Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Google Trending and MGMT

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  • Hamboy,

    I'm a professional software user with nasty copy protection on it. I'm reasonably good at computer noodling and some of the stuff I use seems impossible to work around illegally.

    You mean software tools you use professionally. eg Compliers, CAD programs, MS Office?
    I would hardly consider it to be the same thing.

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 162 posts Report Reply

  • robbery,

    sound recording and plug ins.

    new zealand • Since May 2007 • 1882 posts Report Reply

  • Duane Griffin,

    I think drm is workable, and a viable solution, its just in draft stage at present. seems it can stop piracy for some, maybe not all

    I think you miss the point. Once again, it isn't the downloader DRM needs to be effective against, it is the uploader.

    Yes, DRM can make it slightly harder to rip music the first time you come across it. You have to go and hunt for the right piece of software to remove it. The sort of person who uploads their music to p2p sites is going to be fine with that, and will have the software installed already. Then everyone else just downloads the pre-ripped, DRM-stripped version.

    I'm a professional software user with nasty copy protection on it. I'm reasonably good at computer noodling and some of the stuff I use seems impossible to work around illegally.

    I'm a professional software developer who has used and implemented that nasty copy protection. While it makes it hard for regular users to crack the software it still doesn't prevent piracy. They just go and download a version someone else has cracked.

    Anyway, we have hijacked this thread enough, so this will be my last post on this topic. If you would like to discuss the technical aspects of DRM and why it does not and cannot work feel free to drop me an email.

    Palmerston North • Since Nov 2006 • 21 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    I would say that effective in these circumstances would be to take the edge off 'piss easy to steal" making it "hard for the technically stupid", and maybe even eating away at the "mildly ok on a computer but not that great" group, which lets face it is a large part of the computer users out there. If it wasn't as easy as picking it up and walking out the store with it then it would have a great effect on the music market.

    I can go to google and search for music and find it really easy. It's much much easier to find and download the illegal music, than the legal stuff.

    so shouldn't you be pushing for and making noise to get better quality downloads available via these sources

    I think he did in his blog:

    I'm pretty much on strike with the iTunes Store unless it's iTunes Plus (ie: it's on EMI or an indie label) -- at 128k the file quality's just not good enough, and aren't we over DRM yet? Digirama is even worse: they only have the album as 128k WMA files I can't even play.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Grigg,

    so I own legit copies. I have no need to crack it and its really easier to own the copies and get the back up than to buck the system and get a degree in computer code in order to crack it.

    Dunno, most software is pretty easy to crack. A friend's son was telling me that kids at his school regard each new release as a challenge, crack and then distribute.

    And here in Asia of course cracked versions of pretty much any program or game are freely available pretty much on the day of release.

    of course not for an informed individual such as yourself, but you got to admit compared to past times it seems like there is less inspiring stuff around purely because the stuff you getting rammed down your throats is covering more and more bases than in the past and the noise from that lot drowns out the fringes, if you like to listen to the fringes. You can still find interesting stuff but it takes a degree of skill to filter through the noise. Compare that with the early eighties and it wasn't quite as difficult to dig up diamonds.

    nah we had to work a hell of a lot harder to access the stuff back then. Firstly you simply couldn't buy the new stuff in NZ unless you were lucky and ended up in one of the few import shops allowed to bring things in (I had a friendly bod who flew for Air NZ who bought things for me in London and LA). Secondly the outlets to let you know what was around were very very limited. We used to get an album and pass around tapes of the bloody things until some record company deigned to release it six months later.

    Myself, I think the so called crisis in the record industry has been a huge boon for the music on the edge. There is so much stuff coming out and the decline of the majors has meant that the constraints have been removed and we're witnessing an inventive flowering not seen since the eighties when hip-hop, post-punk and house / techno all changed the landscape.

    Just another klong... • Since Nov 2006 • 3284 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Grigg,

    sometimes the end product is the end product and not just a means to earn money off diversions.

    I agree Rob but few of those who have historically recorded and released such 'end product' have ever expected to make a living off such. I'm having trouble thinking of many studio only acts that have ever been financially lucrative (The Beatles aside of course but that was after the were already The Beatles) or even self supporting.

