My graduate school year comes to a close in a few weeks.  I handed in my thesis today (and will be posting all 35 pages this week in some online fashion).  I’ll be getting into a more regular posting schedule over the next week or so, that is, at least until I find a job (still looking…).  Until then, blogging will be a fun but poorly paying stand in. Masters degree really comes in handy.

More excuses from your friendly neighborhood blogger.  This is hell week not just because I have finals, but it’s also the week of my concert for the chorus I sing in (don’t laugh).  Next week, I’ll start posting somewhat regularly. Of course, then the holidays come and then I get started on the next quarter and my thesis for my masters.  On a bright note, I’ll be working on an independent study next quarter that might interest some readers: I’ll be writing a paper on video game usability and its influence on consumer software and hardware.  Not sure what I’ll find out, but that’s what research is for, right? If anyone has any resource recommendations, please leave a comment or email me.  As for my thesis, I’ll be posting more on that topic when I have one (it’ll probably be some kind of adaptation of one of my better blog posts).

Also, I will be finishing the 365 Geek-Out Moments, hopefully all within the year.  I have to for the eBook I’m making with them for next year.

School’s in full swing and sadly my blog is the first thing to suffer. Classes are obviously hard, but mostly due to reading and a few writing assignments (on theorists that would not be fun for this blog).  The next few months will be a trying time, so I’m aiming for posts at least once a week.  Geek-Out Moments will eventually get published, but that might not happen till Winter break.  Hopefully next semester will be better as I’ll be posting on my thesis ideas.  For now, I thank everyone for their support.  Always check out my Shared Google Reader items for articles I enjoy but don’t have time to write about and I’m still keeping Twitter updated as much as possible.

So the Flow Conference might be over (making the live part of the live-Twittering a little out-dated) but you can see some of the discussion topics at the panels I attended here: http://twitter.com/prodigeek

I’ll hopefully get some more fleshed out posts over the week. For now, I need to catch up on the reading and class work I decided to blow off for this “business” trip.

It’s been a busy week (gonna be a busy semester).  I’m flying to Austin tonight after class for the Flow Conference.  I’ll be presenting at the Music and Copy Protection roundtable on Friday (noon CDT) and have very little idea of what to expect. It’s my first academic conference why my professor wasn’t running the show.

I’ll either be blogging or Twittering throughout the week, depending on Wi-Fi coverage (if I’m Twittering, it’s probably on my cell phone).  Let’s hope I don’t make too much of a fool of myself.

I will be speaking at the Flow Conference in Austin, Texas on October 9th at a round table about music and copy protection.  I’m posting here my position paper, though regular readers should be familiar with my opinion on the subject.  If anyone’s heading to the conference, please contact me in the comments, email or Twitter.

The other panelists will be (links go to panelist’s position papers).

Patrick Burkart, Texas A&M University (convener)

Danny Kimball, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ali McMillan, University of Western Ontario

Moderators: Marnie Binfield and David Uskovich

This is the question the roundtable will be discussing:

More and more music fans, artists, and labels are rejecting DRMed file formats in favor of more lenient digital music sharing policies than what are available through most commercial music service providers. Under what conditions do music fans resist copy protections? When have music labels dropped copy protections? What is the disposition of digital music distributors towards DRMed formats?

My response

Thanks to technology, more people are creating and listening to music than ever before. With computers and the internet, it is cheaper and easier to produce and distribute music. Instead of embracing technology, music companies are using technology like DRM to stifle innovation and user value, trying to control their evolving industry.

DRM gives record companies the feeling of control over their music – control they no longer have. But the economics of music are changing. The cost of distributing music has dropped to almost nothing, making music infinitely reproducible by anyone. Music companies used to decades of controlling distribution need to adjust to a new marketplace where plastic discs don’t matter. This means radically changing music’s business models.

Musicians and publishers feared the first digital music device, the player piano, more than a century ago. In 1906, John Phillips Sousa and music publishers asked Congress to ban the player. Instead, Congress instituted the compulsory license system still used today. This took away control from publishers, but helped everyone make more money by embracing the benefits of the technology, selling piano rolls to make songs more popular and performers more valuable.

Computers and the internet can be just as profitable when embraced. Musicians like Trent Reznor, Radiohead, Jill Sobule, Kristin Hersh, and Maria Schneider are experimenting with new business models using infinite goods to sell scarce goods. Reznor posted his own music on file-sharing networks while selling premium editions of his album with a Blu-Ray slideshow, vinyl version, and signature. Reznor grossed $1.6 million in the first week even though his music was freely available online. Sobule and Hersh let fans support the creation of their albums by selling private performances, chances to sing on the album, or executive producer credits. Music companies study file-sharing networks to target advertising and decide tour locations based on the popularity of artists.

