MESSAGE
| DATE | 2008-04-23 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
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| SUBJECT | Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] DRM is Theft ~~~still
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Interview: Microsoft's Rob Bennett defends DRM decision Posted by Greg
Sandoval | 13 comments
Rob Bennett knew people were going to be angry.
Bennett is the Microsoft executive who notified former customers of the
now defunct MSN Music service on Tuesday that the company would no longer
issue DRM keys for their songs after August 31. This means that, while
former customers can listen to their music on authorized computers for
as long as the hardware lasts, they won't be able to transfer songs to a
new PC after that deadline. "Had we had the ability to deliver DRM-free
tracks at the time, we absolutely would have done that. We talked to
the labels at the time about that." --Rob Bennett, Microsoft executive
In an interview with CNET News.com, Bennett said that continuing to
support the DRM keys was impractical, that the issue only affects a
"small number" of people and that focusing exclusively on Zune was the
best way to go. He also noted that it wasn't Microsoft's decision to
wrap music into digital rights management.
The reason for shutting down the DRM-licensing servers was "every time
there is an OS upgrade, the DRM equation gets complex very quickly,"
said Bennett, general manager of entertainment, video, and sports
for MSN. "Every time, you saw support issues. People would call in
because they couldn't download licenses. We had to write new code,
new configurations each time...We really believe that, going forward,
the best thing to do is focus exclusively on Zune."
Microsoft shut down MSN Music in November 2006, following a failed
effort to turn the site into a legitimate iTunes challenger. Redmond
threw its resources behind the Zune digital music player and its music
store, Marketplace.
For the past 18 months, Microsoft has continued to enable former customers
of MSN Music to move their song libraries to new computers. Discontinuing
that service has been widely criticized. Critics have long said that
DRM was a means to control legally purchased music at the expense of
consumers. To them, the current situation with MSN proves it.
Bennett defended Microsoft. He said the company never wanted DRM on
its songs.
"Had we had the ability to deliver DRM-free tracks at the time,
we absolutely would have done that," Bennett said. "We talked to the
labels at the time about that. As a company, we have continued to push
for this. Zune has a subset in their catalog of DRM-free MP3s. Now, the
industry is making progress. The labels are understanding the downside
of DRM when its used the way they wanted to use it, they end up punishing
the users who bought music legally more than those who want to circumvent
the system."
Bennett added that Microsoft believes in protecting intellectual
property, but the company also wants people to enjoy their media without
unreasonable restrictions.
"No one ever foresaw being in this situation," Bennett said. "It's not
something we like to do. We want to make it easy and as painless for
our customers as possible. We really feel, in the long term, what's best
for people who want to buy music from Microsoft is to move to Zune."
Bennett said that former MSN Music customers can back up their songs
by burning them to CDs. But what about the loss of sound quality should
they decide to rerip the music?
"We (delivered) music at 160 kbps," Bennett said. "In my personal
(experience), you're not going to lose that much fidelity."
--
http://www.mrbrklyn.com - Interesting Stuff
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://fairuse.nylxs.com DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
"Yeah - I write Free Software...so SUE ME"
"The tremendous problem we face is that we are becoming sharecroppers to our own cultural heritage -- we need the ability to participate in our own society."
"> I'm an engineer. I choose the best tool for the job, politics be damned.<
You must be a stupid engineer then, because politcs and technology have been attached at the hip since the 1st dynasty in Ancient Egypt. I guess you missed that one."
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