Taking the rap for DRM
Summary: DRM remains a contentious and troublesome part of the new digital age. Could it inspire its own art forms?
You bought your tracks on Napster? Here's a fact that'll catchya: they changed the code, made things old, left their old customers freezin' in the cold
Microsoft says it plays for sure, but the only thing for sure is yo' gonna pay more. When yo' buy your new Zune yo' gotta re-buy all yo' tunes, dance to the beat of the money-grabbing goons
They've seen ya comin', in thru the door, gotta pony up some more. Every year. Ya know the score. Singles, LPs, cassettes, CDs, you've bought it all times four, ain't nearly enough by the law that they enforce
ATRAC, AAC, WMA, with all that DRM they can play the trick again, it's yo' that they're managin' and yo' don't mean a thing
Each new toy is locked down tight, each make yo' pocket light, each burn away yo' rights. Wanna give yo' stuff away? It's infected with decay, it'll last for just three plays, be dead by Saturday
The only right yo' music has is to remain silent, try and change that and the lawyers become violent, don' matter what ya want, that's not in the equation, and the boys who make the rules ain't open to persuasion
Don't buy that bridge, don't play that game, don't give 'em nothing for nothing in exchange. Buy your music on CD, make your own MP3s, keep it open for all time. Fair use is not a crime. Yo.
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Talkback
As far as I'm concerned, the law should be there to codify what most people would call common sense; when you have a law that most people feel entitled to routinely ignore, something's badly wrong.
Oh, one last thing. Encouraging people to break the law is also a crime, isn't it? I think I can hear the sirens now... :)
I download the music i want to listen to, if i like it i keep it and listen to it, i will then, when i see it in the shop purchase the CD and store it leaving the MP3s on my machine.
If i listen to the album and dont like it it gets deleted. That way no one is out of pocket and everyone wins.