Music Industry Develops Centralized File-Sharing System 241
pearljam145 writes "A new file-sharing standard designed to distribute copyrighted music and movies legitimately has been developed by a technology consortium. The system could deliver any content format to any computer, and users might even earn rewards points for sharing the files. Using the new standard, computer users could share small files containing information about music, video or other data, but not the content itself. The Content Reference Forum (CRF), founded by Universal Music Group backed by technology companies including Microsoft, is hoping the sharing file standard will be adopted by technology companies and incorporated into software music players."
Sounds more like a banner exchange. (Score:4, Interesting)
So now I can send you a small file that will allow you to get an album or movie after you pay for it. Exactly how is this different from me linking you to say amazon with my referer number?
Sure if you can get a lot of people to take note of your recommendations you could make some money perhaps but this type of stuff has existed for years.
Oh well. NEXT
Re:The point is? (Score:3, Interesting)
I dunno... (Score:5, Interesting)
It's way too late for these industries to be asking us to trust them at all. For the bulk of us, I'm sure that trust is gone for good.
This won't really do much to protect content. I think it'll be just like all other protection schemes -- subject to transcoding into a format that can be used (and shared) by anything.
Pyramaid marketing scheme here (Score:5, Interesting)
If they were being honest about they could just market to the masses with commercials and have honest downloads like itunes or the like. Instead they are trying to get the masses to go astroturfing on their behalf. Expose this for the lie that it is.
Sick and tired (Score:2, Interesting)
Possibly a step in the right direction. (Score:2, Interesting)
It won't work (Score:3, Interesting)
Advertising (Score:5, Interesting)
What is file sharing, after all? (Score:3, Interesting)
On the other hand, what the Music Industry is offering, is a way to tell people what music is good, but not a way to actually show them. It's a form of becoming a mini-repository for links to available music... Music that the person thought was good enough to buy. In other words, popular music. While that idea is interesting and has at least some merit, why one would actually host such a thing on their personal machine and why other people would push for that standard is beyond me. Perhaps the idea was that someone should be able to share a file purchased from iTunes, and that other people in listening to a 30 second preview could decide if it was worth buying. But those people would necessarily already be on a file network where real files are shared. Why not just have a central repository... a great mall for music?
Ah well. A small group of programmers somewhere got a job doing this, and the RIAA is picking up the bill. I suppose worse things have happened.
Re:The actual specification... (Score:3, Interesting)
www.freedb.org (Score:4, Interesting)
http://www.freedb.org/freedb_aware_apps.php - seems to be well supported aswell.
In an Alternate Reality (Score:4, Interesting)
Vivendi Universal today was among the host of media companies with record company subsidiaries reporting record profits for the third quarter. Jean-Marie Messier, CEO of Vivendi, attributed the stellar quarter to the company's partnership with the Napster Inc. Napster, a software program used to share and download music, started out as a way to pirate music, but turned legitimate in December 2000 with a broad licensing agreement between each of the five major record labels. Since that time, Napster has made agreements with 6 of the 7 largest US ISPs and OEM deals with computer manufactuers Hewlett Packard and Dell Computer to either install or give users the right to download music from the network. In the case of AOL and Earthlink subscribers, each customer pays an additional $10 a month to share and download from the network. In addition, deals with most of the top indie record labels have followed since 2000 giving Napster users the right to share and download those record label files from the Napster network.
"While we ceratinly were anxious at the beginning of the Napster "experiment", it has truly taken off. It is our hope that even more users will join the network, we are already seeing wonderful penetration in Europe." This past spring, Napster opened its gates to European users in one of the biggest product launches in history. "The network almost doubled the day we opened up to Europe. We are now seeing concurrent usage approaching over 500,000 users with nearly 100 Terabytes of files being shared on the network." explained chief technology officer Shawn Fanning. "With our improved distribution system, we hope to push on into Asia sometime in the 2nd quarter of 2004 once we reach deals with many of the labels there."
The success of the music industry stands in dark contrast to the rest of the economy which grew at an annualized rate of 1.2% this quarter while revenue among the five largest record labels was up 11% from last year. When questioned about Napster Messier replied "Napster has truly been an innovative product and has rewarded Vivendi shareholders and most other media company shareholders immensely."
"Music file sharing" is technically stupid (Score:3, Interesting)
Instead, horrendously inefficient "file sharing" systems are chewing up vast amounts of bandwidth.
It might pay for some Internet or computer company to buy out the music industry, just to get the overhead down. The entire music industry is considerably smaller than Compaq was, after all. At one point, Red Hat had a much bigger market cap than the entire music industry.
