Rob Thomas, the brains behind the hugely successful campaign of the 'Veronica Mars' Kickstarter project, probably didn't expect that choosing the Flixster/UltraViolet DRM distribution service to stream his movie online will fire back at him past Friday.
UltraViolet, a multi-platform digital rights management (DRM) and storage system delivered a far from smooth viewing experience, that caused a lot of buzz on social media. Many fans of the critically acclaimed movie, who gave the project $5.7 M on Kickstarter, flooded Twitter with complaints, requiring refunds.
Source: Mashable
A huge pity to see the talented team challenged and struggling with unfavorable comments since the last weekend. And also a painful example of the Ultraviolet DRM adversity - an example the industry will hopefully learn from.
As a practice of imposing technological restrictions that control what users can do with digital media, the DRM was meant to protect publishers’ interests. In reality, as seen on the 'Veronica Mars’ UltraViolet example, it can have a deterrent effect instead.
It’s a bit of a paradox. DRM should guarantee all publishers an easy way to offer their content online and to nurture their revenues. But in practice, it pushes consumers back, while discouraging a legal purchase and usage. If acquiring a legitimate copy of a movie, such as 'Veronica Mars', to play it on the TV with Flixster takes 30’ and more - users will surely quit and search for other ways to get the access.
Sounds difficult to keep a file secure while making it available to everyone, on every device? Actually, it is not!
With Cleeng, it would take just 2 minutes to protect the 'Veronica Mars' kickstarter movie project, and then embed it directly on a website and also on the Kickstarter page. Fast delivery, directly to the consumers. And all of this totally secure, without a hassle. In comparison to UltraViolet it's also cheap. $99 a month, with unlimited transactions.
Rob, if you hear us, we’d be pleased to help your team get the most out of this fantastic project. We’ve already started selling 'Veronica Mars' to the French market, where the video is available for purchase on Dailymotion, http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1gpeqj_veronica-mars-vost_shortfilms
If you want no more DRM that is killing the industry - just share this blogpost! Help others find a better solution!
