Sony Debuts Anti-CD Copying Technology in U.S

[RedEarth]

In an effort to cut down on the illegal copying of copyrighted CDs, Sony is experimenting with a new copy-protection format for music and audio CDs in the U.S.

The technology, called "sterile burning," is used by British firms to makes CDs uncopyable, or able to be copied only once. Currently Sony has experimented with a handful of title releases with the new technology.

Sony points to CD copying as the cause for the downswing in music sales. The format is aimed at casual CD copiers and is looked at as a simply work-around for more hardcore tech-savvy copiers.

Sony has shipped approximately 2 million CDs protected by the British company First4Internet's XCP technology, which allows users to also transfer music/files to personal mobile devices.

http://www.dailyindia.com/show/250.php

[Oreo]

1. Latest News: it's already been hacked!

Not true but I'm sure it won't take long. How many times have we heard the same thing?

[Fire Walk With Me]

8. No joke. Will it be a red magic marker that beats it this time?

Sometimes the anti-copying legislations go too far. That said, being into music, artists should get paid for their work. That goes to the record companies as well. How many businesses do you work for that dole out so little in return? Check the percentages and the concept of "clears". The entire industry is changing.

[nine30]

2. Won't work.

In theory, as long as a CD can be read from, it can be copied. Period.

[cestpaspossible]

16. D > A > D - the amount of quality lost is negligible

Less than the difference between a CD track and your average mp3, for example.

[heliarc]

24. The difference between CD and MP3 is monumental

Compression ratios steal the very life out of a full word size CD. Of course this doesn't affect recordings that have little to no dynamic range as much but conversion to MP3 makes a CD that is quiet in some places and loud in others distort pretty significantly at the lower levels (Classical music, and Jazz recordings plus anything mastered before the 1980s)

I would suggest getting some nice speakers and doing an A-B test to judge the loss of quality. Nowadays everyone seems content with earbuds, but I guarantee you there is a bigger loss than you believe there is.

Also, D > A > D represents a significant addition of distorsion and the conversion back to Digital can be botched very easily. You're adding lots of high end frequencies (Re: Nyquist Theorem) which are what gives even CDs a nasty edgy sound (at 2kHz and higher).

MP3 is a pretty good compression scheme, but I wouldn't trade my CDs for MP3s at all (or my vinyl for that matter). 44.1kHz 16 bits is hardly the best thing to settle on, but it sounds a lot better than an MP3. I would prefer that the RIAA spend some of their time moving to formats for higher sampling rates, but they seem content to continue punishing 12 year olds for downloading the equivalent of tape copies of music online.

heliarc

[darkism]

36. MP3 blows. Introducing FLAC.

http://flac.sourceforge.net

100% mathematically lossless, so the waveform is bit-for-bit identical to the actual CD, while still being compressed quite a bit.

[uncle ray]

38. that would matter to audiophiles

and those like me who know what it's supposed to sound like, but the target audience is the same target audience that held transistor radios up to their ears a few decades ago, and before that, drug sticks on a fence. high fidelity isn't the issue to 12 years olds. free music is.

regardless, we basically agree.

[megatherium]

39. Depends on what compression ratio you select,

MP3s can be as high resolution as you wish (albeit at the loss of compression ratio). If the application were D to A to D copying, you would lose very little.

[Deja Q]

44. Very true, my friend, very true. But a core problem is still fair use.

I sure as hell don't share files. But if I want to use my MP3 player (my PDA, I won't waste money on dedicated slop whose batteries die quickly and get tossed into some foreign country's landfill which in turn poisons the local inhabitants...) the law says I CAN make my own backup for personal use.

Corporations want these laws removed.

They are fascists; there is no other word that even begins to fit them.

[nine30]

27. Why 'A' ?

We are not talking digitzing the analog signal here, what is to stop recording the digital data coming directly off the CD ? Surely Sony is not proposing companies to force hardware restrictions on CD drives !

