Sony Exec: “More Rights for You…New System of DRM”

During, Siggraph, a computer graphics industry conference taking place this week in Boston, MA, Sony excutives were repeatedly questioned about DRM (digital rights management).

Opening up the panel to an open-mic session, attendees didn’t pull any punches in expressing their views about some of Sony’s more controversial rootkit and DRM technologies.

In response to angry questions from the audience regarding Sony’s use of rootkit anti-pirating software, Mitch Singer, executive vice president of the digital policy group at Sony Pictures Entertainment, responded with “I am not here to talk about rootkit. Symantec had been using it before Sony BMG, and there was not this outcry,” So much for any closure there.

Yet, in the area of DRM, some headway in dialogue was made between panelists and attendees.

Singer made the point that material must be protected (read profitable) and that some form of DRM is required to ensure that copyrights are respected. He notes, “I think fair play protected Steve Jobs’ ability to protect his hardware so that he could sell it for a lot more money. To allow consumers to have choice to listen, buy or (participate in) subscription models–there is no way around it unless you have a new system of DRM.” The last form of Sony’s DRm being utterly draconian, he points out that something is needed in it’s place.

In his opening remarks in the panel titled “Digital Rights, Digital Restrictions,” he starts off with an amazing bit of insight that is often lacking amogst many of the bright minds in the movie and recording industries. Most often we hear an incessant mantra of “no, no, no” when it comes to accepting and adapting to the changing face of media distribution. This followed by the proverbial “sue, sue, sue.” Well Singer makes has an apparent breakthrough moment in my opinion.

Singer remarks:

“The music industry was successful in shutting down Napster and MP3.com, but you have to ask yourself: Wouldn’t they (record companies) have been better off if they had done deals with them? We (the film industry) are not smarter than the music industry; there but for the grace of bandwidth go us.”

Hmm. Is that at last an entertainment executive who understands that he must adapt and embrace the new and emerging forms of media distribution? It could very well be.

According to Cnet news he then goes on to repeatedly “…emphasize that Sony plans to work with the changing dynamic of content and consumers as technology makes content transfer easier.”

Another interesting point that Singer makes is the case for interoperability for content, that movies and music can be played on a variety of players and devices rather than just an iPod, which is often the case.

He notes:

“The problem with DRM now is that we have no interoperability. When iTunes consumers realize that they just spent all this money and then a new gadget comes out from Sony or Microsoft or Samsung…I think there is going to be a revolt when they realize they will not be able to transfer that content to that device. Protect content, but make it transferable.”

That completely sums up my continued boycott of getting one of those darn iPods. I don’t like the fact that Steve Jobs always seems to have his invisible hand in my music, my player, and my PC. If I pay for a product at what point does it become mine to do with as I please? It ought to be reffered to as leasing rather than purchasing in my opinion as you never have total control over the content you purchase from iTunes.

Singer goes on to make some more startling revelations, in partcular that “every year, millions of analog consumers die and millions of digital consumers come into the marketplace, and we have to deal with them.”

Sounds rational right? Well, he goes on to seemingly muddle his line of reasoning by then saying that that “Sony’s aim is to make content convenient and reasonably priced and reasonably restricted enough to prevent general working consumers from going to other channels.”

Hmm, he started off so good yet ended up so badly.

“Restricted enough to prevent general working consumers from going to other channels?” What precisely does that mean. Restricted just enough so that they won’t wind up on P2P sites? Or restricted enough so that interoperability will again be an issue like the iPod? We already know about betamax and, of course watch and wait to see what will happen with the new Blu-ray. Could this be another technology fiasco?

It’s interesting that he returns to the usual pattern of entertainemnt industry aloofness and arrogance after a seemingly short period of time speaking, especially after being so refreshingly forward thinking and realistic in the earlier portion of his discussion with the audience.

I guess once again, despite the hope for a permanent breakthrough on the realities of modern media distribution, the entertainment industry relegates itself to the same business model and pattern of thinking. Maybe all those millions of new “digital consumers” that are added annually will help shake things up as they realize what DRM may mean for their new high-tech “record player.”

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