Saturday evening, couch potato. On TV I saw an ad from Dutch On demand website Veamer.nl. It first checks my operating system, Ai you got a Mac (Yeas I believe Mac is much better then Windows) and therefore it doesn't work with our service. Dejavu right there. When I started in the music industry with Independent IP (IIP) and started to figure how my idea of FUGA would fit this space one of the things out there was DRM (Digital Rights Management). Microsoft was the biggest in this field and many businesses started around this 'opportunity'. I asked myself if IIP should take a look at this. As a music fan I hated DRM, it did not work with my choice of hardware configuration (Mac, iPod etc.), licenses expired and user experience getting access was terrible. When looking at a new business you need to take it all in consideration, so yes I thought of this strange piece of technology and took it serious for a sunny afternoon. To make a long story short: DRM was not going to be accepted by consumers! and soon in the process also not accepted by artists. (Remember that artist that posted the hack code for his DRM CD by Sony on his website?)
The reasons where simple:
All repertoire was already available for free on illegal websites, paying for something or getting something for free that later disappears is weird and people are not always stupid when it concerns consumer behavior. Many other reasons apply.
Apple came with DRM iTunes, but the total experience and seamless integration with the iPod made DRM not the top priority.
So I go to Veamer.nl and experience that strange feeling. Especially now we are moving to film with FUGA. I have heard the reason used by people defending DRM in film. But think they are all BS and based on fear of the unknown. The exact reasons as in music apply in film. So why does the film industry not learn from the music industry? I think this is what is going on:
Microsoft and the others that offer DRM solutions to an industry are all big companies, with big lobby/sales forces. They are perceived as knowledgeable about this space and are telling people in the film industry what to do. So its all a numbers game. In the land of the blind, the giant with the one eye is the king. The good news is, that from a timing pov things look a lot more insightful.
Dear people and companies in the film industry,
You are in the business of making art. Beautiful, inspiring, entertaining funny, scary, wicked works that are going to be loved by your audience. Anything you do to frustrate that experience, will drive your audience to illegal download sites, torrents, streaming sites etc. What ever your consultants tell you about DRM, what ever you want to believe DRM is going to bring your business, Think again! Ask your kids or grand kids how they listen to their music and look at their video/film. Then take the time to observe how they really do it ;-) The thing with current technological developments is that it all goes faster. This means you should be faster to keep up. Rethink your supply chain and release strategies. When you finish a movie there are no boundaries any more. The second you make it available, its available to the world. You should dictate and dominate that process by letting go of the way you did things in the past. That all made sense at the time it got to be, but because of the internet and technologies using the internet to connect, today things are different. The reason people go to the cinema is still the same as when it started so it makes sense to release in cinemas, but it doesn't make sense not to make it available at the same time on all the other platforms. If you don't do it, some Russian, Belgium or English smart ass will film inside the cinema and puts it on line after the showing, ruining a lot of your audience to be. Not so much the cinema audience, that's a night out, but the audience online and DVD. If my friend tells me she went to the cinema and loved that movie and I dont have time or what ever to go to the cinema, I want to watch the movie online or on DVD. So the minute I have a craving, I have to wait for months before I get satisfaction. I think this is the wrong approach. IMHO ;-) When it becomes available it doesn't play on my Mac or any other device not supporting MS DRM (I believe that is a lot of devices). I will go to Watch movies online and get what I want. This time I don't feel guilty (as I did with getting music for free) because I think its pretty stupid to make the same mistake twice. Even being in an other industry isn't an excuse, you all know what happened with music. Now iTunes is DRM free and all my music can live on all my devices now and future devices I have become a loyal user and customer. I do want to pay for my content and honer the artists that made all the great music and films and so forth but have no compassion for stupid lawyers, MS salesmen and women, bean counters and other idiots that just want my money and have no compassion with me. I think my take on this might be a bit loud, but I think its shared with many people out there. They don't think of it that much and will just follow the possibilities that are out there. Unless governments world wide will enforce copy right infringements from now on any DRM strategy will just stop you from making money on the internet. Looking at the customer satisfaction for FUGA in music, I think I know what we will do for Film ;-)
Have a nice day!
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