Re:Less Advertising - More Spamming Re:Advertiseme (Score:2, Interesting)
I don't have credit cards with "rewards" systems and I don't shop in stores with "rewards" systems. I want a good deal without having to get permission to participate in advance.
If that is the only way to get music in the future, I'll hum.
Re:Advertisement Sharing (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:clearly out of touch (Score:2, Interesting)
So you don't have to register for "that crap", the jist of the article is this: The University of Rochester is doing a pilot study focusing on "legitimate music downloading services for implementation as early as next semester." However, that would eventually lead to tying in a flat fee that is automatically put into a student's tuition costs even if they do not download music.
According to Provost Charles Phelps, a representative from the Joint Committee of the Higher Education and Entertainment Communities: "What happens in the future will depend on how the pilot works out. We'd discuss any permanent arrangements with student groups first, of course, before making any permanent commitment. In any event, the added costs will likely measure well under one percent of room and board."
Of course the students here are upset. Last time we were promised talk of permanent of arrangements before action, Aramark took over as a monopoly for campus food. Ewww...
It's even better how they claim it'll work wonderfully, and that "Participation will not be optional."
TRUSTED COMPUTING ALERT (Score:5, Interesting)
while ensuring compliance of the appropriate commercial terms for a given consumer - while ensuring DRM is enforced on you.
Content Refference data package can capture such information as [] what is the technical environment of the consumer e.g., [] content protection methods - Your "technical enviornment" means Trusted Computing reporting what software you are running, in particular securely reports if your computer will enforce DRM.
There is a core set of functional requirements that the CR Architecture must meet in order to enable content refferences-based content distribution and commerces
The files only work if you have HARDWARE (architecture) that meets the following requirements:
content registration
The content is encrypted/locked to your specific machine.
expression and enforcment of rights and conditions for distribution or use of content
Trusted hardware with Trusted software that securely expresses (reports) its DRM enforment policies and that undrestands DRM enforcement instructions.
description of user context relevant to aquiring and processing content
Securely reporting your Trusted Computing hardware and software (context).
clearance of content related transactions
Making payment (clearance) of the purchase (transaction).
And that is just from the first 4 pages of the first secification document. The second document defines "Contract Expression Language". That is a laguage to define DRM rules. For example the language allows them to write a CONTRACT object where your Trusted Computer SIGNS a PROMISE that will GRANT you the ability to copy the song to a Trusted iPod on the CONDITION that you first meet the DUTY of making a payment to the copyright holder. The contract could demand a payment every time you play the song, or it could require a monthly payment ro "rent" the song.
Section 5.2:
1. This specification does not specify how and where the contracts expressed using the defined profile is enforced....
2. This specification does not define the root of trust or any trust model for that matter.
3. This speciication does not specify how trust is established or validated
Yeah yeah yeah, they are trying to claim that this has nothing to do with Trusted Computing - but #1 does expect the contracts to be enforced, #2 does expect a root of trust and a trust model to exist, and #3 expects the trust to be established and validated. This crap lives on top of Trusted Computing, it is a part of the Trusted Computing chain.
5.3 specifies the contracts must support OBLIGATIONS, PROHIBITIONS, and PERMISSIONS. In particular they must support An event that represents that a monetary payment is due. It must represent a fee amount and to whom it must me paid and how it must be paid.
Now here's their Big Idea. You buy one of these songs. You can then share this song on ANY P2P service or post it on any website. Anyone who downloads this song MUST BUY IT before they can play it. That purchase can include a payment to YOU for hosting, advertizing, and transmitting the file. You become part of the "value chain", you may get paid. The copyright holder could define a fixed commission to you, or he could allow you to tack on any payment contract of your own. YOU get to decide how much someone has to pay you for downloading the song from you.
This is their Big Idea. They are all excited about "Viral Marketing". Each person hosting a file on P2P is free advertizing for the song, each person hosting the file is offering them free bandwidth to send the song.
Don't get too excited about getting paid - that part is pure pyramid-scheme. You have to buy the music then hope a butt-load of people buy it from you. Ponzi would be proud.
THEIR PLAN ONLY WORKS AFTER THEY SHOVE TRUSTED COMPUTERS DOWN OUR THROATS. Anyone without a complia
Can I share and sell the music I'v made? (Score:3, Interesting)
The standard looks like a big bad advertising service, it's funny that they even call this a P2P network. What about sharing other legitimate files too?
Re:The point is? (Score:3, Interesting)
Granted, this is probably a step in the right direction (RIAA attempting to work with the internet, rather than break it), but its not quite enough for me to jump on the bandwagon yet.