone, so they have to undermine the credibility of the user base of the product they're competing against. Add to that the RIAA's core (almost religious) belief that all music on a computing device must be illegal, and you have Ballmer's infantile remarks. Meant to alienate those users of the iPod, and to pass "critical insight" to PHB's that make IT policy decisions.
The real failure (Score:5, Interesting)
Look at MS. People wanted web browsers. They made IE. People wanted a media player, they got one bundled that did a good job of streaming video. They wanted a mailer, the got one. Yes now that there are problems with them people are moving to Mozilla based products, but this is a failure of Microsoft. They didn't give the people what they wanted (they don't want to have to be security experts to be able to browse the web).
People want to be able to have digital media with as few strings attached as can be so they don't have to become DRM gurus to listen to their jams in the car. This is where Windows Media player fails and the iPod/iTunes succeeds. Jobs thought about what the customers wanted and then did all he could to give it to them, putting in just enough DRM to keep the RIAA happy.
So the Windows folks can think they will win by putting in as much monopolistic protection as possible for MS and the RIAA/MPAA but it will fail. It will fail for the same reasons that all the other media stores and players have to date. They didn't give peole what they wanted.
Ballmer may be liable? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Quickie Slashdot Poll... (Score:5, Interesting)
1. 0% (seriously)
2. 25%
3. ~ 5%
4. ~ 70%
5. 0%
I have no idea how many songs are on my ipod atm, but it's usually pretty close to full.
I can't remember the last time I downloaded an mp3 (not counting iTMS)... definitely not within the last 3 years.
My views on piracy basically shifted once I got a real/steady job (~ 3? year ago) and was able to afford buying what I wanted. When I had no money (college), I didn't really have any respect for intellectual property (as opposed to tangible/physical property), things that I could get easily on the internet, etc.. I needed/wanted things, but I just didn't have the cash. Now that I can afford to buy things, my pride actually grows because I enjoy knowing that *now* I can buy things; I don't *need* to pirate to get what I want. It's a sense of satisfaction knowing that I have solved my problems of once not having money, to now having money.
Some people are just cheap, or just like to steal for the sake of stealing. But a lot of people who do steal do so not because they are thieves but because they just don't have the finances to get what they want. Nowadays, ultimately a thief is a thief, but intentions are what differentiate a criminal from a normal person.
$.02, FWIW, IMO, etc
Bad assumptions (Score:3, Interesting)
1: People want to rip to a lossy format.
2: The ipod must be full
3: The ipod must be used for music instead of a portable drive.
Admittedly there are a few illegal tunes on my ipod, but the vast majority are legal. In fact I probably have more illegal music on my old collection of tapes.
Re:Ballmer and FUD? Who would have thought?! (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Quickie Slashdot Poll... (Score:2, Interesting)
5% comes from rips of my own CDs.
Needless to say, most of the CDs that I buy lately, I buy because I first heard extracts on the radio and liked them...
Re:ALL WHO ANSWERED THIS POLL (Score:2, Interesting)
Maybe you're hanging around in the wrong circles.
I won't deny that I know many people who are grade-A pirates. They download music like it's going out of style. I can't imagine that they're listening to even one-tenth of it because they download far more than they'll ever need.
But one thing I've noticed in common with all the people I know who "steal" music; they're Windows users. I have a theory that many Linux users are exceptionally sensitive to copyright infringement. I think it might be due to the realisation that they have a complete OS, no strings attached, $0. It makes it difficult to justify "stealing" a $10 album when you've just received a gift equivalent of $1000 in basic OS and office software.
All of the very hard-core Linux users I know (myself included) are strictly anti-piracy. It also helps that we have decent jobs; it's harder to justify "stealing" a $10 album when you can easily afford to buy it. That's not to say that Linux-using pirates don't exist. I simply have never met any. Windows users often seem to have stolen copies of games, movies, software, etc. They have a culture of piracy that we thankfully don't seem to have in Linux circles.
Re:Quickie Slashdot Poll... (Score:3, Interesting)
Personally? I have 1.3GB of music on my Ipod (10GB, Im not a big fan of music). Roughly 500MB of that music is legal, all from ItunesMS. The rest is stuff Ive collected from various friends, kazaa etc. Im not proud of it, mainly because I take the anti infringement stance here on slashdot, but my collection of infringing files hasnt grown in the past year, while my legal files have, mainly because Im replacing the infringing files with legal files as I can afford it each month.
Based on what? (Score:2, Interesting)
Depending on what genre you prefer, when was the last time an artist or group produced something you liked well enough that you were willing to pay $15 for the CD--especially if you were interested in only ONE of the songs on the entire CD?
Personally, I like country and classical. No royalties on classical (public domain), so no "poor, beleaguered artist" claims. (You pay only the production/distribution costs plus a profit margin.) None of the "modern" country artists produce anything I like. Ergo, I buy/listen to only classical and "classic" country--most artists of the latter already dead. All of which translates that that I do not buy CDs very often.
How pervasive is this scenario?
