Fritz Attaway, of the MPAA had a slightly different perspective. He characterized DRM as a tool to make sure consumers understand the licensing content is released under, saying "We need DRM to show our customers the limits of the license they have entered into with us."
The pro-DRM sentiment wasn't echoed by all the panelists though. Rajan Samtani, director of business development at digital watermark developer Digimarc Corp. and a former employee of ContentGuard, a company involved in creating DRM solutions, feels it's time for the entertainment industry to admit DRM doesn't work. He said "These kids have too many ways to get around DRM."
If Hughes is representative of the thinking at the RIAA is it any wonder that EMI doesn't think they're getting their money's worth from the trade group?