Why I’m not buying from iTunes
(or any other music store) anymore. Or at least, having a hard time doing so when I can’t pirate the song or get a used CD.
As I am working on my directed study, honors senior thesis project, and taking Studies in Digital Culture, the issue of media control is ever present. I can no longer bring myself to purchase music from any source that uses Digital Rights Management or DRM. The media industry is eroding away at copyright’s original intent. By buying media with DRM, we are accepting something far greater than what we realize: an elimination of our ability to creatively build upon the creativity of others.
DRM manages the rights of the record industry, not the fair use rights protected by the Supreme Court. If you wanted to use a song purchased from an online music store for something protected by fair use, you can’t. Current DRM schemes only allow burning a CD, transferring to a portable music device, and listening on a few computers. There is no use of the music outside iTunes, Quicktime, or iLife, and even then it’s limited.
Worse, none of the DRM schemes ever expire. If you still have the file in 95 years when the music’s copyright expires, there is no self-destruct mechanism in the DRM to give you the ability to do anything you want with the music.
DRM was developed because an industry saw its customers as The Enemy. I would willingly pay $.99 to buy a song instead of using a P-2-P application. But I cannot currently buy the song without also buying DRM. DRM is like the steroids in milk. I’m not going to not buy milk, but I don’t like that there are steroids in it.
The government is doing little about this issue because the media industry is every political wallet. This sucks sooo much.
Music: A Little Less Conversation (JXL Radio Edit Remix) by Elvis Presley & JXL
Posted on Monday, February 20th, 2006 at 14:14.