An Open Letter to C.K. Sample

First, I would have sent this to your e-mail address, had I been able to find one on the site. However, in this day and age of spam harvesters and whatnot, I wholly understand the need for that kind of privacy.

I know you're against DRM in all forms. In principle, I am as well... and I'm not. Lemme 'splain.

I've been a musician in a previous life (read: had a band, recorded a couple of songs, now have a different job). I'm also a former DJ who lived on being able to own as much music as I could. In the pre-iTMS days, I downloaded a LOT of music through Napster, Limewire, et al. My justification for it was: if I used to own it, then I had every right to snag it again and use it at work.

That said, I always felt a little guilty because I was taking money out of the artists' pockets by using file sharing tools. See, even though musicians get screwed royally by whatever label they release their work under, they still get paid for their services. And the money they receive helps them make rent / feed their kids / get on with their life.

About six months before its debut, my best friend and I sat down at a Chipotle and said, "what form of restrictions would you accept to be able to go online and buy music rather than having to get the physical product?" The Fairplay DRM comes damned close to what we were willing to accept as both consumers and former musicians. It's fair to both the user and the musician.

The music industry HATES Fairplay, which means it must be working. Musicians dig Fairplay because people are making conscious efforts to BUY their work, rather than steal it outright.

Long-winded, I know, but the bottom like is this: DRM is, for lack of a better term, a necessary evil. While the whole "music needs to be free" argument might sound nice, we do not live in a utopian society where musicians get a free ride based solely on the enjoyment they give us through their work. The iTMS gives independant musicians an avenue to sell their work, via CD Baby and other indie clearinghouses, so if they don't like their dea, there's still an avenue for them to get paid for the work they've done. And the labels can't bitch because they're getting paid for the investment they've made in getting a new artist off the ground.

I'm certain you've heard this before, but the whole "blind fool / pro-DRM" comment got under my skin. Had to respond.

Cheers.