I just dont see how it can be done (prevent direct digital reproduction , that is )

[Deja Q]

43. *ding* *ding* *ding* - that's what first came to my mind. Glad that you

didn't mention specifics. Any mention of those would be against the DMCA (signed in 1998 and has led to frivolous lawsuits from one corporation to another, never mind how it hasn't stopped piracy at all but has only created more litigious chaos with its unconstitutional components and anyone supporting it had lost my respect a LONG time ago...) that would land you in prison for saying how it can be circumvented. They've thrown people in the slammer for less.

[smoogatz]

3. Argh.

The reason illegal copying and music sharing is now cutting into industry profits goes right to corporate greed. If CDs cost $6 instead of $16, nobody'd bother with file sharing, IMO.

[Zorra]

34. And the artist's share of that $16 is less than a bag of peanuts. n/t

[dubyaD40web]

4. If it hasn't been hacked already, give it a month and it will be.

[Fire Walk With Me]

5. "But sales are slumping, and no one can say why...

...could it be they put out one too many lousy records?"

-"MTV, get off the air!" -Dead Kennedys

[BlueJazz]

6. Boy..Tell me about it!

Probably 97 percent of the Bands that are out sound like that they were cut from the same mold.
Maybe if the Fuckers release decent songs and bands they wouldn't have such a hard time selling their stuff.

[NervousRex]

26. Damn!

I had that same lyric running through my head while scrolling through this thread....Great minds think alike!:thumbsup:

[Up2Late]

7. The Mega-Music Industry hasn't got a clue, or won't admit the REAL...

...problem.

"Sony points to CD copying as the cause for the downswing in music sales...."

Give me a HUGE Break!:crazy: The problem is people are no longer willing to pay $15.00-$20.00 Dollars for 1 or 2 Pop songs! Not when you can download those 1 or 2 songs for $0.99 each. :mad:

[Julius Civitatus]

10. They got a clue. They just don't care!

They are fully aware that their CDs are overpriced. They even said this 15 years ago, promising prices would come down, but they've only gone higher. Musicians barely get any money from the sale of CDs, and the huge overhead on their prices is caused by pure, unadulterated, out of control GREED!

They know a CD should cost no more than $5 or $6, but keep jacking up price while complaining about piracy. Having their cake and eating it too.

[BattyDem]

12. Exactly!

CDs are waaaay over-priced, especially when you consider how cheap they are to manufacture! And it's not the artists who are making the money, it's the record companies. Do a Google and you'll see - only the "superstars" make money off CDs; 90% of artists make money from touring, merchandising, etc. It's the record companies eating up all the profits.

This says it all:
"Sony points to CD copying as the cause for the downswing in music sales. The format is aimed at casual CD copiers and is looked at as a simply work-around for more hardcore tech-savvy copiers.

BY THEIR OWN ADMISSION, this technology will not stop the hardcore copiers, who are the ones selling the pirated copies and cutting into sales. It will only stop the casual copier. In other words, the little guy gets screwed again! The person who wants to convert their CD to mp3 so they can play the songs on their computer ... the person who wants to make a "mix CD" so they can play all their favorite songs on a road trip or at a party ... the person who wants to copy the CD so they can keep it in the car and not have to worry about heat damaging the disc they just paid $15 for - these are the people this technology will stop. However, the multi-billion dollar pirating industry in China will be slightly inconvenienced for the three days it'll take them to crack the copy protection. :eyes:

When will the record companies learn:
- Treating consumers like shit and making it increasingly difficult for them to listen to the music they paid for in the manner they choose is not the way to encourage CD sales.
- Signing artists based on looks instead of talent is not the way to encourage CD sales.
- Signing artists who can't sing and can't write is not the way to encourage CD sales.
- Signing artists who are cheap imitations of established artists and have no unique qualities to spark the interest of the general public is not the way to encourage CD sales.
- Releasing a $15-$20 CD that has one or two good songs on it is not the way to encourage CD sales.


