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That wouldn't obviate the need for DRM, though, as there would still need to be a way for the content owner to be confident that players register each use. And

That wouldn't obviate the need for DRM, though, as there would still need to be a way for the content owner to be confident that players register each use. And we sort of have this use-based system now, but with unlimited uses per month of active subscription.

dbrueck 5y ago
> That wouldn't obviate the need for DRM Yes and no. In order for the scheme to work, yes, you'd always need something that encourages people to play by the rules, but it would look very, very different from many of the DRM systems of today, whose focus is on shoring up the ill-fitting concepts of ownership and possession. For example, in today's DRM, it's typical to have mechanisms for granting a license to allow playing the media N times, or being able to play the media from startDate thru endDate. Most (all?) of that would go away. Ideally the new system would not have any noticeable friction for end-users, but as a practical matter, things can still work if we at least get to the point where the friction is significantly lower than just stealing it (much like today - if it's easy enough to just consume the media legitimately, for many people piracy just isn't worth the effort). > And we sort of have this use-based system now, but with unlimited uses per month of active subscription. It's definitely a partial step in that direction, yes, and I'm encouraged by the fact that I don't buy DVDs or music anymore because it shows consumers are being weaned off the concept of digital media ownership (and I hope the NFT fad dies out, because it runs counter to this). A couple of big hurdles that remain are (a) content distributors are still way too bent on gatekeeping and content control - for this to really work they are going to have to dial that back quite a bit, and (b) too little of the compensation is making it back to the content creators and/or the compensation is still often one or a few transactions (Bruce Springsteen recently sold the rights to all his music for half a billion dollars) instead of an ongoing compensation for as long as people are using it.

dbrueck 5y ago

> That wouldn't obviate the need for DRM Yes and no. In order for the scheme to work, yes, you'd always need something that encourages people to play by the rules, but it would look very, very different from many of the DRM systems of today, whose focus is on shoring up the ill-fitting concepts of ownership and possession. For example, in today's DRM, it's typical to have mechanisms for granting a license to allow playing the media N times, or being able to play the media from startDate thru endDate. Most (all?) of that would go away. Ideally the new system would not have any noticeable friction for end-users, but as a practical matter, things can still work if we at least get to the point where the friction is significantly lower than just stealing it (much like today - if it's easy enough to just consume the media legitimately, for many people piracy just isn't worth the effort). > And we sort of have this use-based system now, but with unlimited uses per month of active subscription. It's definitely a partial step in that direction, yes, and I'm encouraged by the fact that I don't buy DVDs or music anymore because it shows consumers are being weaned off the concept of digital media ownership (and I hope the NFT fad dies out, because it runs counter to this). A couple of big hurdles that remain are (a) content distributors are still way too bent on gatekeeping and content control - for this to really work they are going to have to dial that back quite a bit, and (b) too little of the compensation is making it back to the content creators and/or the compensation is still often one or a few transactions (Bruce Springsteen recently sold the rights to all his music for half a billion dollars) instead of an ongoing compensation for as long as people are using it.