Bill Gates thinks digital rights management (DRM) is too hard, despite Microsoft having recently launched a new DRM for its Zune media player.

Gates: just buy a CD and rip it 

“DRM is not where it should be. In the end of the day incentive systems (for artists) make a difference,” Bill Gates told a group of elite bloggers, including Steve Rubel and Michael Arrington, at Microsoft’s Mix n Mash 07 event. 

“But we don’t have the right thing here in terms of simplicity or interoperability.”

Arrington reported that Gates’s advice to consumers was that they should just buy the CD and rip it.

“You are legal then,” he is reported as saying.

All of this is very interesting considering that part of Microsoft’s Zune media player strategy is to take on iTunes by selling music to Zune owners through the Zune Marketplace.

So what we have on the one hand is Microsoft’s official proposition, which is: “So you’ve got your Zune set up and you’ve built your library, but wait, you’re craving something more. Oh yes, that’s right. You want more music! No problem, Zune Marketplace is there for you.” (Quote taken from the Zune Marketplace web site).

On the otherhand you’ve got Bill Gates suggesting that you’re actually better off buying a CD and ripping it.

While I applaud Bill’s honesty, it does make you wonder whether he still has the same level of commitment to Microsoft now that he’s set to become a full-time philantropist (another move I applaud).

As time passes it’ll be interesting to see whether Bill becomes even more out of sync with Microsoft’s official line.  With friends like Bill, Microsoft doesn’t need enemies … (though it seems to have plenty of those as well).

Just an interesting side issue. If you go and have a look at the questions asked by the bloggers attending the event, you’ll see that most of the questions are very tame.

The original DRM question was quite a benign question about whether DRM is sustainable over the next 10 years; it was actually Bill Gates who gave the question an edge through his reply. Here are the questions asked by participating bloggers as reported by Steve Ruble:

1. What applications do you see running inside the browser or outside?
2. Do you despair at the number of Macs in the room?
3. What is the most important thing we can do as tech leaders re. education/healthcare?
4. What would you be looking at today if you were an independent entrepreneur?
5. What’s on your Zune?
6. Microsoft has fully embraced blogging in its communications. You have met with bloggers on a few occasions too. Why do you think other execs have not given bloggers the same level of access Microsoft has?
7. What did you want to be when you grew up?
8. Are there things on the horizon that will bring more transparency to government?
9. What’s on your Christmas list?
10. Will the $100 laptop be a success and are you behind it? Will it help developing countries?
11. Did you ever reach a point where you weren’t interested in computers?
12. Will entertainment drive computing or vice versa?
13. What does the OS look like in 3-4 years? Where does consumer Windows fit in?

If you look through this list I think you’ll start to understand why corporations love bloggers; they don’t operate to the same standards, or have the same agendas as traditional journalists, and they obviously don’t have the same training, or they wouldn’t be asking these kinds of questions…

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Entry was posted on Sunday, December 17th, 2006 at 8:01 pm under Media players, Microsoft, Technology.

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