Remember the good old days when you'd buy an album with 10 songs on it and all of them were great? (For the kiddies ... an album is like a CD, but it was made of vinyl and it frequently had great cover art ;-)). When was the last time that happened to you?

Thanks to the Internet, consumers can pick and choose the songs they want for 99 cents each. They can print the cover art and (thanks to the new Epson printers) they can print directly on the CD. They only have to buy the "good songs" - not the filler material. People don't want to spend their hard earned money on pointless crap!

All the record companies have to do is lower the price and raise the quality - it's not that difficult to do. There are a lot of talented people out there and if you happen to sign an artist who can't write a decent song, HIRE A DAMN SONGWRITER! That's what they used to do years ago. They actually had people who knew how to write good songs and they paired them with people who had great voices. Try it ... it just might work! :P

[trogdor]

14. Actually...

...they had lots of super-talented singer-songwriters, a reasonably complete list of which would overwhelm this thread. Nearly every successful 70's rock band wrote their own music. That's why you have people in their 60's who are worth bazillions of dollars because they're founding members of Led Zeppelin (for example). They are still highly sought-after as producers mainly because they know the industry from one end to the other. Can't say the same for Justin Timberlake, Ashlee Simpson, or Britney Spears, all of whom will cease getting paid when their voices do.

[BattyDem]

22. I didn't say that no one wrote their own songs years ago ...

I said that when a company had a great singer, who was not a great songwriter, they brought songwriters in to do the job. In today's market, if they sign an artist with a terrific voice, they should invest in some great songs for that artist. It would pay off.

Years ago, talent mattered. There were plenty of singers and bands who were also great songwriters - and there were also great vocalists who recorded songs by great songwriters.

Most of today's artists (not all of them) are "pretty people" who look great on video but have average voices and minimal songwriting skills. Computers and other electronic equipment have made it very easy for people with no musical training to compose - anyone can write and arrange a song ... but that doesn't mean it's a good song.

Record companies are far more interested in signing artists who will fit in to the latest trend and make money fast. They don't want to spend any time and money developing talent - and it shows in the music they release.

[XemaSab]

30. I was thinking about this the other day

I'd rather listen to someone who had a shitty voice and great songs (dylan) than someone who has a mediocre voice and mediocre songs (britney).

Ideally, of course, you get someone who has a great voice and great songs.

Involving looks in the equation is a pile of shit. I don't buy a CD because the artist is hot. Hotness doesn't hurt, but, for example, britney is naaaaaaaaasty and I would never buy her shit.

[BattyDem]

31. You're right

As much as I enjoy listening to a great voice, it really is all about the music. If the music sucks, there's no point in listening.

[Nihil]

37. Excellent summary BattyDem!

This line alone should be used to drive the boycott of Sony CDs:

> BY THEIR OWN ADMISSION, this technology will not stop the hardcore
> copiers, who are the ones selling the pirated copies and cutting into
> sales.

Well written, factually accurate ... why not submit this as a LTTE of
the music press? Most (probably all) musicians and music lovers out
here agree with it and it's just the sort of thing that a journalist
worthy of the name should take to use in a serious campaign.

Nihil

[AndyTiedye]

9. Their Sales Are Down Because The Stuff the Majors Put Out SUCKS!

I buy lots of CDs. Almost none of them are on major labels.
Some are self-produced by the artists, some by tiny local record
companies like Ceiba, or various small labels overseas.

[B3Nut]

11. Roger that!

And even when the music is good, these days they've compressed the dynamics of the recording so much it's just a loud wall of sound. It's very fatiguing to listen to. I recently bought John Mayer's "Heavier Things" and the audio is *distorted* in several places, and is so squashed that the music doesn't breathe. It makes his vintage Strat and expensive Dumble amplifier sound like a $99 Affinity Squier through a broken Line 6.

And I paid $14 for that. At least Mark Knopfler's "Shangri La" didn't get butchered...now there's a recent CD purchase I was pleased with. He gets digs in at McDonalds and Bush on that record, too.

