Hilary Rosen Gripes About iPod, iTMS

mijkal writes "Hilary Rosen, the former RIAA CEO and chairwoman, has spoken out against Apple's "lock-in" with iPod and the iTunes Music Store." From the article: "The problem is that the iPod only works with either songs that you buy from the on-line Apple iTunes store or songs that you rip from your own CD's." Ironically, she appeals to consumer rights and anti-monopoly tactics."

or...

[Doktor Memory]

...non-DRM mp3s that you get from any other source. Ahem.

Huffington Post shows up on /. their first day ...

[Hulkster]

The article is from the Huffington Post [huffingtonpost.com] the "blog of various mainstream media celibrities" which launched today. Impressive that they make Slashdot outa the gate - sounds like the lines are blurring even more between the traditional MSM media and the new online media. It will be interesting to see if they are able to maintain the daily grind of interesting articles ... or if they eventually becomes as exciting as watching grass grow ;-) [komar.org]

Feedin' the troll, feedin' the troll...

[Thud457]

She's a human being, that's umpossible! [wikipedia.org]

Who cares?

[jleq]

I prefer to buy my music from better legal sites, that are 1/10th the cost of iTunes and use no DRM. Anybody heard of allofmp3.com or mp3search.ru? They both are legal, and have great libraries.

I will admit that I have bought a few songs off of iTunes simply because I wanted a high quality copy before the song was released on CD... but in general, why would I want to pay 10x more for something that I can get legally much cheaper?

Re:Girlfriend

[Alcilbiades]

I assume you are trying to be funny. If not you obviously aren't around women enough because it is typical for them to call their female friends "girlfriends".

Hilary now complains about what she created

[Gandoron]

Hilary Rosen was in the position to fix the situation, but instead she helped create a locked-down DRM-prolific online music space. It's funny to see her complain about the exact problem that she put into place.

Wasn't it easier when we all just had MP3's? Funny how that format works with everything.

Good rebuttal
http://www.corante.com/copyfight/archives/2005/05/ 09/hilary_rosen_laments_apples_drm_strategy.php [corante.com]

Only works with itunes?

[bigbigbison]

Wow [audiolunchbox.com], that's [emusic.com] news [audible.com] to [bleep.com] me [livedownloads.com]. Who [epitonic.com] knew [betterpropaganda.com]?

Re:Girlfriend

[Elwood P Dowd]

Yes, that is true. Also, Hilary Rosen is gay. This has been out of the closet longer than she's been in the public spotlight, as far as I know.

yeah...

[spiritraveller]

She just forgot to mention the RIAA's competitors... must have slipped her mind.

emusic.com has the best deal on REAL mp3s, and you can play them on an ipod or any other "MP3 player".

Look closer...

[Otto]

You really must be blind not to see the idea behind this one.. She's pushing Microsoft WMA10 format. Simple as that.

WMA 10 has some nifty little features with it:
- Specifically designed such that *only* Microsoft approved devices can receive the music. They don't make the device themselves of course, they just sell licensing schemes.
- What do you think that whole "Plays For Sure" certification is all about? It's about the most restrictive DRM ever developed. A "Plays For Sure" device is certified to be capable of ERASING your music, by itself, if you don't reenable it every so often by connecting it to your computer. How do you think the new Napster-To-Go actually works?

She states it pretty clearly here, in fact:
If you are really a geek, you can figure out how to strip the songs you might have bought from another on-line store of all identifying information so that they will go into the iPod.

Exactly. You have to remove that violently horrible DRM in order for Microsoft's products to work on your iPod. Let's not forget that Microsoft WMA10 came out into a market where the iPod was king. They're not interested in compatibility, they're interested in owning the market by owning the format and controlling the devices and stores themselves that way.

I admit that Apple has been a bit stupid with regards to compatibility. Specifically breaking Real's Harmony software should have been beneath them.

However, if walmart.com wanted to sell AAC files, those AAC files would play on the iPod just fine. It plays un DRM-encumbered music like nobody's business.

Re:Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

[Anonymous Coward]

That doesn't work for protected AACs...just AIFs and WAVs and other nonprotected files...

HOAX

[muzzmac]

It's a hoax. Funny too.

The (Like Microsoft) was the clue for me.

The Reg covers it off.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/09/rosen_joke _jobs/ [theregister.co.uk]

Re:Pot, meet Kettle

[kevcol]

The person who modded it as insightful likely read the same stories we did. [theregister.co.uk]

It's a FAKE

[jenkles]

The Register has an article stating that "What was billed as a mecca of famous, liberal commentators has turned out to be a satire site in the tradition of The Onion. Yep, Arianna has done it again and fooled us all.Kudos." http://www.theregister.com/2005/05/09/rosen_joke_j obs/ [theregister.com]

Re:Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

[Jeppe Utzon]

It's a humor site. Try reading some of the stories on the front page. The Register didn't fall for it. heh http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/09/rosen_joke _jobs/ [theregister.co.uk]

Re:Clueless?

[Queer Boy]

If they wanted to go "all the way", they should make it easy for any band to open up shop and sell through the iTMS.

They do. [apple.com]

Re:Girlfriend

[Elwood P Dowd]

Iduno, man. A couple people were confused by TFA because she mentioned her girlfriend, and they went all haywire, so I informed them.

Fake!

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/09/rosen_joke _jobs/ [theregister.co.uk]

It's a hoax!

Re:Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

[stor]

assuming you're a fellow, how about i come over to your house and "share" your wife / partner?

Seriously I don't know how people can use this emotive and inappropriate analogy. It's used for the GPL too.

For fuck's sake: There is a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE between sharing copyrighted works and sharing someone's wife. One is copyright infringement, the other is adultery.

Cheers
Stor

Re:Pot, meet Kettle

[kevcol]

It was a hoax. [wired.com]

But there is so much disinformation out there, it's hard to know who to believe sometimes.

Re:Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

[ryusen]

"To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;"
- The Constitution:

The foundations of the coutry already had it set in that arts and sciences were meant to enhance and enrich our culture, but creators had a limited time to recoupe their loses. the current system locks modern art from being able to be added to our public domain and enriching our culture.

Re:Problem?

[kelnos]

Remember, in Rosen's view, that's all the same thing. The only way to *legally* get any music that will play on the iPod is to:

1. Rip it from your own CDs
2. Buy it from iTMS

Now, for #1, the *format* you rip to can be AAC, MP3, or (I think) WAV/PCM. But that's not really relevant.

The real thing she's complaining about (and rightly so, though it's totally hypocritical) is that the only place people can *purchase* songs from the Internet and have them work on the iPod is from iTMS. Anywhere else that you can purchase songs has MS DRM on it.

(Yeah, I know, there's AllofMP3.com, but Rosen likely considers it illegal, and there are a couple, like Warp Records, that sell DRM-free tracks, but they cater more to niche music which Rosen probably considers irrelevant. Not that I agree with that view, but that's just how it is.)