    Just another klong... • Since Nov 2006 • 3284 posts Report Reply

  • robbery,

    nah we had to work a hell of a lot harder to access the stuff back then.

    small wonder records catalogue and an NME would sort you, but my comment was more you could find the interesting stuff cos it was written about. now you have to sift through promoter written puff pieces all telling you their acts are the next best thing and really most of it isn't, and as you said there is so much of it, that's one of the biggest things that turns me off participating in music fandom. walk into real groovy, see half a mile of trestle tables and walk out again. Too much chaff the wheat is buried deep. you have to have the patience to wade through this stuff and if you lived through periods were there was a lot of interesting stuff happening right on the surface and written about directly in the appropriate publication etc.

    new zealand • Since May 2007 • 1882 posts Report Reply

  • robbery,

    I think he did in his blog:

    rather than

    ie instead of, excluding the first, doing the second

    It's much much easier

    change in attitude

    new zealand • Since May 2007 • 1882 posts Report Reply

  • robbery,

    I think you miss the point. Once again,

    I didn't have one point, I had a multipoint angle, a large part of it was a change in attitude, assisted by a not "piss easy" to steal product. the change in attitude would be media commentators and any music enthusiast not complaining about any new protection they couldn't easily circumvent and understanding the need for them.

    I've not said I expect DRM to be un crackable, just annoying,
    You can shoplift past the checkout operator, but its not quite as easy as if there wasn't a checkout person standing there in an unmanned store.

    the uploaders/downloaders - aren't govts looking at pesky legislation to invade everyone's privacy to keep that in check? if and when that comes in I'm sure we'll all wish we'd just pretended drm was uncrackable, paid for the things and got on with pretending the internet was untouchable.

    new zealand • Since May 2007 • 1882 posts Report Reply

  • robbery,

    we're witnessing an inventive flowering not seen since the eighties when hip-hop, post-punk and house / techno all changed the landscape.

    I love your positivity simon, and your negativity too though (cough- dire straits-cough)

    new zealand • Since May 2007 • 1882 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Grigg,

    small wonder records catalogue and an NME would sort you, but my comment was more you could find the interesting stuff cos it was written about. now you have to sift through promoter written puff pieces all telling you their acts are the next best thing and really most of it isn't,

    A couple of minutes a day at Pitchfork, Resident Advisor, Fact Magazine and a spin through my fave MP3 blogs keeps me happy.

    Just another klong... • Since Nov 2006 • 3284 posts Report Reply

  • Mark Thomas,

    A couple of minutes a day at Pitchfork, Resident Advisor, Fact Magazine and a spin through my fave MP3 blogs keeps me happy.

    sweet. they look interesting.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 317 posts Report Reply

  • samuel walker,

    Myself, I think the so called crisis in the record industry has been a huge boon for the music on the edge. There is so much stuff coming out and the decline of the majors has meant that the constraints have been removed and we're witnessing an inventive flowering not seen since the eighties when hip-hop, post-punk and house / techno all changed the landscape.

    I think the cause/effect is a bit more complex than majors fail/indies boon [not that you meant just that....]. the barriers that have dropped in worldwide communication and access to tools and inspiration materials have had a large influence too. And yes, there is as much great new music in exciting and inventive new shapes and new twists and refinements of older forms as ever before.

    walk into real groovy, see half a mile of trestle tables

    ....sounds pretty good to me!.

    granted the 'sale' bins can be a chore if you havent the time or inclination, but on the 'standard' shelves their filing is well maintaned, if you need to find a particular title it will be in the right location, with lots of undiscovered gems around it.

    Too much chaff the wheat is buried deep. you have to have the patience to wade through this stuff and if you lived through periods were there was a lot of interesting stuff happening right on the surface and written about directly in the appropriate publication etc.

    There has always been a thick layer of musical crud. Whilst I never sucumbed to the worship of slabs of vinyl [I still have a room full though.....] part of the thrill of finding those musical gems was the act of discovery, the trails that lead you there. working through the flotsam to find the gold. and i guess it's no different now.

    Since Nov 2006 • 203 posts Report Reply

  • robbery,

    embarrassingly mine mostly come from myspace, I don't usually look, they find me, like minded music searching out others. if we were all as lazy as me though that wouldn't happen.

    I've been a bit disappointing with pitchfork of late, i'll give those other too a look though.

    new zealand • Since May 2007 • 1882 posts Report Reply

  • robbery,

    agreed the thrill of the chase is part of it.

    and i guess it's no different now.

    very different now. mis managed misdirected promo clogging the communications channels, and shear quantity, much of it of no interest to one persons tastes. It's a lot of work to wade through it.
    the small record stores have come into their own with that issue though. go to galaxy records in chch and there are no trestle tables, its stocked with a particular market in mind and the latest mariah is nowhere to be seen, knowing full well that the people who go to that shop aren't interested in it and the owner isn't interested in attracting that type of purchaser. A sale isn't just a sale, its very specific, and their efforts are appreciated, even if it is at the cost of them making easier money.

    new zealand • Since May 2007 • 1882 posts Report Reply

  • 3410,

    I'm having trouble thinking of many studio-only acts that have ever been financially lucrative...

    Crazy Frog?