Some of the nicest music I've gotten came in the form of 99-cent vinyl records from the Goodwill. Get an audiophile-grade 'table and it'll open your ears.

Todd in Beerbratistan, cheapskate audiophile

[trogdor]

15. I get my 99 cent vinyl from yard sales.

Picked up Montrose's "Paper Money" this past weekend. Gotta love prehistoric heavy metal.

[AndyTiedye]

19. They Still Expect to Tell Us What Music We Like

The music industry has a unique idea of sales and marketing.

They pick the stars (based on who gives the best BJs to record execs!)
put them into heavy rotation on all the Clear Channel stations
and expect us to all rush out to the stores and buy the CDs,
just because of all the hype. Or perhaps because of the videos,
which now seem mostly to feature more than we ever wanted to see
of the headliner's face for the duration of the song.

If we don't want the music they sell, they call us all thieves!
Even if we do, we are treated like thieves in the big record stores.
(But the tiny record stores I go to for my dance music aren't anything
like that. They let people listen before they buy, there is no
impenetrable layer of plastic packaging to remove, and they treat
customers like customers, not like crooks.

The mainstream entertainment industry regards raves and the house and
trance music music that go with them with fear and loathing.
When we're out dancing, we're not sitting in front of the TV.
It is far too participatory for their liking. Their minions in the
news department villify raves, while the entertainment divisions
refuse to promote any of the music, regardless of how popular it
may be.

An even more glaring example is protest music. Where is it?
There is a huge demand for it, but very little is being produced.

These companies are sacrificing some of the profitability of their
music division to further the agenda of the larger corporation.

They blame piracy to further their campaign for further restrictions
on fair use.

[Iowa]

21. "...protest music. Where is it?"

I'll second that. I hadn't thought about it until AndyTiedye brought it up, and it sure does bring back memories. I'm sure anyone 45 and up will remember these lyrics:

"Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'.
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drummin'.
Four dead in Ohio."

Lyrics like these make an impact. Maybe today's versions are out there and I'm just too out of touch to know who they are.

[wildeyed]

17. Something like three out of the last five albums

I purchased were from a small label called nonesuch records. I didn't even realize it until I read an article in the NYT Magazine about the guy who runs it. He finds acts with exceptional talent and then nurtures them. His goal is not to make chart busters, but to make great music. And some of his acts, notable Wilco, have done really well. At any rate, his company operates in the black.

[nine30]

13. CDs priced like DVDs..or even more !

Now how much effort and expenses go into recording a song, vs making a movie ???

RIDICULOUS! CDs should be priced no more than $4.99

[Nevernose]

18. Fuck you, Sony, and fuck the horse you rode in on.

Gee, Sony, could shitty music have anything to do with it? Sony and the rest of the corporate whores have managed to suck out every last drop of creativity, originality, or SOUL out of virtually every album released these days in some kind of insane effort to pander to a mythical lowest common denominator audience, and then have the nerve to charge us 20 bucks for it.

[NuttyFluffers]

20. please, sony, put a label on the album about this security feature.

so i will know which cd's not to buy. otherwise i'll just have to buy none of your cd's. :D which won't be too hard considering most pop culture music now blows, hard, with teeth.

time to buy a turntable and find real good music. there's a reason why indie record shops still do pretty well in big cities. the people are tired of shit and they want something outside of the homogenized crap we are force fed.

[librechik]

23. they learned nothing from the earlier Sony case

I CAN copy tapes on my recorder, ya jerk!

Hoping for a different outcome with the current courts?

[obxhead]

25. First I don't "bootleg" music

But I do copy all of my CD's. I really hate to have my favorite cd's ruined in my car so I only carry copies there. When damaged they get broken in half, thrown away, then i make a new copy for my use only leaving my originals at home.

I recently bought a CD from Kinkybeat Recordings that I can copy only 3 times. In order to copy it I MUST go to their website and use their online platform to make the copy.

