10/04/2004 05:46:00 PM|||Joe|||Steve Ballmer, professional jerk:
“We've had DRM in Windows for years. The most common format of music on an iPod is stolen.”
First of all, by “stolen format” he means MP3. Which is a ridiculous statement. That's like saying this: the most common medium for bootlegged movies is DVD (I'm guessing … I have no idea), therefore, the most common format of movies on a DVD player is stolen. Re-read that sentence. It's not only mistaken, it's non-sensical. Your average consumer can't even “steal” formats. I'm not quite sure what that would entail, though I could probably make the argument that certain large corporations have been known to hijack and subvert open standards with similar but vitally different closed formats, thereby “stealing” a format. Is that what Ballmer meant? Huh.

By the way, DRM means “Digital Rights Management” which is a buzz-word for content providers being able to decide what you can play your music on. Also when and how often.

Anyway, I thought this was a fascinating statement. Why does Ballmer say that the MP3 format is illegal? It obviously isn't, so he must be saying that most music that is in MP3 format has been illegally acquired. Which may be the case. I would venture that the vast majority of music being illegally traded on the various P2P networks are in MP3 format.

Before I continue, I want to say two things — first, I have been a proponent of the open and free trade of art for a long time (my one and only article submission to slashdot was about MP3s); and second, I honestly try to avoid acquiring music illegally. Not because I think it is wrong per se, but because it is illegal and because I don't mind paying a fair price (iTunes, baby. iTunes). I think any way to find new music is ok. I found bands like My Bloody Valentine and Pixies through Napster (the real Napster, not that corporate jerk-off that we have now). I downloaded Pearl Jam's Binaural 2 or 3 days before it was released several years ago. I listened to it, loved it, and bought it shortly after it was in stores. I know that sounds crazy to some people, but I'm not alone in this sort of wacky ethical behavior.

Anyway, the point is that Steve “Monkey Boy” Ballmer said, I think, that MP3 is the most common format of music on any given iPod. Now I gotta say — I don't personally know anyone with an iPod but myself, so I had to conduct this poll on just one person. That leaves a margin of error of like 10,000% or something. But there's a kernel of truth in this, even if it is a very, very tiny one.

My examination of my own iPod/iTunes music collection:By the way: AAC is a format for music used primarily by Apple. It's a bit better than MP3.

So here's how the math breaks down: 8.8% of my music is in the “stolen” MP3 format. I wouldn't call that “the most common.” 5.6% of my collection was purchased at the iTunes Music Store (protected AAC). The other 85.6% is unprotected AAC.

Of my MP3 files, I've identified 77 songs which I can't be completely sure I acquired legally. Though some seem to be dupes of songs I already own (for example, I legally purchased several Soundgarden CDs, but I ripped a friend's copy of “A-Sides”, which is kind of a collection of hits). So really, it's more like 69. And I'm not going to count the MP3s from a live show by CKY in Amsterdam, since it's crappy quality and I've given CKY, their record label and Bam Margera lots of my money. Plus, the quality is terrible, and I don't know why I haven't deleted them. Then there's some songs for South Park, but I'm not going to subtract them, since I don't know if they're on CD or not. So that leaves 52 possibly illegally obtained MP3s. Of those, I know that 44 were definitely not legally obtained. But I'll go with the 52.

By that criteria, 2.14% of my songs were illegally acquired. 3.17% if you count the dupes and live CKY.

Of those, I plan to purchase the CDs for 22 of them (2 albums). The other two I don't plan to purchase. Though I may buy the non-dupe “A-Side” songs from iTunes Music Store (9 songs). I don't plan on buying the Stone Temple Pilots CD I illegally obtained (borrowed it from a friend; 11 songs). That leaves two songs: “Velouria”, by Pixies as covered by Weezer (not sure where to find that one) and “Heroin” by The Velvet Underground. Though that's technically a dupe, since I own the original. This one's live, though. I never listen to this version and I think it sucks compared to the original. I don't even know how I got it. So there.

So screw you, Ballmer. Screw you Mr. Developers (that link is the reward for you crazy people who actually read this whole post).|||109690822725705119|||iPod + MP3 = Stolen?