Most music companies treat new technology like the enemy, using DRM to limit what technology can do. DRM aims to prevent file-sharing, helping music companies control distribution of an infinite good, while taking away value from paying customers. Music companies expect customers to pay more dollars for less value.

But DRM does not stop file-sharing. Only one MP3 file is needed to spread to thousands of freeloading fans. Almost every form of DRM gets circumvented within days meaning one file always makes it onto file-sharing networks. EMI began selling DRM-free files on iTunes partly because DRM has no effect on piracy.

While DRM fails at its only purpose, it succeeds in making music less valuable, treating paying customers like criminals, and causing technical and public relations nightmares from installing malware (Sony rootkit) to failing devices (Blu-Ray players that don’t play all Blu-Ray discs). DRM-free stores like Amazon and Wal-Mart evolved out of necessity. Music companies forced Apple to lock iTunes with DRM limiting files to only play on iPods. As Apple sold more music, it sold more iPods. When Amazon and Wal-Mart launched their music stores, they had to offer them DRM-free so songs could play on iPods. The music industry handed Apple control over its digital future, from pricing to marketing, because of DRM.

Some DRM validation services get canceled, leaving companies with expensive public embarrassments and unhappy customers with useless music. Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft all canceled support for their DRM. Yahoo and Google offered refunds or DRM-free alternatives to all customers while Microsoft, due to public outcry, reinstated its DRM.

It’s up to the music industry to develop business models that embrace the promotional value of its music to sell more valuable scarce goods. Entertainment has used this model for decades: Television provides free shows supported by advertising and music uses the promotion of radio to increase album sales. There is more money to be made embracing technology rather than fighting it. People can listen to and share music, becoming bigger music fans, and increasing demand for scarce goods like concert tickets and collectibles. Thanks to computers and the internet, every MP3 is a promotional tool.

The music industry needs to adapt to the changing marketplace. Use technology to give customers more value: give people a reason to spend their money. DRM takes away value from customers, causes public relations nightmares, and provides no benefit except a false sense of control. Instead of fighting file-sharing, embrace it as a competitor and offer a more valuable customer experience, not try to control the experience. More value means more money. And that’s good business.

Work Cited

Doctorow, Cory. “Microsoft Research DRM talk.” Microsoft offices, Redmond. 17 June 2004. 1 Sept. 2008 <http://www.craphound.com/msftdrm.txt>.

Masnick, Mike. Techdirt. 1 Sept. 2008 <http://www.techdirt.com>.

My graduate program at the University of Chicago began this week making me feel very stupid and unprepared (four years of undergrad wasted). Signs of a good year.

I’m excited though. I’ll be studying much of what I blog about here: new media, business models, public policy, etc. While I’m sure school will eat into my attentive blogging schedule, I hope the posts I do make will be extra insightful.

Or I’ll fail out by November. Time to place your bets.

It took a week and a half, but I’ve got my stuff and finally got internet hooked up.  I’ll slowly get back into the blogging routine, in between unpacking and setting up my new life in Chicago.

I bought a new TV (52″ Sony Bravia), got addicted to Prison Break, and beat Final Fantasy III on the DS.

I’ll be playing catch up on Geek-Out Moments for a while.  I’ll be back-dating them so if you’re eager not to miss one, make sure you subscribe to my feed.

I’ve moved into my new place in Chicago, though my stuff is still a week behind. I won’t have reliable internet for another week (I’m writing this post on my cell phone) so posting will still be irregular at best. Of course this happens when StumbleUpon sends me a week of record-breaking traffic. I’ll be updating Twitter for those who just need a Michael Sherrin fix. Anyone?

My life in Boston comes to a close. My cable’s about to be shut off, and I’ll be moving to Chicago, with a stop off at my parents.  Please forgive any haphazard posting over the next week or so as I’m unsure when I’ll have internet access.

It’s sad leaving Boston, my home for five years, most of it as an Emerson undergrad.  Even though I hate the subway system, the roads are insane, and its hard to find great pizza, this was my first home. Now I enter University of Chicago for my graduate studies and even worse pizza (the sauce goes under the cheese).

I’m incredible excited even though I still have like half my apartment to pack.  So I better get back to work.  And keep reading Prodigeek for all my exciting academic achievements, social failures, and pizza explorations.