Today, an advocate general for the European Court of Justice, the highest court in the EU, released an opinion saying that ISPs are not required to disclose information that could identify subscribers in civil copyright infringement cases. (via)

EU citizens privacy is protected from the Music Industry. The Industry now needs to find better ways of fighting piracy.

I would recommend:

- Stop suggesting that every consumer is a criminal until otherwise proven. Remove DRM.

- Make buying music easier than stealing it.

- Give artists more than 5% of purchase price. No-one wants to steal from the artist. With todays system no-one is.

- Go after the pirates who make money out of it. Not the ones who copy the music and then go see the artist live.

I guess the Industry is a bit pissed of as this pretty much stops them from making money in the same way as their American causing do.

–kristian

I’m in with others speculating that this will mark the removal of DRM from EMI signed artists. I really hope so. I believe that this is the biggest single thing to happen in the fight against piracy. Of course it’s not going to kill piracy, nothing will, it’s human nature to prefer free over cheap. But it will offer a viable alternative to piracy. The two biggest reasons we have piracy is that a) you’re not limited in the way you can use the content and b) it’s easily available. These on top of the obvious price point which is hard to compete.

We’ll see in few hours what happens. I hope the changes are immediate. I’d write more but I must go and carry some logs (actual birch tree trunks, not the computer ones..)

[update]: It was as predicted. Good. Also, interestingly, you can update your existing DRMed songs to de-DRMed version for a mere 15p ($0.30). The DRM free content will be more expensive. This is for a single reason; ‘you get less (DRM), you pay more’. It’s a shame they’re more costly but I guess this is a way for them to start pushing the prices up.

Jobs: I don’t like this DRM thing, lets get rid of it.
EMI: That’s fine, but you have to pay more then.

I would imagine that as rest of the Four will follow soon after and music with DRM will not be sold, at least through iTMS, for much longer. And the tracks will keep their newly found higher price point (99p). Notice that album prices will remain.

Interesting day, I must say.

Back soon,

kristian

PS. If you wander what kind of logs I was piling up, check here.