Will People Really Boycott Apple Over DRM? 664
Ian Lamont writes "DefectiveByDesign.org is waging a battle against DRM with a 35-day campaign targeting various hardware and software products from Microsoft, Nintendo, and others. On day 11 it blasted iTunes for continuing to use DRM-encumbered music, games, TV shows, movies, audiobooks, and apps with DRM, while competitors are selling music without restrictions. DefectiveByDesign calls on readers to include 'iTunes gift cards and purchases in your boycott of all Apple products' to 'help drive change.' However, there's a big problem with this call to arms: most people simply don't care about iTunes DRM. Quoting: 'The average user is more than willing to pay more money for hobbled music because of user interface, ease of use, and marketing. ... Apple regularly features exclusive live sets from popular artists, while Amazon treats its digital media sales as one more commodity being sold.' What's your take on the DRM schemes used by Apple and other companies? Is a boycott called for, and can it be effective?"
Sorry... (Score:5, Insightful)
It will never be effective. The average Joe coulden't tell you what DRM stood for let alone boycott it.
No (Score:5, Insightful)
Their fault? (Score:3, Insightful)
It's optional! (Score:5, Insightful)
Unlikely (Score:5, Insightful)
Most internet users can't tell the difference between firefox and IE, it's unlikely they'll understand what DRM even is. Those who do understand DRM, probably never bought from the itunes store in the first place.
Re:Unlikely (Score:2, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)
I have (Score:5, Insightful)
I, for one consumer, already have. I don't buy Apple products because of the DRM. Creative Zen MP3 player, Dell, and Fujitsu laptops, and Samsung i760 cellphone. My ex uses a Mac Mini. My best friend sweears by his iPhone and a couple Macs. Nice machines! Apple looks like a good OS but this danged DRM is the showstopper.
Bah! Come on Apple, lighten up. You seem to think all yer customers are sneaks and thieves, like Sam's or Best Buy.
people want software they can use (Score:5, Insightful)
"The average user is more than willing to pay more money for hobbled music because of user interface, ease of use"
Why should it be surprising that people are willing to pay for ease of use? it can mean the difference between actually being able to use something and not being able to.
Most people can't use most of most software.
Right (Score:2, Insightful)
exclusivity (Score:5, Insightful)
"Apple regularly features exclusive live sets"
I think this sort of thing prevents the uptake of Free Software in general. People want to be part of an "in crowd", and seek ways to believe it's true (eg. Da Vinci code, fashion, nerd snobbishness, etc). People will pay for this feeling, and I reckon it was used to help prop up the monarchies (and now demonarchies*).
I mean, how "exclusive" is a live set on iTMS? Anyone can buy it, right? This is where marketing comes in. Grass-roots arts and software producers don't want to come across as "here's some scones that my mad-great-aunt made (they make great hearth-stones), all proceeds to the parish..."
*typo intended, exscuse the piss-take ;-)
Uphill battle (Score:5, Insightful)
DefectiveByDesign would have better luck picking on Microsoft or some of the game publishers. Apple has managed to find the sweet spot between user freedom and DRM. Yes, Apple still uses DRM but it doesn't encumber a majority of Apple iTMS users.
Let's run through Apple's DRM:
I hate DRM as much as the next /'er but the above "restrictions" are pretty darn loose. When iTMS and its uber-convenience is added into the equation, Apple's DRM becomes a minor annoyance. Point-Click-Purchase? One-click purchases? Recommendations based on previous purchases? It becomes pretty easy to overlook the little bit of DRM that is involved.
I'm not an Apple fanboy either:
[me@mydesktop ~]$ uname -a Linux my.rhel.desktop 2.6.18-92.1.18.el5 #1 SMP Wed Nov 5 09:00:19 EST 2008 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
No (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Sorry... (Score:5, Insightful)
It will never be effective. The average Joe coulden't tell you what DRM stood for let alone boycott it.
The average Joe must not know what DRM means to experience the implications of it. I hate car analogies, but you don't have to be a greasemonkey to understand that something is wrong with your car.
