Universal to Copyprotect All CDs

angkor wrote in with a link to a story about how Universal Plans to copyprotect all CDs which will render them unplayable on Macs, DVD Players, PS2s, and some CD Players. And it won't even stop people from ripping MP3s I bet.

Comments

Obvious solution to this

[damieng]

Don't buy em.

Vote with your wallet. It's the only true voice you have in a capitalist society.

Re:Obvious solution to this

[TheAngryMob]

Won't this just increase piracy?

Think about it. If I want to hear Twisted Wet Noodle's lastest single "Geriatric Cheerleader" and I can't play it on over half the devices in my house, guess where I'm gonna turn?

MP3's are becoming the only way to play on all forms of players (including DVDs).

Do all companies have this kind of disrespect for their customers? I really hope not.

To quote, the REAL problem...

[Ars-Fartsica]

Others point to lackluster sales of hotly anticipated new releases from artists like Mariah Carey and Macy Gray, and the glut of look-alike, sound-alike boy bands.

There you have it, instead of letting true musical diversity create authentic, viable fan bases, the music industry has locked itself into the failing practice of top-down music manufacturing...reminiscent of a Soviet state capitalism that never worked either.

Maybe one day when a free market for music exists again, people will care.

Re:To quote, the REAL problem...

[Spamalamadingdong]

Someone mod that up as "insightful".

I liked this terror-scenario from the article:

Such rules let consumers enjoy music on an array of consumer electronics devices -- from PCs to portable players. But it would discourage 15 high school friends from getting together and pooling their money to buy a single music CD and a spindle of blank discs and making dubs for everyone in the group -- with a few extras to sell at school.

Speaking for myself, I don't want to keep the kids from copying the bubble-gum stuff and throwing it all around the school. I want the market for that to dry up, because the whole concept of a manufactured youth-culture is destructive to society as a whole and it deserves to be destroyed.

Buy it, open it, return it.

[msuzio]

Let's insure this prediction turns out to be untrue :-). I say we all make sure to buy and return this sucker, preferably in a coordinated effort targeted on a certain day...

What idiots... we long ago ceased being "customers" to them, now they just expect us to roll over and play dead. Forget that.

``They've been testing this in Europe and they're experiencing less than a 1 percent return rate from consumers. It really has turned out to be nothing,'' said Jerry Kamiler, TransWorld Entertainment's division merchandise manger. ``If we get the same results here, as I imagine we would, I don't think it's going to manifest itself into a consumer problem.''

Use their best weapon against them

[WaIter Bell]

I purchased one of these copy protected CDs without knowing that it was defective merchandise, and the store I bought it from will not accept the return since the music was opened. Since I paid cash, I have no right of appeal.

However, I am fed up with this charade and I would like to end it once and for all. I have the paperwork in front of me to take Universal Records to small claims court to recover the purchase price of the CD. Since Universal is not based in my area, it will be very expensive for them to send their high-priced lawyers to my county to deal with the charges. And, worst case, I will lose the cost of the CD (and best case, I will get a refund on the CD and make a political statement at the same time).

I strongly encourage all of you to do the same thing: buy whatever CDs you want, and sue the record labels if they are copy protected. Even if most of the cases get thrown out, it will be *very* expensive for the labels to take any sort of action against the thousands of individuals who are suing them.

The RIAA has been able to manipulate the legal system into standing up for their rights. Why shouldn't we do the same thing back to them?

~wally

Re:Use their best weapon against them

[gmhowell]

You don't have to go to Universal to complain. You sue Best Buy. I can't remember the legalese, but basically, they agree that the merchandise is fit for a given use. It wasn't. They misrepresented the product. You win.

Now, Best Buy can now sue the distributor, essentially under the same grounds. (and it keeps going up the food chain from there).

But you have no cause of action directly with Universal. Only with Best Buy. It's kinda like Windows Refund Day: no cause with M$, but with the seller of the product.

Maybe the music sucks!

[HardCase]

What just kills me about the recording industry's whining about a drop in domestic (US) sales is that the whole thing is blamed on piracy.

What about the quality of the music that's being released? Did Universal, BMG, Sony, et al ever stop to wonder if part of the problem is that they're churning out bands that are carbon copies of each other? Do we really need more "boy bands" or breathy, heartbroken beauty queens? It's just like TV...as soon as Survivor became a hit, every network had to have a clone...but now that the market is saturated, ratings are terrible.

Oh, and what about the economy? I'll bet that if you're one of the million or so high tech workers who doesn't have a job anymore, buying the latest Brittany Spears CD is probably way down on your list, below, say groceries!

Piracy is always an easy card to play, and not just for the music industry. It's a whole lot easier it blame some kid with a ripper, a burner and a fast Internet connection for destroying their market than it is to realize that the industry itself, by churning out disc after disc of bubble gum flavored dreck, is killing itself.

-h-

The REAL reason they're doing this

[Jason Levine]

Good article. There's another article that might explain Universal's reasoning for adding copy-protection. (HINT: It really has little to do with piracy.)

http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,49188,00.html

On Tuesday, Universal Music Group becomes the first label to sell copy-protected CDs in the United States with the release of its soundtrack Fast & Furious -- More Music. This comes at a time when the recording industry is asking consumers to pay for music that can only be listened to on the PC.

The newly released CD will keep people from listening to their music on the computer, game consoles and other digital devices. If they wanted to go through the major labels to buy the same music for their computer, the only way would be to sign up for Pressplay, one of the major label subscription services, when it launches later this month.

Essentially, consumers would be required to pay once for a physical CD and once for the digital music file. The restrictions for online subscription services and physical CDs are part of a music industry-wide attempt to stop online music piracy.

Bascially, they want to move everyone into a position where they get paid everytime you "space-shift" your music. Playing your CD in CD player? Pay for it once. Playing it on the computer? Pay for it again. <begin sarcasm>After all, we've got to keep those RIAA pockets filled, don't we?<end sarcasm>