Dear Honorable Senator Feinstein,
I am writing to oppose the PERFORM Act. As you know, this act would outlaw MP3 streaming, as the MP3 file format contains no DRM. I am a musician and composer. I prefer mp3s for many reasons, including the universal level of access. MP3 players are available for every operating system, free of charge. When I stream an mp3, I know that I'm reaching the largest possible audience. DRM-laden streams can never possibly achieve the same level of market penetration. By their very nature, DRMs must be secret and proprietary. That means that a private company has to write them, which they do for windows and then possibly Macintosh as an afterthought. Linux is supported even less often. Should I choose to stream via a DRM-burdened format, I have to pay a third party company and in the end, I reach fewer people. This doesn't help me as an artist. It doesn't help me as a fan.
We already have copyright laws. Webcasters already pay royalties. From a practical standpoint, I know how to capture and record DRM stream as easily as a non-DRM stream. This law is unneeded and unnecessary and doesn't solve any problems. It does, however, create problems for webcasters and listeners, especially ones on older systems or using linux.
Please withdraw the PERFORM Act.
Sincerely,
Celeste Hutchins
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