You fucked me in the ass. –Broken Social Scene
The guy is a shill, that’s what he is supposed to say. But getting drunk on kool aid and changing the subject to the corporate response is not the storyline here. Sony is getting sued under Texas’ anti-spyware laws and stained the small thread of honor that existed between record companies and consumers still buying CDs.

I don't know if your looking for romance or
I don't know what ya looking for –Arctic Monkeys
Respect from the consumer is not what record companies are in business for. This basic truth is and has always been a source of friction between artists and labels. I get that. Record companies are shitting themselves over what to do with digital music even as online sales increase every year. A revenue stream that totaled $0 for an entire industry just a few years ago is instead being subverted (Sony insists the software on the copy-protected CDs was meant to limit users from making multiple copies, not harm computers.)

PRWEEK looks beyond the fallout of Sony’s woes to what has emerged in the ashes:

The FMC’s (Future of Music Coalition) mission is to “address pressing music technology issues and to serve as a voice for musicians in DC. It is not anti-DRM (Digital Rights Management), but rather concerned about how labels and the RIAA go about implementing it. The FMC would like to see an evolution of the digital marketplace,” says Michael Bracy, director of government relations for FMC. “It’s harder for the industry to go to Capital Hill and cry ‘piracy,’” Bracy says. “Claiming these ‘tech companies’ are being irresponsible now becomes a much harder sell. What about Sony?”.

I think the industry is still unwilling or incapable of adjusting to the market changes and will continue to throw pebbles at the momentous change brought by digital music. The Merry Swankster believes that music will continue to churn great talents and earn many people riches and fame, but the system of production, promotion and distribution will be drastically different in the new media landscape. The extreme actions of Sony’s misstep will be an early chapter of DRM’s unfinished story, one that’s next phase is being fervently written with ever more increased attention. I say restricting access is the worst strategy. But Bowie says it better.

Let the children use it. Let all the children boogie –David Bowie

//Future of Music Coalition(FMC)
//Digital Rights Management(DRM)
//Sony site
//PR Week news site

Tags: Sony, Digital Rights Management, Future of Music Coalition, DRM, FMC, Spyware, PRWeek