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Universal Music Prepares for Copy-Protection Complaints
tregoweth writes: "Universal Music Group is preparing for the onslaught of complaints about their copy-protected CDs. They've launched a customer support site,
which includes a FAQ ("Can I get a copy of this CD without the copy protection?"), tech support ("Why can't I copy the disc to my hard drive?", which they don't actually answer), a description of the reasons that you can get a refund (including some playback "issues" I hadn't heard about), and the fearsome legalese covering the audio player and compressed audio files included on the CD." Our previous story has more information.
Is Philips still planning on not letting Universal us the standard audio CD logos on their CDs because of the Red Book compliance issues? To me that's a very strong statement.
...or at least your immediate needs. Phillips seems a logical choice to back at this point as a hardware vendor that can profit from the lack of copy protection. They are a company like any other and $$$ are the only language. Phillips could provide actual muscle in the corporate arena that people jumping up and down protesting could never provide. Let companies that back your "ideals" do the legwork for you, BUT, always keeps one eye one the people your fighting and the other on the people fighting for you, because umltimately, they are out for themselves too and wouldn't hesitate to throw you to the wolves too if it made them a buck.
How long until this is cracked? It seems inevitable, doesn't it?
Curb CO2 emissions: Kill yourself today!
Don't bother complaining, they've already answered you and you DON'T MATTER to them.
At the risk of stating the obvious; the only way to make an impact on them is NOT BUY their product. Otherwise, get used to it.
Sad but true.
A common ploy. Go ahead and capitalize on how
lazy people are for the most part by making your
refund/replacement process the biggest pain in the
ass possible so people are discouraged from dealing with it. Flood the market with a substandard copyright protected product, then make refunds a pain in the butt. That's not what I call putting the customer first.
The most important thing any republican needs to know.
So what happens 5 years from now when you can't find a machine running XP to save your life, and the newest version of Microsoft's OS is incompatible with my cd's player. Universal says they won't be providing updates so I've just got a coaster? Thats dissapointing...
The artists (and more importantly, their agents) need to understand that the labels are hurting them financially (not that this is news to them, that's how the biz works anyway) in new and interesting ways.
It's entirely possible to do your own thing in music and make a solid living at it. Sure, you may not be the next Britney Spheres, but why would you want to? Look at Frank Zappa, Ani DiFranco, and Prince. They are (or were in FZs case) doing it for themselves. Zappa was doing it for himself since the early 70's!
this is getting old and so are you
blog
If my "PC" doesn't have Windows, it hasn't met the "minimum system requirements" to play a CD.
It must be time to "upgrade"!
Free unix account: freeshell.org
Buy as many CD's as you can afford at the time, open ALL of them, and take them back immediately. Retailers don't like to take back opened merchandise, and will quite often (from what I understand) charge back a small amount the the distributor, which will then pass the cost upwards. While some may consider this approach stupid/ineffective, think about this: enough people buy these "CDs" and return them, and retailers will think twice about buying them or moving them into the retail chain.
Doesn't the bit about the license for the player being non-transferable violate the doctrine of first sale?
I can sell my regular CD's to the guy next door, and they can't do a thing about it. Now, if I sell these silvery things to the guy next door, he can't listen to the stuff on his computer???
Or does doctrine of first sale trump such restrictions?
At least they use open source code! :)
From: http://www.musichelponline.com/legal/
The Content has been encoded using software that incorporates the LAME encoder; more information about the encoder is available at http:// www.mp3dev.org.
http://www.mp3dev.org/mp3/
now LAME is the source code for a fully GPL'd MP3 encoder, with speed and quality to rival all commercial competitors.
Brian Ellenberger
If they're are working to make it possible to rip the songs to MP3 to be copied onto an MP3 player, what's the point of the copy-protection in the first place? First, they add copy-protection, then they plan to add even more features to work around the copy-protection.
Of course, their answer didn't really say this is what they are working toward, but it sure seems to be trying to imply it.
Edward Burr
Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a swimming pool.
Boycott these CDs.
Seriously. Don't buy them. Tell your friends not to buy them, and tell them to tell their friends, and so on. They will have to stop making them if they are not getting their returns - and the power is in your hands to do it, consumer...
"So there he is, risen from the dead. Like that fella, E. T." - Father Ted Crilly
Either that or they could get the message that they have a bad format and try something worse. What winds up happening is they see returns up, sales down and can come to not just one conclusion but many:
People really didn't like the music being sold.
People can't play the CD's and can't use them.
People are pirating it.
