DRM technology and policy

[Bill Frantz]

At 7:32 AM -0700 4/24/03, Derek Atkins wrote:
>This about it this way: if <insert your favorite musical artist here>
>never got paid for their work, what incentive would they have to
>continue making music?  While musicians (and I know a few personally,
>including grammy-award winning artists) do usually feel the need to
>create music (sort of how programmers feel the need to write
>programs), if they cannot make a living, feed themselves and their
>family, then most likely they will find another avenue.

I think it very likely that people with musical talent will continue to
make music, even if they don't get paid for it.  (I certainly know a lot
more people who make music for fun than those who make money at it.)
However, for these people, there isn't much incentive to record music.

Lets consider some of the classes of creative talent that perhaps should be
encouraged by being rewarded.  I can identify 3 broad classes, and I hope
others can come up with more classes.

Class 1 is what we've already discussed.  This class in characterized by
the ability of an individual to afford the necessary tools to create works.
Small (including one) musical groups are a find example.  Writers and poets
also generally fall into this category.

Class 2 is the highly capitalized media.  Movies are the example that comes
immediately to mind.  Getting $1,000,000 to $10,000,000 to make a movie
takes investors, and investors tend to expect to be paid.

Class 3 is the "event" media.  This is where hype makes an event out of
something which would otherwise be considered quite ordinary.  Milli
Vanelli is an example.  (While many may not consider this category worth
protecting, it certainly takes talent to make these events happen.
Catering to the crowd psychology of the young teenager is an art form.)


Here are some revenue models for each of these classes:

Class 1:  Schneier's Street Performer Protocol (SPP) should work nicely.
That is, take contributions until enough money is received and then release
a new recording/story/poem/essay.

Class 2:  The SPP could work for established artists.  I, for one, would be
happy to throw $10 into the pot to get to see, "Return of the King".  The
problem is unknown artists.  The advantage of the current, investor
supported, model is that the investors can afford the time to find
up-and-coming new artists, while most of us can't.

Class 3:  This class is where the MPAA and RIAA members provide the most
value.  Perhaps staging real events, where admission is charged, can
provide a revenue model.  Many teenagers would gladly pay for tickets to
see Britney Spears or Nsync.  (But Milli Vanelli better be really good at
lip syncing.)

Cheers - Bill


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Frantz           | Due process for all    | Periwinkle -- Consulting
(408)356-8506         | used to be the         | 16345 Englewood Ave.
frantz at pwpconsult.com | American way.          | Los Gatos, CA 95032, USA



---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Cryptography Mailing List
Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to majordomo at metzdowd.com