546: Music DRM

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Music DRM
Just yesterday I bought my first non-DRM'd songs (The Last Vegas, in keeping with my 'I only listen to things from Guitar Hero' theme).
Title text: Just yesterday I bought my first non-DRM'd songs (The Last Vegas, in keeping with my 'I only listen to things from Guitar Hero' theme).

Explanation[edit]

Here, Cueball is commenting in a comment thread that he authored about the negative traits of DRM, (usually "Digital Rights Management", but some, such as Richard Stallman, prefer the term "Digital Restrictions Management"). Cueball has a point: DRM, while meant to fight those who download media through 'dungeon sketchy' maneuvers, risks locking out legitimate owners. In turn, this turns off legitimate buyers from buying the songs, thus hurting artists. Of course, this would be true if the major stores sell music with DRM. Megan, wanting Cueball to make peace and enjoy his goal, makes the following choice quote: 'Close the comment thread, get out the debit card, buy us some music, and let's rock the fuck out', while she shows the sign of the horns. The problem is that Cueball is arguing for the enjoyment of arguing, not out of any actual belief in what he's arguing about.

The title text references 132: Music Knowledge while implying that Randall is not really a music fan, since he would only be interested in music that appears in the games that he plays.

Transcript[edit]

[Cueball sits at his computer.]
Cueball [typing]: ...and that's why music DRM is bad for listeners and artists!
Megan [off-panel]: What are you doing?
[Megan enters and Cueball turns towards her.]
Megan: In case you didn't notice, we won the music DRM war. The big stores are DRM free.
[Zoom in on Megan who holds up a hand doing the sign of the horns.]
Megan: So close the comment thread, get out the debit card, buy us some music, and let's rock the fuck out.
[Back to viewing both as in panel 2.]
Cueball: But I don't actually like music, I just like being self-righteous on the web.
Megan: Lucky for you, that will always be free.


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Discussion

I am sorry. Since I put in my browser a JavaScript that replaces most bad words to 'cuss' per The Fantastic Mr. Fox (with the rest of the bad words being replaced by other more... printable in-jokes of my own), the JavaScript probably replaced Megan's bad word automatically when I put in the comic script.Greyson (talk) 23:02, 3 May 2013 (UTC)

Net neutrality[edit]

"Lucky for you, that will always be free." Well Um DanDan0101 (talk) 19:30, 17 December 2017 (UTC)

? Beanie (talk) 13:45, 31 March 2021 (UTC)

So, I guess this comic is now irrelevant because of streaming services? "Always be free." /_ \ 172.70.115.20 21:25, 28 February 2022 (UTC)

I mean to be fairrrr services like bandcamp still exist, and IIRC if you buy a song from Itunes, it doesn't have DRM, but yeah sadly the grand majority of people get their music from streaming 172.70.211.72 20:30, 17 March 2022 (UTC)