[sdiy] [synth-diy] DRM vs social justice

[Gordonjcp]

On Fri, Sep 11, 2026 at 10:47:06AM +0200, cheater cheater via Synth-diy wrote:
> Some people are upset at the prospect of locking out large
> corporations from pushing out smaller manufacturers from the market by
> cloning their devices, selling at dumping prices, buying out parts
> manufacturers and closing them off from DIYer use (see CoolAudio), and
> believe it would be better to not go down that route.
> 
> The argument is that it would stifle innovation from DIY users.

How would I as a one-man-band synthesizer manufacturer making maybe two or three instruments per year go about getting one of these DRM lockout systems?

How much would it cost me per instrument, or per module?

How would I register that, who would be the registration authority that holds the other half of the encryption key?

Why would making my product not interoperate with every other modular synth ever made using any system by any manufacturer with at worst a couple of adapter cables be a net benefit to me or all ten or so of my customers?

As a synthesizer *user* what would be the benefit in buying a more expensive synthesizer module that does not work with my existing equipment?

Why would owning something where I have to buy a full set of new DRM-enabled modules be good?

And I guess finally, if you simply want to make your modules not operate with the whole rest of the modular synthesis world, why not just make them run off 200 volts or something?

-- 
Gordonjcp