Special thanks to all the record labels that overcharge for their CD's - then givbe 10% or less to the "artists"

#@!*%#@ etc.

[Placebo]

28. Boo-hoo.

Damn Sony. They should recognize that their fighting for a hopeless cause.

And they won't even release Fiona Apple, a real musical artist's album.

www.freefiona.com

[localroger]

29. Why this is bad -- it's a #%*#% virus

From an anon post on another board by someone who claimed to have worked on this tech:

The first time you put one of these CD's in Windows machine, it silently autoruns an app that installs the DRM on your machine. This is bad enough, but it's much worse than it sounds. The DRM app DELETES the registry entries that tell Windows what kind of CD hardware you have, and only grudgingly coughs up the info later if it determines according to whatever whimsical rules Sony has decided to apply that it's OK to access the hardware.

If you delete the app or it just fails (writer said it was buggy), your CD-ROM STOPS WORKING. And the only way to fix it is to reinstall Windows.

This isn't copy protection; it is vandalism. If any of us did it we would be prosecuted as hackers. If you ever plan to put another CD in your machine, I advise you to look up how to permanently disable autorun via registry setting so that you won't risk forgetting and having this crap take over your machine. (Not to mention the compatibility dogfight that would ensue if another manufacturer got the same bright idea.)

[dethl]

32. If I remember correctly....

Autorun on windows can be defeated by holding the Shift key right after you put in the disc.

[Deja Q]

45. *ding* *ding* *ding* Double standards, thy name is corporate america.

Sick, isn't it.

[alarimer]

33. This wouldn't affect cds downloaded off Napster

Or other paid services. I buy most of my cds from Rhapsody. I burn the songs to a cd-r that I can copy as much as I want. Since I have paid for it, it is perfectly legal. So with those services available who is going to buy a cd that can't be ripped to put on an Ipod or other device?? Not many.

[Zech Marquis]

35. Morita-san must be rolling over in his grave

back in the good old days, Sony was the SHIT. They created and sold great products with outstandng quality. Now? They keep fucking up with their dumbass drm technology. It breaks my heart to say this, but I haven't and I won't be buying anymore Sony products, not when they keep pissing on their customers like this.

[B3Nut]

40. Yup, Mr. Morita wouldn't have put up with this.

After he died, the quality of Sony equipment went into the toilet. I wouldn't own any of their audio gear now, except for maybe a couple high-end ES pieces. But at that price level you've got Rotel and other higher-end gear to pick from, so probably not.

I used to buy lots of Sony equipment, now I don't have much at all. Their old gear was their best IMHO...I have a TC-630 reel-to-reel machine made in 1969 that still sounds stunning.

TP

[htuttle]

41. If I can play it, I can copy it

Both Macs and Windows (and probably Linux) have software available that allows you to record all of the audio output of a given program (such as iTunes or Windows Media Player). If I can listen to it, I can copy it -- as digital audio, no analog loss, btw.

This is a losing battle. I wish they put as much energy into signing good musicians and producing good albums as they did into preventing people from copying their corporate muzak...

[Deja Q]

42. Again? The last time they tried, the discs would not work and the people

could NOT get refunds.

No fuckin' wonder people download. The 'supply side' becomes more and more fascist and we are their guinea piga.

I can't always condone 'downloading', but my respect for our corporate "leaders" is so diminished that my belief that those who rule can be ethical has been disintegrated.

[Straight Shooter]

46. Memo to Sony: It's the cost, stupid.

Consumers know they're being gouged. Don't charge more than $6.00 for a CD and your sales will skyrocket. Consumers know that CD's can be produced for pennies and we know the artists aren't getting a big percentage of that.

I'm not willing to risk $16 for a CD and then discover that it only contains 2 or 3 worthwhile songs, but I am willing to risk $6. The lower price also broadens the audience and gives the artists more exposure, thus more sales.

Sony is a savvy company, but sometimes they can't see the forest for the trees.