[Fsfe-ie] Pro-DRM letter in today's FT

[Ben North]

[http://news.ft.com/cms/s/2dbad542-6d11-11da-90c2-0000779e2340.html]

>From Mr John Kennedy.

Sir, Music creators, consumers and entrepreneurs with a genuine interest in
digital music will do well to disregard Cory Doctorow's views on digital rights
management ("Vaudeville offers a music lesson for Sony BMG", December 12).

DRM is essential for making music available legally online and is key to any
industry dealing in intellectual property. It allows consumers to choose
between a variety of different ways to buy music online - be it a download, a
subscription or a song for rent.

It tailors the price of the music to the consumer's use of it. It also ensures
that royalties are channelled correctly to each of the different rights owners
involved in the sale of a music track.

DRM has largely been a success to date. It has been crucial to the development
of hundreds of new digital services in the past two years, all offering fans
new, flexible ways of enjoying music.

When consumers have problems playing their music on different players, that is
nothing to do with DRM but rather with decisions made by technology companies
to invest in proprietary devices and services that are not mutually
compatible.

The music industry supports interoperability as much as the consumer, but that
is a totally separate discussion from the value of DRM.

John Kennedy,

Chairman and Chief Executive,

IFPI

London W1B 5RE

(International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, representing the
recording industry worldwide)



[The Cory Doctorow article is only available online in full to
subscribers.]