The Financial Times reports that the UK's Entertainment Retailers Association is urging the major record labels to drop DRM, arguing that "it is stifling growth and working against consumer interests."
UK Music Retailers Urge Labels to Drop DRM
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A good start
Once we’ve got rid of DRM on music, we can start work on video. I think that means a new format to replace the two HD-DVD and Blu-Ray.
to Chris Brand
Both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray have their merits. Yes, they both incorporate flawed DRM technology, but they also both have technical merits. You could strip away the DRM without creating another new format.
I personally think HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are ahead of their time. Theres many people out there still struggling with the idea of DVD’s. Lots of people now have large VHS and DVD collections and are not willing to move to a new format, even if it does mean better quality, because it would mean they’d have to give up or re-purchase many of their existing movies. Both formats jumped the gun to be the next big thing… and both have basically been the next big flop. I personally will not switch to anything HD until such a time as I cannot get movies on DVD, nor Blank DVD’s to burn them anymore. And that looks to me to be quite a few years away yet.
Video Formatting
You’ve nailed the motives behind the refusal of both new formats by *this* consumer perfectly, Xetheriel. After ploughing all that cash into VCR, CD and DVD, not to mention all the old vinyl that I *still* want to keep listening to decades after I – or my older relatives – bought it, there’s going to be a certain amount of customer heel-digging going on for a couple of decades yet.