Saving Celine

Poor Celine Dion.  As the youngest of 14 children, buying Christmas gifts for all her siblings must be a daunting prospect.  If I were her, I might make a mixed CD of recent favorite works to keep the family updated on how the kid-sister is doing.  Trouble is, this year, Celine would only be able to grace three of her brothers or sisters with tracks from her most recent album "On ne Change Pas.”  There could be a lot of unhappy faces around Dion Christmas tree.

Why?  Because in efforts to minimize piracy, Celine’s record company Sony BMG released the album with technical restrictions on it that limits the owner of the disc to sharing its tracks more than three times.  The restrictions also prevent Celine and anyone else who bought the album from putting the tracks on their iPod (there go those that iPod Nano gift idea).  And, if that weren’t enough, the CDs contain what some have called spyware that could track computer usage and open up users to security threats.

Very recently, the public outcry about these antipiracy disc finally built to a point where Sony recalled the discs.  (“On ne Change Pas” means “We Don’t’ Change.”  Never say never, Celine.)  Yet, the damage has been done.  Just today it was reported that NY AG Eliot Spitzer is investigating Sony, and the AG from Texas has already filed a lawsuit based on the Lone Star state's spyware law.  There have been much more legal and PR fallout to this.

The Sony skirmish is just another day in the Internet-Age digital rights management (DRM) wars that have been fought ever since Napster burst on the scene in 1999.  The difference is....

... in the time of iPod ubiquity and 40-year-olds’ familiarity with CD burning, the Celine Problem is now playing out on front pages of the nation’s newspapers.

All of this has exaserbated an environment where all DRM is viewed as evil and anti-consumer. (Googling the exact term “DRM is evil” gets you 800-plus results).

This is not only a bad thing for the entertainment industry, but it would eventually be a bad thing for all forms of digital content, and indeed, consumers themselves.

Why?  First of all, DRM is not inherently evil and to suggest so is like saying that all video games are evil because you don’t like the violent ones.  To say the least, some uses of DRM have not been well thought through or even productive. However, using technology to ensure that content developers get properly compensated is not evil.  Consumers should also avoid and resist overly restrictive DRM and buy CDs or MP3s from those who don’t employ it.

But, more importantly, the Celine Saga continues to obscure the fact that music and entertainment are a relatively small and near-term example of content that can employ DRM.

Consider:

--Photograhpy hobbyists using DRM to create these conditions around usage of their photos that they post on their Web site or Flickr. 

--A grandmother using DRM to share access to her home surveillance cameras with law enforcement officials on a restricted basis.

--Using DRM for record keeping, managing the complexities of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and the management of confidential data. 

--To save lives and minimize the cost and inefficiencies of tracking paper, our government is making a big push towards the digitization of health care records and the development of a network national health care network.  DRM can help ensure that the inherent privacy and security issues of these records and network are properly addressed.

To get past any bungling of DRM that is counter productive, we need to move to non-proprietary DRM structure and open up the technology to the world of developers, creators of content big and small and technology companies who can all work together to create an open DRM  that can satisfy and are fair to both the coming sea of both amateur and professional content on the Internet and all those who will use and enjoy it.   This effort should  focus on authenticating individuals and their ownership of content and not devices.  People should be able to use what they own on whatever device they own.

Sun Microsystems announced just such an effort recently.  Here's to hoping that this helps Celine out in time for next Christmas.

Comments

[lucy mae]

celine is very beautiful in that picture!she is the youngest of them all! she has a very beautiful voice! i like her because of her beautiful voice in the whole world! she is one of the most distinctive voice in the world!in the family they are 14 brothers and sisters.i hope next time if the press will be taking a picture of there family, i hope that it is colorful to look at! nice position celine!!!!! idollll 4ever!!!!!!!!!!

[Stacy]

this really is a nice thing that this website is doing this is also so kool!!!!

[kooiyo]

i use to love celine she is a really good singer and she is really beautiful i really loved her in the movie beauty and the beast i love the song she sang it was such a beautiful song it made me cry and i'm really not that emotional i love that movie so much i also love the picture that her and her family took i understand what that big family thing was and it is so big i know how she feels i have 19 brothers and sisters myself and it is really easy because we have a huge house!! and + we have a summer home that half my family lives in so 1 year we go to florida and then they come to new jersey okay see you later bye

[karen]

celine is so good inthat picture and i love her so much and i l0ne all her songs especially
*im alive
*the reason
*im your angel
*treat her like a lady
*lets talk about love
*if you ask me too
mostly all of her song are my favorit but i cant remember some songs of her

and above all all i can say is im her number 1 fan...i love celine so much

[karl alexander camilleri]

celine you are my idol any my Angle of music . i start love music when i have at that time 12years . at that time i hear your album let's talk about like and i immegatley loved your voice till know that i have 20 years . my dream to represent malta in eurovision song contest . thanks to god to give such a lovely person that is celine dion (you)
good bye!!!

[bijou Ilunga Nyota]

Celine Dion I love you so big je t'aime tres fort car tu es ma seulement start que je peux tout pr toi tu as une de ce voix et tes chansons et tes paroles me font pleure. merci d'etre la pr nous tes fans

[bijou Ilunga Nyota]

Celine Dion de puis mon enfance j'ai tjrs reves de te voir et te touche je pensai que tu vien en afrique du sud je vais te voir finalement je t'aime tant.merci d'etre la pour nous tes fans.

[ronald]

Whatta big family !!!!!
What one song from her songs could Celine give or dedicate for her family, esp, for her mother for rearing all these 14?

[Launel]

greatest singer and inspiring person.

[Jaylin]

Celine...CAll ME!

[Kinsley]

Hi Celine i love all your songs. You are a talented singer. Hope to see you one day in Mauritius. I am very far from you geographically but i'm very near cause i listen to your voice all the time and these are the special times that we shared. See you!

[jia kristie yu]

i wish i could see u n personal ms. celine dion..............

[jia kristie yu]

hi ms. celine dion,i want to greet u a advance happy birthday..........i wish u have many more birhdays to come.........love u.........god bless.....take care...............

from:jiakristie j. yu

[jia kristie jugalbot yu]

hi ............ms. celine dion..........ur my ultimate idol!!!!!!!!!!!!!i love u so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!take care!god bless u!!!!!!!!!!

[kristine grace parungao]

happt birthday ms. celine i love you so much hope to watch your concert live..., you are so beautiful, , goodluck to you,,, muah!!!

[jia kristie jugalbot yu]

hi ms. celine dion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!happy birthday to you!!!!!!!!!!!

[jia kristie jugalbot yu]

hi.............i love all your siongs especially my heart will go on............

[aion kinah]

Tout cela a exaserbated un environnement où tous les DRM est considéré comme mauvais et anti-consommateurs. (Googling le terme exact "DRM est mauvais» vous obtient plus de 800 résultats).

Ce n'est pas seulement une mauvaise chose pour l'industrie du divertissement, mais ce serait finalement une mauvaise chose pour toutes les formes de contenu numérique, et en effet, les consommateurs eux-mêmes.

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[laura]

Greetings Celine Dion I'm Laura I like your song My Heart Will Go on and I love the movie Titanic <3

[laura]

laura muriqi i like Celine Dion

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[Mostafa]

ohhh .. Celine Dion .. my Favorite best amazing Beautiful and ... songer I love her I love her nice voice very much I just wish to meet her one day then i will hug her and i know i will cry loudly

[wilhelmina kaapanda]

love all your songs

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