Blunders of the Traditional Music Industry in the Age of Technology

I found a really entertaining post by David Leichhardt that raises a few key questions revolving around the peculiar current behavior of the music industry, and how intellectual property is sold as a physical product. The blogger prefaces his punch with an account of a purchase he made in which he simply “handed over cash for a physical product,” in this case, a music CD.

“No, cries the music industry, you are bound by the licensing agreement that you did not sign and that we cannot produce for inspection.”

His purpose was to illustrate the bizarre conditions that what he just purchased was, in effect, not really his. The reality is he purchased a user license agreement, which he never agreed to, and can’t even be read.
The blunder, however, reveals itself in the following situation where the CD has been scratched and can no longer be listened to. Under the assumption that indeed his previous purchase is “a license agreement” for personal use, he deduces that he should be able to “reacquire [his] content, especially since it is digital data and can be produced an unlimited number of times at virtually no cost.”

“No, cries the music industry, you bought a product, not a license. You are not entitled to a free replacement, you need to buy it all over again. And when you do, you will be covered by another identical license. Until something happens to this new physical medium.”

It is interesting that either way, the customer is the one who loses. Not only is your product prone to physical corruption, but also its replacement, at literally zero cost, is not offered as a solution. When you buy a CD, you make a contribution to the artist and the effort of its distribution. In return you receive an agreement granting you access to listen to the songs. The instability of the medium works to the advantage of the music industry. When a medium is damaged, customers are required to once again contribute to the artist and the effort of its distribution.

This problem is, of course, weakened by the shift of “music user agreement packages” being sold purely in data form on the internet. I’m only assuming that these online companies would set up an account based structure in which previously purchased songs could be re-downloaded infinitely upon request. What a novel idea it would be, if the traditional music industry functioned in a similar fashion. I think this illustrates one of the many reasons that the traditional music is a dying breed.

Oldschool Cryptograpy via The Enigma Machine

Arthur Scherbius invented and developed the German Enigma Machine in 1926 in order to send encrypted messages. These devices used rotors to both decrypt and encrypt codes before and during the wartime. The technology was implemented into the German army for secure communication called "Wehrmacht Enigma." The machine found its way into the hands of Polish authorities who became one of the most pronounced code breaking which remained a secret to much of the public for nearly three decades. (1)

Marian Rejewski reveised and built upon Scherbius' technology and Poland began breaking German codes.

After the occupation of Poland, allied forces used the enigma device against the Axis powers in and information operation known as ULTRA.

Polish engineers implemented and improved upon the intricate machinery as the technology was brought into services for the German army.

"By 1933 the Poles were solving Enigma messages. They built their own copies to speed up the work. Then they improved on these with a cyclometer, which in effect joined two Enigmas, and then by 1938 their so-called bomba, which linked six Enigmas" (2)

Thousands of German messages were deciphered throughout the Enigma machine's actualization from the Bureau of the Polish Intelligence Service in Warsaw. The power of such early code breaking was truly an amazing thing. The Enigma Machine was a crucial Allied asset which aided in the outcome of the second world war. (3)

It's interesting to look back at how potentially pivotal such technologies have been in the past, and especially during the wartime. It will be compelling to see how these technologies evolve to encompass the sea of communication technologies today and in the future as well as their wartime significance.