This is a proposal for the Table of Contents of the Digital Media Manifesto (DMM), whose publication is planned for 2003/09/30 and whose drafting should happen according to a proposed timeline.

5. Benefits of the Digital Media Project

• In the last 20 years digital technologies have been variously applied to media.
  • The first application - CD - used the technologies as a the digital equivalent of analogue technologies. This is a major source of concern for music rights holders because today copy of CDs is both easy and inexpensive
  • The first audio compression technology - MP3 - could ride on the vast amount of digital content means already available on CD. The MP3 phenomenon has meant great new user experiences and mass abuse of rightsholders rights
  • The use of proprietary content protection technology in the first application of compressed digital audio and video - pay TV satellite broadcasting -.  is the major cause why this business seldom provides remuneration to service providers
  • The use of a standard content protection technology in the second application of compressed digital audio and video - DVD - is the major cause of success of this new distribution medium.
  • The inability to come up with a single content protection for digital music is tje major cause why the music industry struggles with the lack of a legitimate alternative to piracy-prone MP3
• There are a few lessons to be learned from these 5
  • availability of the enabling compression technology is not sufficient to start a DM business. It can create new markets but can also lead to dubious or outright illegitimate businesses
  • the cost of adding proprietary content protection technologies usually kills the business
  • proprietary end-user devices are usually rejected by end users because they lose the traditionally enjoyed eamless access to content
• The result for TV has been
  • For clear text digital TV a market of reduced size for open STBs
  • For pay TV an overall  large but segmented market of proprietary STBs
• For both the consequence has been
  • high cost of STBs
  • reduced evolution of STB market
• The result for music has been
  • a growing piracy
  • a new market with similar features as the old CD Audio market
  • a stillborn market of secure digital music
• Purpose of this section is to consider a few case studies where the positive effects of the DMP promises to break the DM stalemate will be concretely felt

5.1 End-user device market

• Interoperable DRM platforms will have positive effects on all value chain players and end users
• Rights holders will be able to release their content with the assurance that their content will not leak and with a fast-evolving end-user device market
• Other value-chain players will have technical access to the DRM platform
• The end-user device market will
  • become a worldwide market much in the same way as it did for traditional CE devices or the PC
  • develop autonomously pulled by a strong end-user demand with a very fast dynamics, both in terms of technologies and user-perceived features
• End users will have the possibility to access both free or pay content using the same device

5.2 Digital Terrestrial Television

• DTT has been tried in several countries with different business models
  1. Using proprietary STBs (UK and ES)
  2. Clear text broadcating of HDTV pictures (US)
  3. Clear text broadcasting of TV pictures (UK)
• The first model has failed, the second is stalling and the third seems to be working (also because it can use the previously deployed STBs)
• Availability of Interoperable DRM specification will allow
  • Removing the need to deploy STBs because they are freely available on the market
  • Solving the concerns of rights holders related to the use of broadcast programs within the house (Authorised Domain)
  • Using a variety of business models in DTT
• Similar conclusions can be drawn for digital audio broadcasting

5.3 Digital Libraries

• Digital Libraries are an example of a service, be it provided by PAs or by educational institutions, for which the technology is largely available. If it does not happen it is because the model that used to work reasonably well in the physical space, no longer works in the digital space.
• If the copyright of a particular piece of content has elapsed, there is normally no problem in making it available to the community served by the Digital Library. However, if that is not yet the case, rights holders are generally opposed to making it openly available
• As the proportion of copyrighted vs non-copyrighted works is usually overwhelming there is no interest in creating a digital library and offering its services to large communities if not for research purposes
• Availability of interoperable DRM platforms would enable Digital Library Services because
  • Rights holders can negotiate with DLs conditions for making their copyrighted works available to end users>
  • DLs will be freed from the concern of end user devices because end-user will be able to purchase devices in the shops<
• Because of the nature of DL and the type of actions (search, editing etc.) that users may need to make on content, DLs can become the triggers of major technology advances benefitting the general market

5.4 Small to medium size content producers

• It has already been shown how even large-scale content and service providers have been unable to start profitable DM businesses because of the unsustainable costs of end user devices.
• This is is even truer of more reduced-size content and service providers.
• With interoperable DRM platforms, and particularly openly available end-user devices, any content and service provider will be in a position to start a DM business or to move to digital an existing analogue media business.

5.5 Connectivity and network service providers

• After the wild dreams of the mid-1990s, telcos have been reluctant to enter the business of DM. One of the reasons is their inability to add end-user devices to the list of concerns related to the substantial upgrades that their infrastructure will in any case require
• Open availability of end-user devices will remove this big concern of theirs and will let them concentrate in what they know best: providing network access, build other services on top of that, offer hosting services to content and service providers etc.

5.6 IT and security technology providers

• Today the content security market is a niche market.
• Far from leading to banalisation of security technologies, the results of the DMP will create a competitive environment because the DMP Interoperable DRM platform specifications  will only concern interfaces between systems.
• With business of DM becoming commonplace in the form of protected content, there will be broad opportunities for IT vendors to deploy their solutions with old and new players on the value chain.

5.7 Public authorities

• Even though the times of central planning and dirigisme are over, the duty of PAs to promote the well being of citizens remain.
• In spite of technology being largely mature the now clearly proven benefits of DM are not being enjoyed by citizens
• The opportunities to create new markets of devices and software are being thrown away
• The possibility to enable citizens to become themselves creators are being neglected
• The engine of the exploitation of innovation is jammed
• The DMP will let PAs open the gate to a world that we know could easily exist.