..ask a friend about it (or)
..google it (or)
..curse and never use the service again
The average Joe will run into DRM restrictions, and;
Re:No (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Sorry... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Unlikely (Score:4, Insightful)
Not even remotely true. Lots of people who understand DRM have bought from the iTunes store. Understanding DRM doesn't necessarily mean opposition to it. Or, more specifically, understanding it doesn't mean opposition to it in every and all forms. Some DRM sucks and should be avoided in protest. Some DRM is sufficiently light that people don't mind. Yes, some oppose DRM in any and all forms but some, even though they understand DRM perfectly well, don't object to it in the same way.
Or you could just not buy what you don't like (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm confused. If 'boycotting' means simply not buying what you don't like from some place that doesn't supply what you wish, then I guess I've been boycotting certain retail outlets all my life. With minimal effort on my part.
Should I be starting websites of my own to tell people what I won't be buying? Cos that could get pretty time consuming and frankly I have better things to be doing. Obviously these people don't.
Re:No (Score:3, Insightful)
No
You got that right. Apple, being the marketing gods that they are, will get by this easily.
Marketing has nothing to do with it. Most folks don't even know what DRM is, and even if they're aware of DRM they seldom care.
Folks buy a song on the iTunes Music Store and try to play it...it works. They put it on their iPod...it works. They burn it to a CD...it works. As far as they're concerned the music works just fine.
Re:Sorry... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:No (Score:5, Insightful)
What you're looking for is iTunes Plus [apple.com]. Bog standard AAC files in high bitrate, for the same cost as DRM-encumbered files.
If you really want to show that you care about a lack of DRM, skew the sales numbers so that non-DRM files are obviously outselling the encumbered ones.
Re:Sorry... (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't think you can blanket statement DRM. It's been implemented in too many ways. The average Joe probably hasn't even noticed the Apple DRM because they probably haven't tired to do something that's not allowed by it. On the other hand, I imagine at least a few average Joes have noticed the horror that is SecureROM.
Even if I'm wrong about the average Joe's run-ins with DRM, I don't think an Apple DRM boycott will be effective because the number of people who dislike Apple's DRM, use it anyway, and are willing to boycott it is probably very small. I'd wager it's very near 0. If they'd be willing to boycott it in the first place, they're probably not using it now.
Re:No (Score:5, Insightful)
If you are going to have a strong anti-DRM movement you also need a Strong anti-piracy movement to go with it. Otherwise the companies, government, and people who don't care as strongly will just see you as a bunch of Wackos who want something for nothing AKA "The Pinko Commie who Hates America". If they offered a strong voice against piracy and worked hard to discourage such behavior then their message about easing and finally removing DRM will not be heard on deaf ears.
Activist love the idea of being this little group fighting a big evil and heartless corporation. However if you want action you need to treat your opponents as people too and understand and work with their concerns as well, then you can create change. Otherwise you are in a battle of wills who's ever will is the strongest or has the extra buck to fight back will win, not because of intellect or greater good. Why do you think Marten Luther King was more effective in history then the Black Panthers, The Black Panthers worked on creating a divide while MLK tried to create unity. Yes it is much more exciting to be in a Moral Battle of Right and Wrong however war (even with words) isn't the answer Open Dialog with the willingness to accept and respect your opponents concerns, works much better.
So you don't like DRM neither do I. However if you are going to get a broad cooperate acceptance of removing DRM you are going to create a culture where illegally downloading free music and not paying for them ever is no longer considered socially acceptable.
Re:Sorry... (Score:5, Insightful)
You know what, I don't think the average Joe actually will run into the DRM restrictions in iTunes and so won't give a flying whatever. I do know what DRM is, and it doesn't raise it's ugly head day-to-day.
I buy music, I put it onto my iPod and burn it to CD. Now what am I meant to be protesting about again? ... That's a rhetorical question.
Re:Sorry... (Score:2, Insightful)
I think you underestimate the apathy of the general public.
Bullshit! (Score:3, Insightful)
All iTunes media can be played through iTunes on Windows. Windows is not normally run on Apple hardware.
