Re: HTML5 and DRM - A Middle Path?

On Aug 19, 2013, at 14:48 , Karl Dubost <karl@la-grange.net> wrote:

> David,
> 
> Le 19 août 2013 à 14:06, David Singer a écrit :
>> 
>> And it is this (the content value) that sets the cost, for the most part -- online, LPs, CDs, cassettes -- it doesn't matter the form.
> 
> It's a peripheral thread, but in fact, no. The cost is not set by the content value most of the time.  For example, in the book world, that I know a bit more 
> 
> On the price of a book, 
> * ~10%    Author. (8-15%)
> * ~10%    Distributor 
> * ~40%    Retailer
> * ~35-45% Publisher (Review, Manufacturing, Marketing, etc.)  

yes, but the artist signed an agreement with the publisher, who also did some lifting.  together, they own the revenue stream (and have agreed how it will be split).

> 
> (Some new and more online publishers will propose a 50% cut to the author, but not yet the majority.) A successful author (outside of best sellers) will sell around 5000 copies of a book. Hardly to make a living for a few months.

I am not saying that authors generally get rich.  Far from it most of the time.  And some of them are indeed trying new models, and I applaud them for the experiments.

> There is also a strong disconnect in what we are discussing. The camp is divided in two parts trying to protect things which have values for them. I will make a cultural cliché, but just for helping to understand.
> 
> * The XXX cultural **industry** (aka best-sellers novel, blockbusters) wants to protect products which have a very high peak of consumption for a short time by making it harder to copy the products (here my cliché) with low cultural value.
> 
> * The XXX cultural intellectuals want to protect the works of art with low consumption and high intellectual, cultural capital (cliché again) with low revenues value. (think poetry, essays, novels)
> 
> 
> The issue with DRM in the platform is that it will be applied by the distributors and the publishers on everything, whatever the content is, even things in the public domain.


I am glad you can single it out as 'the' issue (ok, I am joking). Yes, alas, once a tool exists, it can be (and often is) over-used.


David Singer
Multimedia and Software Standards, Apple Inc.

Received on Monday, 19 August 2013 23:30:18 UTC