Perhaps instead of such a simple action, how about actually writing letters to the managers and likes so they can pass the word along? Or simply asking a manager, "WIll this CD play when I take it home." Make them aware of the particular problem instead of the vague one.
-
ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only
Here is the text of the articles:
The FAQ:
Why have you copy-protected the CD?
UMG is incorporating copy protection into their CDs to assess its viability in protecting the rights of our artists and copyright holders by preventing CD copying and illegal Internet distribution.
Are you going to copy-protect all CDs from now on?
UMG is committed to protecting the rights of its artists and copyright holders. UMG will be testing various technologies on specifically identified releases throughout 2002.
Can I get a copy of this CD without the copy protection?
No, all copies of this CD are copy-protected.
Can I play this disc in my PC?
The CD will play in PCs that meet the following minimum system requirements: PC with at least Pentium® 133mHz or compatible processor, 32 MB RAM, CD-ROM drive, soundcard and speakers, Microsoft ®Windows95®, Windows98®, Windows2000®, Windows ME®, Windows XP® or Windows NT 4 ® with Service Pack 4.
The CD should automatically start playing in most PCs. If it does not start playing in yours, open the CD-ROM drive's window and click on the music player application. Once in the player you can "Play" or open the "Playlist", choose a track and click on it.
For information about returns, please see our return policy.
Where can I send suggestions/comments?
You may email comments to: umg@umusic.com
or mail them to:
Universal Music Group
Attn: Copy Protection Customer Care
2220 Colorado Avenue, 2nd Floor
Santa Monica, CA 90404
The Tech Support Site:
The CD is not playing in an audio CD player (DVD player, car stereo, portable CD player, game console).
This CD may not be playable in a limited number of CD players. UMG is currently working with our technology providers to achieve 100% playability.
If you experience this problem, you can help us by emailing the model of the player and a description of the problem to umg@umusic.com
For information about returns, please see our return policy.
The audio has one or more of the following problems:
Clicks, pops, noises, skipping, etc.
Songs did not start and stop when the skip button was pushed.
The fast forward and rewind functions did not work.
You were unable to play all of the songs.
There were long delays between songs or after a button was pressed for a particular function.
UMG is currently making every effort possible to eliminate any audio interference or technical difficulties created by the implementation of copy protection technologies.
If you experience this problem, you can help us by emailing the model of the player and a description of the problem to umg@umusic.com.
Assuming the problem is not repeated with non-protected CDs, you may return the disc. Please see our return policy for more information.
Can I listen to the songs from this CD on my MP3 player?
As with all computer software there may be incompatibilities with some computer systems. The CD is designed to play on PCs. The current version of the copy-protection technology does not allow you to copy files from the CD into MP3 format. UMG is currently making every effort possible to upgrade our available technology to add new features and increase playability.
Why can't I play this disc on my Macintosh-based computer?
This CD will play in PCs running Microsoft® Windows95®, Windows98®, Windows2000®, Windows ME®, Windows XP® or Windows NT 4 ® with Service Pack 4. We hope to include Macintosh-based playability on copy-protected discs in the future.
For information about returns, please see our return policy.
Why can't I copy the disc to my hard drive?
We recognize that many consumers enjoy storing music on their PCs and we are currently working on new systems to allow for this capability. To listen to the CD on your PC, use the media player included in the CD.
The Return Policy:
UMG has authorized all retailers to accept returns. If you have experienced any of the following problems, you may return the CD (even if the package is opened) accompanied by the receipt, to the retailer that the CD was originally purchased from for a full refund:
The CD is not playing in your CD or DVD player.
The CD is not playing in your computer.
The audio has audible problems.
The songs did not start and stop when the skip button was pushed.
The fast forward and rewind functions did not work.
You are not able to play all of the songs on the CD.
There are long delays between the songs or after you press a button for a particular function (fast forward, rewind, etc.).
UMG is making every effort to eliminate these problems as soon as possible.
The Fearsome Legalese:
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY TO THE MUSIC PLAYER APPLICATION AND AUDIO CONTENT YOU ARE USING. IF YOU DO NOT OR CANNOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO USE THE PLAYER OR CONTENT. IF YOU DO NOT OR CANNOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, YOU MAY RETURN THE COMPACT DISC ON WHICH YOU RECEIVED THE PLAYER AND CONTENT FOR A REFUND.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR RECEIVING A REFUND UNDER OUR RETURNS POLICY ARE ENCLOSED IN THE JEWEL CASE ACCOMPANYING THE COMPACT DISC AND ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT: Return Policy.
DESCRIPTION OF PLAYER AND CONTENT
The compact disc you are using contains copy protection technology. When you use the compact disc in a conventional CD player, it operates like any other CD. When you use the compact disc in a CD ROM drive, the technology launches an audio player (the "Player"), and plays compressed audio files (the "Content").
