Head In The Sand, FICCI Wants DRM

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Head In The Sand, FICCI Wants DRM

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) believes that an ‘efficient digital rights management (DRM) system will give ‘a fillip to the fast-growing Indian digital entertainment and media industry’. For Indian companies looking to exploit content across new media, copyright issues are paramount, followed by technology issues like interoperability, and policy. DRM has its issues as well: there’s a cost involved for content distributors, and the fact that DRM protected content is limited to few devices, prevent users from buying legal content. A report released by FICCI with Pricewaterhouse Coopers also calls for ‘technology-agnostic, forward-looking and robust regulatory policies balanced with self-regulation and cross-industry agreements’. [via release]

So here’s what music and film labels need to understand about DRM and digital media: as a consumer, I like to own the music I buy. I like to copy it from one device to another, sometimes make copies just in case I lose the original, because I value what I’ve paid for. So if you give me ownership till perpetuity (how expensive is storage anyway?) - I’ll pay for it. I don’t want just one time rights to copy to a maximum of four devices. Secondly, I want freedom of choice - to buy exactly what I want - I don’t want to pay for a music album with 10 songs, when I want only three of those songs. Albums are passe. Thirdly, get the price right. CDs are cheaper to produce than audio tapes, and still at a premium. Online distribution even more so…so by that logic, the cheaper the media for production and distribution, the more you charge consumers? Rs. 20 per song purchased online is insane. The consumer has evolved…just that music and movie companies are yet to figure out a business model to monetize that opportunity.

Nikhil Pahwa Nov 26, 2007 10:41 PM ET

Posted In: Entertainment, Movies, Music, Research & Metrics

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BlogsDNA

DRM surly not going to be effective in India , country like US and UK to suffering from piracy where Strict DRM laws are present. <a href="http://www.blogsdna.com">BlogsDNA</a>

Java Problems Solutions

This efficient digital rights management (DRM) i dont think will be as effective for a our fast-growing Indian digital entertainment and media industry.
Ficci should focus on other aspects of the industry!!

Prashant

Deep ,
Good Luck . have you looked at Pandora.com for distributing your music .

playing music at FM Radio and JukeBox and transfering it to willing customers through SMS / Bluetooth can be a good way to get paid for your work without dealing with DRM ScumBags like RIAA and others .
i wonder if anyone have explored this option

deep

Oh yeah… if you are into Desi Hip-Hop, Hindi Alternative Rock, Sufi Electronica, and Dance Music, you can hear all of our music at ww.indiAudio.com and even download our first single DRM free!

Sorry if this is a shameless plug, but this is how independent artists have to do it (don't quite have the budget of Om Shanti Om).

deep

I'm a music producer that has moved to Mumbai from the US, and this issue is at the core of my life's work. I spent 3 years shopping music to labels in India, and they have all been very interested. But every contract, either artist development, or promotion and distribution, has been soooo unbelievably one-sided towards the labels, the extent of which you no longer own your work or have to commit to countless shows (which is where the money is). My only viable option has been to start my own independent label, and the net is what makes that possible.

There is no question in my mind about selling DRM music. Heck No! It just doesn't work. While a lot of money is spent on releasing and promoting hits, the true money is in developing a fan base over the career of an artists. By focusing on the consistency and the integrity of your work, your fans will financially support you by purchasing music, attending shows, promoting you to others, and embracing your merchandise. So why punish them?

Record Labels whine about the risks and costs of promoting music hits, but any close investigation will reveal that they, like Amazon, make most of their money on the "Long-Tail". Instead of trying to squeeze the consumer with DRM, why don't they implement transparent accounting, promote upcoming artists with development deals, and support a live music culture that can't seem to take hold in Mumbai because of conservative politics, and strong arm bullying like the T-Series "DJ Performance License" where you have to pay a fee to play their music in clubs.

Meetu

Nikhil: I think you need to correct some of your facts and I agree with Seldom. (a) Musicians make more money from brand endorsements and events than CDs sales because physical sales of CDs are suffering from piracy- in simple words, when you buy a CD, becoz there is no DRM, you record that on your PC, ipod and also share it with all your 1000-odd friends- the poor music composer has to live off the royalty from the sale of 1 CD (b) DRM respects the value of your money and that is the reason it allows you to store your 'paid' content on 4 devices- if you need more, it means that you are definitiely not using it for personal listening!! (c) coz of the above reasons where musicians don't get paid, it is the corrupt distributors and others who are making money and controlling the industry unjustly (d) and lastly, if Indian music is focussed on Bollywood, it is because of the preferences of the indian consumers- so why are you ashamed of it?

Nikhil

seldom: here's the other thing—content creators get very little of the money from the sale of content. I have a few writer friends, and they get Rs. 10-13 for every Rs. 250 book of theirs that gets sold. I'm told things are worse in case of the music industry. Musicians make a majority of their money from brand endorsements, followed by events….very little from CD sales. The labels came into the business as distributors - giving local bands a far greater platform….independent labels sign up unknown local bands, and then sell the rights to larger labels on selection. It's a networking and distribution game.

The Internet has disrupted this situation: today a band like Phish can distribute its content on the Internet, and can also market itself by offering some of its recordings for free. Reaching out to a large audience is no longer an issue.

In India, labels haven't been very interested in bands or independent artists—focused mostly on Bollywood. In fact MTV and VH1 are doing a lot more with shows like Launchpad, and there are smaller labels like Only Much Louder that were formed by guys involved with the music scene.

seldom

By that logic since it doesn't cost anything to copy digital music, the IPR owner should get nothing. This is a farcical argument. Why pay the b******ds who created it and are making money sitting at home.

Because they did.

Fact it, the world is fast becoming full of freeloaders who don't respect or want to pay for IP. That doesn't mean content creators should starve. If you don't like the price, don't buy.