Down with DRM

Today is international Day Against DRM. If you're not sure what DRM is, follow the link. There's too much apathy surrounding digital rights - and far too many clueless politicians are allowing themselves to be lobbied into position by large corporations with vested interests.

"So what," you say, "so I can only listen to my iTunes how Apple lets me, big whoop - 'it prevents piracy'." I say letting The Man decide and then enforce exactly how artists can distribute and how I can appreciate their rock just doesn't roll.

It prevents piracy, true, but it also precludes a host of legitimate uses that goes well above and beyond the copyright restrictions it aims to uphold. Copyright is a rather flexible thing - copyright law grants a "fair use" license to students of the media content, or satirists for example - try explaining that to a DRM algorithm. Want to sell the records you don't like to buy new ones you do? Totally permitted under copyright (it's called "first sale"), not recognized by DRM. It fails completely to recognise next-generation copyright schemes such as Creative Commons.

Also, wise up people. You, the one who bought music on iTunes there - fancy buying a not-an-iPod any time soon? No? Your music will only play on Apple devices? So your next shiny mp3 player will be? Apple. The one after that? Right. This is called "vendor lock in". The reason everyone from Microsoft to our dear Nokia has tried to start a music store in recent years is they see Apple's DRM driven lock in and they can't believe they missed their chance.

You like mashups? I sure do. Mashups have been one of the revelations of the last few years - that dumb "users" could take media, and cut and paste it together to a professional standard to make something more than the sum of its parts was something of a shock to the media vendors. Sadly, not permitted under DRM schemes.

Finally, you know that box of records you found in your parents attic - the ones they bought before they were "Mom" and "Dad"? They were strange and mysterious, and when the popped and crackled to life you discovered a whole world of music you didn't know existed. Forget that with DRM schemes. Your children will not be able to inherit the digital equivalent of your dusty vinyls, because the license you purchased it under doesn't include them, or their devices. Of all the reasons to oppose DRM, that's the one I find the most sad and compelling.