Re:What? (Score:2, Interesting)
Of course! As well as all P2P users, music lovers, people with CD burners, anyone under 25, everyone who has an eyepatch or a peg leg, moviegoers, DVD owners, people with computers that don't crash every two seconds and catch viruses every time you log on, game players, Linux, and of course those shadow guys in the iPod commercials.
Psychotic gorilla-esque CEOs who steal massive amounts of cash and kill every other company in existence, however, are exempt.
I'd list all the other pirates but there are only so many nouns in the dictionary.
Re:Ballmer and FUD? Who would have thought?! (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Pot... (Score:3, Interesting)
Well, that probably is a trend for everyone who has spent most of their life living as a full time student, working perhaps a few part-time, low-wage jobs.
But consider that many ipods are also owned by "movers and shakers", age 25+ who work full time. These days, many jobs are pretty demanding and lots of folks work overtime, eat breakfast in their cars while stuck in rush hour traffic on the way to work, grab lunch from restaurants nearby the workplace as it saves time (getting takeout and eating at your desk is a common trend).
These people often can afford to buy an ipod on a whim, or don't think twice about buying one as a gift for their spouse or lover. These folks have the money to buy CDs. What they lack is the time... often CDs are purchased as a second thought while shopping for important things (like groceries and clothes for the kids). Most of these people simply don't have a lot of extra time, and with the small exception of the computer enthusiasts among them, mand spend part or all day in front of a computer and don't want to waste time on file sharing networks. Some play computer games, some like to just relax and watch TV, others are active or go the a health club and work out (after about age 30, most people gain weight and lose energy if they don't work out).
For people in this crowd, a more likely scenario:
My point, being 34 myself and personally knowing lots of folks approximately that age, is they love ipods too. But if some exceptions, they just don't have the time to spend fiddling with new software and chasing after songs on file sharing (especially these days, when many are bogus). They have lots of CDs, and when they hear something they like and remember the artist name, they often times just buy the CD if they see it at the store. $15 is just not a big deal, when you work full time with a decent job and the one precious thing you don't have anymore is lots of free time.
I'm sure a lot of slashdot readers, who are full time students and so far have had only disappointing wages at part-time jobs will find this all very strange. Just wait 10-15 years. Assuming things like the economy and offshore outsourcing don't turn into disasters, you'll know this routine all too well. Of course, if history repeats itself, 10-15 years is about the amount of time it takes for publishers to stop fighting and embrace new technology.
Re:ALL WHO ANSWERED THIS POLL (Score:1, Interesting)
The funny thing is that I was in the same boat until they started suing people. I used the P2P services as a preview (like a radio that I controlled) to see if an album was any good. It was great! I discovered all sorts of new music this way. I didn't much care about bitrate, since if the songs were any good I'd buy the album and reencode anyway. NOW, however, I do the same thing, but I have no intention of ever buying an RIAA CD. I check everything against RIAA Radar, and if it comes up red, I either buy a used CD or poke around the interweb looking for a high-quality rip. I tell this to everyone that listens, and I give all my friends access to my music via web sharing. The RIAA brought this on themselves. They may own congress, but I own the tech that makes them obsolete.
Re:Ballmer and FUD? Who would have thought?! (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't know enough about Photoshop and image editing to know if The Gimp is an acceptable replacement. I've read several posts where people say it is *not* (an acceptable replacement.) I'll have to take their word for it.
Don't. It is an acceptable replacement for most people. People who don't like the GIMP fall into one of four categories:
I fell into the third category myself, until I decided that a little time spent learning a new UI could rid me of the need to pirate Photoshop ('cause I certainly didn't have the money to buy it!).
Re:Quickie Slashdot Poll... (Score:3, Interesting)
2) I've only bought 5 songs... so about 1%.. but I don't use p2p at all, I just haven't been "consuming" music lately.
3) About 2% - mostly things like Futurama mixes and kids stuff.
4) About 85-90% from my own vinyl and CDs.
5) 0%.
During napster heydays, I downloaded a lot of songs I owned on vinyl. I know that's technically a no-no. For the past few years it's just been my own rips and recently I got an iTunes account.
Re:Quickie Slashdot Poll... (Score:3, Interesting)
What is really being stolen... (Score:2, Interesting)
Don't get mad, get even... (Score:4, Interesting)
Would say iPods generally legal (Score:3, Interesting)
iPods are somewhat expensive, more than most kids would spring for - so the bulk of the market is going to be older adults. These are people with large, established CD collections.
For new music, ITMS does provide a very convienient outlet for obtaining singles which were a big part of the reason a lot of my friends used P2P. The growth of ITMS represents people having an alternative other than P2P for single tracks they liked.
I would say just about any teenager is going to be using P2P a lot more, they just don't have the kind of casual money to blow a few dollars here or there on music as they have a smaller budget overall and more entertainment focused lives. But since most of the iPod market is more mature adults, piracy is just not going to be as high.
Why can't we ... (Score:3, Interesting)
2. most record companies like to sell music rather expensively in order to maximize their profits, they can do this because they have an oligopoly market with quite high barriers to entry.
3. many people like to download/share/'steal' music, and a fair number of them would like to see the people who made the music paid properly, even if record companies are somewhat bad at this.