Re:Their fault? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:No (Score:5, Insightful)
"If you are going to have a strong anti-DRM movement you also need a Strong anti-piracy movement to go with it."
"if you are going to get a broad cooperate acceptance of removing DRM you are going to create a culture where illegally downloading free music and not paying for them ever is no longer considered socially acceptable."
I think you're wrong. You can easily show people that:
1. DRM doesn't affect availability to pirates.
2. DRM costs money to implement
And therefore it's just not worth it. I can understand their concerns just fine, but their actions are expensive and counter-productive. They make the end product less valuable to users, who are then more likely to turn to piracy.
I don't "pirate" music, but I won't buy anything DRM'd either, because ripping my CDs and storing/playing them on various devices is my goddamned right.
Re:Sorry... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Sorry... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Sorry... (Score:5, Insightful)
If we can't get people upset and up in arms about trampling of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Police SWAT teams acting like mini-Army battalions, what the hell makes you think they'll get motivated enough to top buying Apple stuff?
Apathetic indeed
Re:No (Score:3, Insightful)
...have tried to craft their DRM to have minimal interference with those use cases.
I love how you list this as a criticism. If DRM doesn't stop your normal use of your music, is it really a bad thing?
I don't like it, because I don't like vendor lock-in. But if people don't care about DRM isn't it possible that they're doing it right?
Re:No (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:yeaaaaaaah goodluck with that (Score:4, Insightful)
Not buy any music from any artist on any major label? Wow. That's a bit extreme.
True, the majors sign a lot of crap that they can sell at high prices for short term profit, but they also sign bands that will survive in the long run.
Not buying from the majors means not buying Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Ramones, Motorhead, Slayer, Mr. Bungle, etc.
Support quality, not ideology.
I pity people who limit themselves based off of ideology. True, there is a ton of great music on the indies and that is the majority of where my music dollars is spent, but denying myself the greats, the legends from the past because of a deluded idea that labels are inherently bad is just plain stupid.
Vote with your dollars. Don't buy the new Britney, sure, but denying yourself Led Zeppelin's Presence, Metallica's Master of Puppets.... just plain stupid.
The problem with the /. perspective on the music industry is that the crowd here only considers the technological perspective on the industry and not the financial realities faced by artists who sign to the majors. Good bands who sign bad deals. Hell yeah I'll buy an album by a good band on a major. If they don't get that sale, chances are they will end up in major debt to the label. Believe me. Way too many of my friends have suffered from this. Psychefunkapus. Limbomaniacs. Fungo Mungo. All peers of Primus from back in the day who dreamed of big time success and wound up only with big time debt due to their lack of business experience and cock-eyed optimism.
Great albums ruined by naivete and ruthless business practices. I felt duty bound to buy their albums to help my friends and to have copies of this stuff after it was shelved by the labels.
Signing with the majors does not immediately mean the music is sub par. Many indies sign a lot of crap as well. The whole shoegazer and emo movements of the late nineties early 2000's was largely fueled by the indie labels.
This entire notion is based on a false premise.
Buy what is good. Period.
Re:Sorry... (Score:4, Insightful)
But just wait till the day you want to switch from iPod to some other MP3 player
So then you burn your music to CDs and then rip it. It's an inconvenience, not a hindrance. So, even fully-aware buyers are left to balance the convenience of the music store, etc., against the inconvenience of creating MP3s, or whatever. Which wins? It's a judgment call and I can see many people shrugging and sticking with iTMS.
or for the day when Apple threatens to switch off their licencing servers
As long as the service is profitable -- and it's doing very well -- that won't happen.
Thankfully, Requiem is available to strip Apple's FairPlay DRM, for those who care to look for it.
Ah, right, there's that option as well.
Bottom line: Apple's DRM is too leaky to be really annoying to people, other than those who stand on principle (like me).
Re:Attacking the short poll in the tent (Score:2, Insightful)
But why begin by attacking apple? go after the long poll in the tent.
