Music Companies Deserve to Die a Quick Death

The business model being pursued by the big music companies is so out of touch with what consumers want, it scares me. What if they prevail, and any music rights owned by a big company becomes so tied up in digital rights that the customers can no longer listen to the music they have bought?

Cory Doctorow takes a close look at the Sony End User Licence Agreement (EULA), and the terms you have to agree to when you transfer Sony music from a CD to your computer are ridiculously restrictive: 

1. If your house gets burgled, you have to delete all your music from your laptop when you get home. That's because the EULA says that your rights to any copies terminate as soon as you no longer possess the original CD.

2. You can't keep your music on any computers at work. The EULA only gives you the right to put copies on a "personal home computer system owned by you."

3. If you move out of the country, you have to delete all your music. The EULA specifically forbids "export" outside the country where you reside.

4. You must install any and all updates, or else lose the music on your computer. The EULA immediately terminates if you fail to install any update. No more holding out on those hobble-ware downgrades masquerading as updates.

5. Sony-BMG can install and use backdoors in the copy protection software or media player to "enforce their rights" against you, at any time, without notice. And Sony-BMG disclaims any liability if this "self help" crashes your computer, exposes you to security risks, or any other harm.

6. The EULA says Sony-BMG will never be liable to you for more than $5.00. That's right, no matter what happens, you can't even get back what you paid for the CD.

7. If you file for bankruptcy, you have to delete all the music on your computer. Seriously.

8. You have no right to transfer the music on your computer, even along with the original CD.

9. Forget about using the music as a soundtrack for your latest family photo slideshow, or mash-ups, or sampling. The EULA forbids changing, altering, or make derivative works from the music on your computer.

It will be a cold day in hell before I buy anything from Sony. I don't actually care if they are being scapegoated by bloggers and others. They deserve every bit of damage to their brand that they suffer.

Can You Spell Boycott?

I find their approach to their customers' rights so offensive  that I'm putting them on my DO NOT BUY list (and I'm not talking about stock market recommendations).

Check out other bloggers commenting on Doctorow's post.

Thanks to David Parmet for the link.

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