[h2o-discuss] Re: SDMI

[j proctor <jproctor@oit.umass.edu>]

> Leonardo Chiariglione: [Recording industry companies] have the problem
> that content can be infinitely replicated and therefore content loses
> its value. [They] want to create content that will retain its value.
> Overcoming this obstacle has been a great thing.
> 
> The other obstacle was a screening technology. Companies have all this
> content they want to protect -- even content that that's already been
> released -- particularly in compact disc format.

Didn't we just go through this with DIVX?  It is disappointing (although
not particularly surprising) that the music industry didn't bother to
learn from someone else's mistake.  Without actually saying it outright,
it seems they're expecting either that people will start paying attention
to licensing agreements (I'll believe *that* when I see it) or that there
will be worldwide legislation against hardware or software to circumvent
whatever "protection" SDMI provides.

And all of this is because the copies don't degrade.  The music has less
"value" to them because it's recorded and distributed at a higher quality
than was historically available.  Does anyone else think that sounds wrong
somehow?  Better recordings are worth less?  They'll get no ROI if people
are allowed to hear something more than once (or three times, or for
longer than a week, or whatever)?  If it's that much of an issue for them,
maybe they should just go back to 8-track and reel-to-reel tapes.

Pandora's box is already open.  Music companies need to think about other
marketing models, rather than how to restrict consumers for fun and
profit.  RealAudio streams are often opened with advertisements.  Movies
and television shows are making excellent use of product tie-ins these
days.  And, as a baseline, some people will always be willing pay for
music they enjoy because it's clear to them that they won't get any more
if the band and the record company can't pay their bills.  I can imagine
paying a few bucks to go to a theatre to watch and hear a "live" concert
relayed via satellite, with giant screen and much better sound system than
I can afford to install in my apartment. 

So, I'll ask a couple direct questions to the list.  First, does anyone
else agree that the overall value of a recording, that is, its potential
to generate positive cash flow, may in fact be independent of how many
copies of it exist or how much they cost?  And if we do agree, what can we
do to try to convince the music industry that they're wasting time and
money by trying to modify the old methods that worked for atoms so that
they might be relevant to bits?


j

P.S.  Yes, I would actually buy a Seiji Ozawa action figure.