waffle

Google kills purchased Google Video scheme and throws all purchased videos to the wind. For everyone. Paul Thurrott nails it: “This is, of course, the nightmare of DRM come to life. Even content that you “purchase” (i.e. not rented content) isn’t actually owned by you and it can be taken away.”

You get store credit (Google Checkout), but it’s still unbelievably crappy. You can’t get your ware back.

Paul Thurrott of course is a champion of the subscription model. What happens when you lose DRM on purchased music? You keep your music. What happens when you lose DRM on subscriptions? You keep your music.

The theory of a flat rate for unlimited downloads is good. But it’s just a good theory, and it’s cracked by the fact that there’s no perfect DRM: if there was a DRM that every device supported, that had terms that meant the customer could do everything she is entitled to thanks to fair use and that had a solid backer behind it that wouldn’t ever drop support for it, yes, it’d work. But it won’t work, because there’s no such thing.

As soon as “every device” supports it, by the nature of business either the backer will start pressuring the market and abusing the monopoly, or a new actor will appear to challenge the monopoly, and the DRM will no longer work on “every device”. Making an “open” DRM won’t work either – it’s like locking people into jail cells fit with a key anyone, including the imprisoned, can create.

And the current DRMs (that are neither universal nor open) are simply keys locking in innocent people. The people who want to sell counterfeit CDs will sell counterfeit CDs, and the people who’re just trying to use their stuff are inconvenienced. The epitome of this is that you’ll be treated to a one minute spot about how you shouldn’t “steal” movies on most legitimately acquired DVDs, and that that same video accusing you of doing something you clearly didn’t will not be there on the, uh, “stolen” DVD.

For how many minutes would people stand it if the police knocked on everyone’s door saying: “Hey, you! Stop stealing stuff! Yes, we know you’re not a thief, but we can’t tell the thieves so we’re telling you instead! And if you see a thief, could you tell him? Thanks.”?

It’s like the old stereotype of the bearded hippie telling the establishment to “stop living in the past, man”. Except now, the hippie is the majority of the customers. A number that’s actually growing as the various industry associations try to figure out how to put them away in jail without losing sales. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle anymore. Something’s got to give.

The simple answer, the way out of all this bullshit, is to drop DRM altogether.