As far a popularity is concerned, Apple -is- the long pole in the tent.
itunes may be the best compromise right now (Score:5, Insightful)
Acknowledging DRM is bad to the core, there are just economical and business factors that can't be overcome in a single step from DRM to DRM-free. iTunes is doing a good job bridging the gap, providing a fair comparison between tracks that are protected and tracks that are not. It's also getting around or minimizing MOST of the problems that DRM causes. iTunes right now is the most consumer-friendly form of DRM available.
It's unreasonable to assume in any debate that the other side is just going to toss up its arms and say I GIVE UP YOU WIN and concede the world. That's what this "defectivebydesign" group is trying to achieve, and it's never going to work that way.
iTunes is probably the best thing going for the anti-drm movement right now, and that I mean even above non-drm music. It's easing the music industry into free music at a pace it's willing to go. It's something that the consumer can tolerate, and something the industry can tolerate. Right now, drm-free isn't something the industry can tolerate, and drm-lockdown isn't something consumers will tolerate.
The consumers will never accept lockdown, but the industry eventually should accept fredom of format. Just need to give it some time in the middle with things like iTunes to make them warm up to it.
Re:Attacking the short poll in the tent (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Well, it has with me (Score:5, Insightful)
I still have my AppleTV, but it didn't take long to exceed its capacity. So I started storing my television shows on my computer. A couple of computers (and iPods, for that matter) later, I've moved my stuff around so much and dropped and reauthorized stuff to the point where the shows I bought when I first got my AppleTV are, for all practical purposes, gone forever unless I want to re-buy them.
How does this happen? I thought that content purchased from the iTMS were tied to your account, which you can pretty much authorize to 5 computers at a time. You can deauth at any point, either from the computer itself, or from their website.
Unless you've switched accounts, I don't see how your content would be unplayable.
Re:No (Score:2, Insightful)
As for MLK, Jr., near the end of the civil rights movement he had a lot of internal politics about whether the marchings and speeches were having any effect at all. More radical groups like the BPP were growing exponentially. Black people were disenfranchised and it looked like the marches weren't working. At the same time the Vietnam War was underway and the US military was drafting young black men to fight there wars but were unwilling to extend the same freedoms to there own people. His speeches were getting more radical, but still peaceful. Finally, while his work in the civil rights certainly contributed greatly to it's success. I believe it was his death that finally got Lyndon B. Johnson to sign the act. It's unfortunate, but his martyrdom was the final sacrifice that got us here today.
While MLK was the carrot, BPP definitely was the stick. They believed in armed revolution if they didn't get what they want. After the collapse of Bautista in Cuba the government certainly didn't want that in their back yard.
Re:Sorry... (Score:5, Insightful)
Well if all DRM was of the very mild variety I wouldn't have any problems with it.
Mild DRM such as watermarking and such which doesn't actually reduce the functionality of the product can help deter most who would casually infringe and if handled properly could build a reputation that the industry has ways of figuring out who really bought what (even if they have to tell us in the fine print that the drm is there and yes we all know it can be removed). However that isn't enough for many in the industry so they go for strong drm, drm that doesn't seek to build a reputation but rather tries to force compliance and be as its proponents claim unbreakable; even though it is every bit as bi-passable as its weaker counterpart to those who would criminally break copyright laws.
It all boils down to the enforcement and practice of copyright laws has become unjust because non-governmental agencies like the RIAA have taken upon themselves governmental powers and the law has been stretched to cover such extreme lengths of time.
Don't rage against the concept of copyright, it is sound. Rage against its abuse in the law and commercial enterprise.
I say we need to get to something like 25 years from publishing date with 25 years additional after registration(must be completed before the first 25 expires w/no exceptions) and the registration process should involve submitting a copy to a national or state copyright library and should be payed for by the holder(the first 25 are free).
Re:How is it "hobbled"? (Score:2, Insightful)
Can I throw it on my Linux based laptop and listen to it on the road? Can I stream it to my XBMC like any other audio file?
Yes you can, so what's the problem? How many times does it need to be pointed out that there's a pretty feckin simple way around the Fairplay DRM (if you even buy the DRM tracks from the standard iTMS).
