New CD copy-lock technology nears US market

[Kellanved]

A new kind of copy-protected music CD will likely hit U.S. shelves early next year, as record label SonyBMG experiments with a technology created by British developer First 4 Internet, according to sources familiar with the companies.
Several major music labels have already used a version of the British company's technology on prerelease compact discs distributed for review and other early-listening purposes, including on recent albums from Eminem and U2.

The releases for the retail market, expected early in 2005, will be the first time the Sony music label issues copy-protected CDs in the U.S. market, although the company's other divisions have done so in other regions. BMG, Sony's new corporate sibling, has been more aggressive, with a handful of protected CDs released last year.

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http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/0,2000061791,39174531,00.htm


Fight against this BS!
In Europe all CDs are "protected", result:
-the audio quality is not nearly as good,
-they won't play in many DVD players and car stereos and
-they are far more sensitive, as the "protection" tricks the error correction systems.
Also they are more expensive: the "protection" company wants to get paid too.

Personally I don't get it: the "protection" only screws the honest costumers; pirates won't be bothered by it. Also it is proven to hurt CD sales, the only thing it does, is stopping people from copying the songs to their Ipods.

[Deja Q]

1. Oh, and the workaround is just as simple.

If I say it, I'll be breaking the law, but thousands of people on the internets have said it.

But before googling, here are some inncoent tips:

Sound card

CD player

Cable

Now there might be a lot more to it than just that...

And you're right. It won't stop a single pirate, who'd know many other, and much faster, ways of bypassing the protection too.

A 'pirate' is still somebody who sells the music under his/her own name, right?

[Kellanved]

2. yeah

But the workaround isn't really the issue: the industry screwing the consumer and then blaming the internet is.

And no workaround will bring back the audio quality sacrificed to idiocy.