Broadband Media Distribution/ Can't We All Just Get Along?
- Cory Doctorow, EFF
- Morgan Guenther, Tivo
- Sean Ryan, Listen.com, the one independent licensed music distributor
Cory: 1908 sheet music, Marconi, 50's TV, Disney theme park, 70s and 80s VCR (the boston strangler), 95 DCMA, today digitial TV and Broadcast flag -- all Napsterization examples. Broadcast flag wont work, calling for regulation that restricts in all commodity hardware technologies. Some DRM companies that were already compliant signed off, but no participation by rest of tech. Hollywood with drive regulation through:
- Broadcast flag
- Plugging the analog hole, with a cop chip that embeds watermark
- Darknet, the network of computers and users that find ways around this. Solution is redesign the Internet (70% in US) so every packet is inspected for infingement
So where is the tech industry in fighting this?
Sean: Being a label apologist is like voting for Gray Davis. Service focused, $10/mo gives you two streams of 1/4 m tracks. Moving to greater portability. People want to burn, have music in their life and will pay a little for it. Labels are opening up what they will license to them.
Morgan: Current focus:
- Marketing and Financial execution focus, cash flow positive this quarter.
- Transitioning from consumer focus to being arms supplier for the industry (direct to channel shift). PVRs 40-50% of homes in 5 years.
- Innovation - ads, other media
Channel/partner proposition: Living room real estate -- 7 hours/day., what do you want to do with it?
Cory: SDMI hacked instantly. DRM secures people from breaking into their own computers, keep honest people honest, from broadcast in the home.
Sean: industry understands burns and streams, not downloads. DRM is okay (not too good or too bad). SDMI was a stupid restriction. There is a chip in the VCR over the past 10 years to prevent tape to tape copying, but there are no smart mobs confronting congressmen about it. Industry is licensing content, but not in all forms -- an improvement compared to two years ago. Still trying to compete with free, which is a toughie.
Morgan: overcame copyright restrictions for timeshifting, time stamping and fast forwarding. Battles now are in the home network.
On Fair Use and Freedom of Speech? Little hope
Morgan: we have tech to allow you to create your own channel by slicing and dicing, but its a grey area about if you can use it. A buffer at the end of a pipe. When will Tivo be software-based? A: It will open as a platform. Cable head-end based file serving isnt the future, its at the edge and the edge will open up to content creators as well as consumers. Sony is the big hope for moving media from device to device (Cory: Sony isnt in MP3, but seeded and supported MP3 companies)
P.S...pray for further disintermediation between content producers and consumers (hate that word), remain vigilant and exercise what few civil liberties you have to keep them.
5:54:38 PM 
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