Re:Their fault? (Score:4, Insightful)
You could show your "appreciation" for the DRM'd music by buying something from the iTunes Plus store...
Which cost more, I would buy from iTunes but amazon is cheaper for drm free music.
Since when is 99 cents more than 99 cents?
Re:Uphill battle (Score:3, Insightful)
5 different computers that run iTunes. So any Linux boxes, XBMC, cell phones, etc, are out of the question.
iPhones are cell phones and have no limitation on the number of devices that are authorized.
Assuming you own an ipod. To those of us who prefer another device, that's worthless.
If you don't own an iPod, you aren't buying music on iTunes.
3. When de-authorize / re-authorize computers as needed. Just another annoying needless hassle.
Nonsense. It's one button click and an Internet connection that takes less than five seconds to accomplish. This is something you'd be expected to need to do every couple of years at most--hardly "another annoying needless hassle".
You have a very strange definition of loose. Every one of those 4 points by itself would be a deal breaker for me. All together, it's amazing anyone stands for it, let alone defends it.
And the rest of us just look at you like you are a hyper-sensitive ideologue that likes to go on about hypothetical problems that will never effect most of us.
Re:I have (Score:2, Insightful)
So... since Apple can't renegotiate the terms of their existing contracts with the labels by themselves, for what reasons do you think the labels HAVEN'T renegotiated those contracts to sell DRM-free tracks on iTunes?
Re:Attacking the short poll in the tent (Score:3, Insightful)
That last part is exactly the point. This:
> the DRM doesn't interfere with my particular use
> of the product.
but it may only be a temporary reality. I've bought a few albums from iTunes, and all is fine as I own an iPod (well, two...but anyway...)
When I replaced my PowerBook with an iMac though, I ran into my first interesting situation. I now have two of a limit of five authorized computers playing my music.
Now, I still have my PowerBook so I can spark it up to deauthorize the computer if I want too, but that's still annoying. In 12 - 15 years, I have a real problem on my hands...
to add to this, I can't seem to find a way to deauthorize a computer remotely. What if I'd given my PowerBook to someone prior to doing this? I just hit one of my DRM limits through ignorance with no wrong doing.
Most users, I'd suggest, are unaware of this limitation at the moment and arguably they *should* be aware of it, but still...blurg...customers getting hosed through ignorance is always unpleasant.
Re:Uphill battle (Score:3, Insightful)
First, you seriously can't use this arguement: "what if there's no internet connection". Simple, find one and authorize your computer. It takes 5 seconds. If you are buying songs on iTunes, you have an Internet connection.
Second, if you want to be able to play your music anywhere you want, go buy formats that allow that. I like to play my music pretty much everywhere I want too, and since I use OSX, iPods and iPhones, I have that ability. If I didn't, I wouldn't use the iTunes store. Pretty simple, actaully. I don't believe I have any right, other than to spend my money elsewhere.
Re:Uphill battle (Score:3, Insightful)
sometimes there's just not one. I don't know where you live that everyone has internet.
Your point is ridiculous. You need an Internet connection for things far more important to getting your new computer running than authorizing an iTunes account.
It's not like you are cruising along listening to tunes with no Internet connection and you are suddenly prompted to connect to the Internet to verify your account. It doesn't work that way.
I'm not so sure we are in as much agreement as you think. Basically I'm saying "take it or leave it" and you are yelling (rather loudly) "LEAVE IT BECAUSE IT IS EVIL EVEN IF YOU DON'T THINK IT AFFECTS YOU!!!".
Re:Sorry... (Score:3, Insightful)
By your reckoning, you are 'dumb' to keep eating mcdonalds
Good analogy. Keep eating at McDonalds, and the cheap 'food' will eventually be expensive because you will pay with your health. Keep buying DRM'd music, and you will eventually pay with vendor lock-in.
Re:I have (Score:3, Insightful)
This has been answered in other posts above. Simply, the answer is that the RIAA re-negotiated with Amazon and some other sites the selling of DRM-free music in order to give them an edge at competing with iTMS. This is because they feel, and rightly so, that Apple may have too much power in the market, and they fear losing control.
-dZ.