DRM - It's bad! No, It's good!
Steve Jobs started the most recent DRM volley with his 'Thoughts on Music' letter. Fred Amoroso, CEO of Macrovision, one of the leading creators of DRM for media, returned the serve with his 'To Steve Jobs and the Digital Entertainment Industry'. However, it may be a bit hard for someone who's not closely following the DRM debate to understand it all. Thankfully, the Daring Fireball is offering a reader's guide to the debate. First there's the 'Reading Between the Lines of Steve Job's "Thoughts on Music"'. which is a thoughtful dissection of Steve's letter and it's likely impact on the media industry. Then there's Translation From PR-Speak to English of Selected Portions of Macrovision CEO Fred Amoroso’s Response to Steve Jobs’s ‘Thoughts on Music’. which provides a helpful translation for the PR verbiage in the Macrovision letter. Some examples:
Macrovision: I believe that most piracy occurs because the technology available
today has not yet been widely deployed to make DRM-protected
legitimate content as easily accessible and convenient as
unprotected illegitimate content is to consumers
Translation: I have, to date, succeeded in convincing the entertainment industry that DRM can stop piracy.
Macrovision: Well maintained and reasonably implemented DRM will increase the
electronic distribution of content, not decrease it.
Translation: I am high as a kite.
Macrovision: We offer to assist Apple in the issues and problems with DRM that
you state in your letter. Should you desire, we would also assume
responsibility for FairPlay as a part of our evolving DRM offering
and enable it to interoperate across other DRMs, thus increasing
consumer choice and driving commonality across devices
Translation: I realize Apple is never going to work with Macrovision, so I have
decided to insult you and your company by insinuating that your
“Thoughts on Music” open letter was an expression of frustration at
technical hurdles Apple just can’t figure out on their own.
Thanks to Doug for the tip.