Gia got her Stormhoek wine today, and made a few points about DRM (Digital Rights Management):

It’s Official: TV Sucks… Drink Bloggers’ Wine Instead

Please, British Television, don’t implode like the Music Industry and definitely, most definitely, don’t start calling ME a ‘pirate’ in the way the Film Industry does because I copy films to my harddrive for my son to watch on the train… Last time I was in Blockbusters their TV channel-thingy started talking about how “Video Pirates” were “involved in drug and human trafficking”… ????… Really? Me? Almost everyone I know who regularly copies DVDs? We are all involved in drug or human trafficking?? Piss off! … and the ‘Oh, no, we’re not talking about you we’re talking about the bad guys who do it, you know, the… (hushed voice) Asians’ argument just won’t cut it. Unless there is a legal number of times one can copy a DVD for personal use, then I’m afraid that, legally, I am tarred with the same ‘Supports Human Trafficking’ brush. And, you know, that really pisses me off.

It’s very simple. When a corporate schmoe reaches a certain age and position within society, the thought of calling teenagers or single mothers “criminals” is far less daunting to him than the prospect of having have to change his tired ol’ business model.

When you spend twenty-plus years getting to the top of the pyramid, the last, last, last thing you want to hear is that nobody wants your pyramid anymore. Especially if that’s the only pyramid you’ve got. So you lash out.

But cultural entrenchment isn’t just the domain of “the evil managers”. The guys with the black turtlenecks and iPods are feeling the same pain, as any wander around Soho on a weekday will confirm.

[NB:] Welcome to the future of advertising: Selling wine by talking about DRM. Heh.

[DRM RELATED:] From Suw Charman: “I will create a standing order of 5 pounds per month to support an organisation that will campaign for digital rights in the UK but only if 1000 other people will too.” — Danny O’Brien.

[This article was originally posted on my main blog.]