4. you can find contact details for many musicians or their agents by googling.
OK, so I have a genius plan.
If you download something that you like, rather than buying the cd, why not send a cheque to the person who made the music/their producer/someone else involved in the recording?
They'll do better financially from that than they would from buying a cd anyway and you won't be supporting market distorting monopolist business models that have yet to catch up to the reality of the situation.
The recording industry is fast becoming an irrelevancy to a large number of people and no draconian laws/drm/suing kids is actually going to change the situation.
just a thought...
Re:Quickie Slashdot Poll... (Score:5, Interesting)
I have never respected IP, and still do not even though I could easily afford anything that I need (earn about $150k a year). It is a matter of principle to me:
First, the current "IP" companies are mostly immoral entities that want to retain their business models and priviledges at any price, even if that involves changing/buying laws and by that destroying our democracy.
More importantly and philosophically, the concept of Intellectual Property is a perversion to me that is contrary to human nature and civilization. Civilization and art was built by copying and impoving on ideas (only really seldomly by revolutionary novelties). Imagine the classical composers having been forbidden to "borrow" each others themes and ideas, or painters to get sewed when joining a new style such as impressionism.
The concept is absurd and sickening.
Up till 1900 the lack of IP has never prevented progress and inventions. After 1900: we don't know. IP proponents keep brainwashing us that without IP there would be no innovation, but who is to tell? I simply don't believe it when looking at 2000 years of civilization before 1900.
Also the software industry itself has been highly succesful and profitable even without patents and with quite weak copyright protection. One might even argue that only now, where IP is being introduced in the software industry, things have deteriorated.
If true, Microsoft should drop all non-DRM support (Score:3, Interesting)
Therefore, no Microsoft-based player (such as Windows PCs, portable music players, or the X-BOX) should be able to support non-protected MP3s, OGG, WAV, or other formats.
If Ballmer really thinks he's right, he should stand behind his statements and take action today.
Otherwise, he's just giving us bullshit.
Re:Ballmer and FUD? Who would have thought?! (Score:4, Interesting)
Funny, it makes me want to cry...
Was discussing this sort of thing in general with a friend this morning, and we both agreed that we need some young blood injected into America's political matrix. Until we get some tech-savvy people who understand what American's want from their technology and don't pander to what the corporations try to force on us, we're gonna be stuck in a downward spiral of increasingly draconian restrictions.
Can't we sue this clown for slander? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Ballmer and FUD? Who would have thought?! (Score:2, Interesting)
Your professors are being unreasonable.
I'm a CS professor and I don't allow submission in MS formats. This is for two reasons: (i) because I don't think it's fair to require students to buy expensive software just to complete their assignments; and (ii) because I want them to understand that it's possible to do use free, open formats to exchange data. If the students don't discover this in college, they sure aren't going to see it at company X after graduation.
Buy buy buy buy! (Score:1, Interesting)
In other words, Apple is popular for digital music because Windows' DRM is harder, harder, harder to use. But we're going to get our developers, developers, developers, developers to make it easier, and then people will start buying, buying, buying music from Microsoft.
That sounds like a good plan, if a little late. I wonder who they're going to hire to make it easier than a Mac!
Re:Quickie Slashdot Poll... (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm not planning on quitting my day job, nor am I quitting music. It's already very difficult to make money, much less a living off music, but there are certainly no shortage of musicians. Many of them play music for their own satisfaction.
I'm not saying people should pirate music, since high quality recording and mastering can definitely be expensive. But pirating will never cause musicians to cease playing. That's like saying people would stop playing video games if the big tournaments stopped offering cash prizes. Most people don't make money on it to begin with.
Re:Every One is Legal (Score:3, Interesting)
Fuck you, Ballmer! Fuck you and that broken down old horse you rode in on!
Re:Quickie Slashdot Poll... (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm not trying to insult you, but do you seriously believe that if you had sold 20 copies of that CD that you would now magically be a profitable musician? I'm sure you made more than just the first CD, but even then, there's a good chance you'd still have a net loss. Granted that combined, it may have been enough to cover your next CD's costs, since you presumably now own all your instruments, etc...
I'm not trying to tell you to "quit whining" and I'm not complaining that all music should be free, but try to keep some perspective (which is not the same as saying you've already lost it).
Re:Ballmer and FUD? Who would have thought?! (Score:3, Interesting)
How can you tell when Steve Ballmer is lying? (Score:3, Interesting)
Seriously, he's fooling himself if he thinks that Microsoft's advanced DRM is going to allow people to acquire and maintain the large music collections to which they've become accustomed. What would it cost (at, say, $18 per dozen songs) to acquire a typical 10,000 track music collection? About fifteen grand. Yeah, sure, I'll just use my Microsoft Passport account. Part of the problem here is that popular music was simply never worth what the RIAA charged for it, and by attempting to maintain a high price structure they are simply guaranteeing that DRM won't be accepted. Maybe if they'd been able to stop widespread distribution of MP3s before we all got used to them
It's gonna be very hard to put that particular genie back in his bottle. He's jacked into his iPod and can't hear them anymore.