Ok, so let me ask all of you people out there arguing for Apple's use of DRM and against people circumventing it one thing. Why can I do whatever I want with music I pay for on CD, but not with music I pay for online? If I go to a record store and buy a CD, I can easily rip the music to my computer and put it on ANY audio device I want. So why can I not do this with music I buy online? If anyone says it's because of piracy and illegal sharing, it is just as easy to do with music from CDs, so don't even start with that argument. It is completely hypocritical on the music industry's part, and it is really sad how poorly they are handling change. Basically, most fans of music WANT to do the right and honest thing by supporting artists and paying for music, but they demand a fair price (the guy with the $10 CD theory is right on) and the freedom to enjoy their music any way they want. All of these pointless attempts at restrictions probably creates an atmosphere MORE conducive to piracy than if they just offered DRM-free music to everyone online AND lowered CD prices so that most CDs were $10. That way, people would not feel they were being cheated in any way, and would feel they were getting what they were paying for, and thus not feel the need to resort to piracy.
And just for you hardcore nuts on the other side, of course there will still be some people who want to pirate music and not pay, but guess what? It will be a tiny minority, and you can NEVER get rid of those people completely no matter what you do, so why fight an impossible battle that alienates the average consumer?
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Ok, so let me ask all of you people out there arguing for Apple's use of DRM and against people circumventing it one thing. Why can I do whatever I want with music I pay for on CD, but not with music I pay for online? If I go to a record store and buy a CD, I can easily rip the music to my computer and put it on ANY audio device I want. So why can I not do this with music I buy online? If anyone says it's because of piracy and illegal sharing, it is just as easy to do with music from CDs, so don't even start with that argument. It is completely hypocritical on the music industry's part, and it is really sad how poorly they are handling change. Basically, most fans of music WANT to do the right and honest thing by supporting artists and paying for music, but they demand a fair price (the guy with the $10 CD theory is right on) and the freedom to enjoy their music any way they want. All of these pointless attempts at restrictions probably creates an atmosphere MORE conducive to piracy than if they just offered DRM-free music to everyone online AND lowered CD prices so that most CDs were $10. That way, people would not feel they were being cheated in any way, and would feel they were getting what they were paying for, and thus not feel the need to resort to piracy.
And just for you hardcore nuts on the other side, of course there will still be some people who want to pirate music and not pay, but guess what? It will be a tiny minority, and you can NEVER get rid of those people completely no matter what you do, so why fight an impossible battle that alienates the average consumer?