    Auckland • Since Jan 2007 • 2618 posts Report Reply

  • robbery,

    re issues are technically studio only as there is no band to gig the record (excluding the likes of SLF etc who still live to this day)

    lots of bands don't gig in nz so as far as we''re concerned they're studio only, or might as well be.

    then there's the likes of steely dan who were all ring in session guys apart from the core 2 (don't ask me why I know this, perhaps I don't)

    new zealand • Since May 2007 • 1882 posts Report Reply

  • samuel walker,

    and their efforts are appreciated, even if it is at the cost of them making easier money.

    but i bet they have some dedicated customers!
    unfortunately that approach has not worked for many small music retailers.

    and as for the clutter, picture that suburban music retailer in the late eighties. lots to wade through there too. and apart from the odd gem [fond memories of Select mag in the v.early nineties] most of the music press seemed to consist of regurgitated major label press releases as well.

    a rose tinted view of the past mayhaps robbery?

    Since Nov 2006 • 203 posts Report Reply

  • Mark Thomas,

    walk into real groovy, see half a mile of trestle tables

    but it's a faff to listen to cds/records (albeit in a cool environment)

    i find it so much easier to search/listen to stuff on the web now

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 317 posts Report Reply

  • robbery,

    a rose tinted view of the past mayhaps robbery?

    possibly, why, do they make my face look fat? shall I try another colour?

    nah, it's fact. its easier and cheaper to make discs these days. it was quite a prohibitive experience in past decades. someone had to really want to put your music out for you cos most mere mortals couldn't afford the pressing fee. ask flying nun or simon grigg. you had to plan your releases out by what you could afford.
    PR has got a lot more insistent too, they got better at their job, their craft, selling shit you don't want to buy by process of attrition. haven't you noticed? ads on everything.

    new zealand • Since May 2007 • 1882 posts Report Reply

  • Simon Grigg,

    Crazy Frog?

    sure there have always been the likes of The Archies or Crazy Frog, but a credible artist that exists only in the studio is hard to find and is unlikely to have a fanbase.

    And Rob is right, making a record in 2008 is way easier. However making a good record is just as hard.

    But, hell, I wish I'd had access to the web or something similar when we were trying get people to buy The Blams or the like.

    The potential market was some much narrower twenty five years back.

    Just another klong... • Since Nov 2006 • 3284 posts Report Reply

  • robbery,

    The potential market was some much narrower twenty five years back.

    I think the market theoretically was much wider. There wasn't much else to be into except sport and music,
    now there are so any things competing for an individuals attention and money. the internet and its miriad of time sucking applications, video games, movies, tv out the wazoo, cars to soup up, fake street gangs and crime, all vying for the idle ones attention. just to mention a few things.

    new zealand • Since May 2007 • 1882 posts Report Reply

  • samuel walker,

    so any things competing for an individuals attention and money.

    n__o,**no__,no, its _**_th__e pirat__e__s.** they c__aus__ed it. a__nd we__ must st__op the__m.** for if we do,_**_ if we beat** them, pur__ge the wo__rld of their scor__ge. then a__ll will b__e rig__ht again in the wo__rld of ent__ertain__me**nt** com__**m__erce. tale__ntless__ wond__ers sh__all onc__e ag**__ain b__e able to re__ap th__e untold w__e__alth th__at the__y are __cu__rrent__ly being rob__b__ed of. unle__ss__ we d__o this th__e pi__ra__te__s h__ave w__o__n. jus__t r__emem__ber, pirate__s cant s__wim. th__e be__st w__ay __to get the__m is to** rai__se the s__ea leve__ls. glo__bal warm__ing** is our sec__ret__ weap__o__n. get y__our fi__ns on pe__eps,__ its gonn__a be__ a bump__y r__id__e!!!!!!

    Since Nov 2006 • 203 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    haven't you noticed? ads on everything.

    This is the result of smart marketers working out that if people are not willing to pay for something, you are better off providing what they do want and then trying to get them to pay more for something else.

    For instance, I am happy to buy a non-DRM CD with (say) a clothing sponsorship on the sleeve. I am getting my money's worth, and if the company gets added revenue from the advert, good on them - I don't need to purchase those shirts if I don't want to. I would probably be less happy buying an ad-free crippleware CD which mightn't even give me the sticker price's worth of enjoyment.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • robbery,

    no,no,no, its __the pirates.

    did it take you long to put all those bolds and italics in that post samuel? :)
    hopefully you were making fun of my shit typos,

    so m any things competing

    and simons

    The potential market was so much narrower twenty five years back.

    you do realise the topic of that part of the post was a discussion of how the market has changed in its focus on music as a past time?

    hope the creative writing classes get better for you mate :)

    new zealand • Since May 2007 • 1882 posts Report Reply

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