Apple/EMI DRM deal is a big bad joke

Here's something to chill us out after feeling all celebratory after the April 2 featured news. Charlie Demerjian of The Inquirer says:

"YOU ALL FELL for it, the easiest PR trick in the book, Apple, EMI and DRM. It really saddens me that not a single media outlet or reader picked up on it, they played you like a drum. Bad reader, no cookie. Bad media outlets, no cookie and a beating about the head and neck with a medium sized cod."

Charlie further explains:

"The problem is they snowed you, there is no removal of anything, this is a completely different product. The older ones remain totally DRM infected, cost the same, and if you bought them, you are just as locked in as you were, unless you tithe more.

The content mafiaa distracted you with a shiny thing, and sold you back the rights they had no standing to take in the first place. Readers hate it when I say this, but you are idiots if you bought that line."

So there's something to think about. At the very least we could think this is a move in the right direction, but we shouldn't become softer on EMI and the rest of Big Four. They did not recall their criminal lawsuits. They did not really get rid of DRM. And they are picking up good PR for offering us something we should've had in the first place, while still stealing our rights with the rest.

Thanks to this p2pnet story for The Inquirer link. It further discusses the legal troubles between Apple and EU, for Apple still poses certain unfair restrictions on the digital music market. You can read more about that here.