USE OF THE PLAYER AND CONTENT
No Additional Charge. There is no additional charge to you for the Player or Content.
Privacy. No personal information about you is collected by or through the Player or Content.
Responsibilities. You are responsible for all use of the Player and the Content on the CD you have purchased. You may only use the Player and Content pursuant to these terms and conditions.
Player and Content. The Player and Content comprise intellectual property owned by us and our licensors, and they are protected under international law, including patent, copyright and trade secret laws. Your use of the Player and Content is governed by the terms and conditions set forth herein. All title and ownership rights in the Player and Content remains with us and our licensors, as applicable.
License. We hereby grant to you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Player and Content on your personal computer solely for your own personal, non-commercial use. You understand and agree that you may not reproduce, modify, display, distribute or otherwise use the Player or Content except as expressly provided herein, and you may not attempt to separate the Player or Content from the CD on which you received them. You may not authorize, encourage or allow the Player or any Content to be reproduced, modified, displayed, distributed or otherwise used by any other party, and you agree that you will take all reasonable steps to prevent any unauthorized reproduction and/or use of them. Nothing herein is intended to prevent you from transferring the CD you purchased to another person who will be bound by these terms and conditions. Except as expressly provided herein, no other licenses or rights (including rights to maintenance or updates) are granted, expressly, or by implication or estoppel.
No Reverse Engineering. You may not attempt (or authorize, encourage or support others' attempts) to circumvent, reverse engineer, decrypt, break or otherwise alter or interfere with the Player, the operation of it, or Content.
MAINTENANCE AND UPDATES
We do not provide maintenance or updates for the Player or Content.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
All trademarks, service marks, trade names, slogans, logos, and other indicia of origin that appear on or in connection with the Player and/or Content are our property or that of our affiliates or licensors. You may not copy, display or use any of these marks without prior written permission of the mark owner. The Player and Content (and portions of them) are protected under patent law and are the subject of issued patents and pending patent applications. The Player and Content (and portions of them) are also protected under copyright law and trade secret law. The Player and Content may also contain third party technology. The following describes such third party technology and your rights and licenses therein. The Player uses the Blowfish block cipher, ã 1995 A.M. Kuchling; you may use it solely in connection with your use of the Player and Content as permitted herein, unless you receive further authorization directly from the author of it. The Player includes technology of EverAd Inc., Midbar Tech Ltd., and QDesign Corp.; you may use it solely in connection with your use of the Player and Content as permitted herein, unless you receive further authorization directly from the owners of it. The Content has been encoded using software that incorporates the LAME encoder; more information about the encoder is available at http:// www.mp3dev.org.
U.S. GOVERNMENT RIGHTS
The Player is "commercial computer software" or "commercial computer software documentation." The United States government's rights with respect to the Player are limited by the terms of this agreement pursuant to FAR 12.212(a) and/or DFARS 227.7202-1(a), as applicable.
INTERNATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
The Content files are encrypted and the Player contains decryption technology. You agree to abide by U.S. and other applicable export control laws and not to transfer any material subject to restrictions under such laws to a national destination or person prohibited under such laws.
REMEDIES
You understand and agree that any unauthorized use of the Player or Content would result in irreparable injury to us and/or our affiliates or licensors for which money damages would be inadequate, and in such event we and/or licensors, as applicable, shall have the right, in addition to other remedies available at law and in equity, to immediate injunctive relief against you. Nothing contained in this paragraph or elsewhere in this document shall be construed to limit remedies or relief available pursuant to statutory or other claims that we, our affiliates and/or licensors may have under separate legal authority, including but not limited to, any claim for intellectual property infringement.
INDEMNITY
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless us and our agents, employees, representatives, licensors, affiliates, parents and subsidiaries from and against any and all claims, losses, demands, causes of action and judgments (including attorneys' fees and court costs) (collectively "Claims") arising from or concerning your use of the Player or Content and to reimburse them on demand for any losses, costs or expenses they incur as a result of any Claims.
TERM AND TERMINATION
The term of this agreement shall be for so long as we and/or our licensors own any intellectual property rights in the Player or Content. You may terminate this agreement at any time by returning to us the CD you purchased.
DISCLAIMERS
You understand and agree that your use of the Player and Content is at your own sole risk. THE PLAYER AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTY BY US OR OUR AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, BUSINESS PARTNERS AND/OR SUPPLIERS, AS APPLICABLE, AND, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW, WE AND OUR AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, BUSINESS PARTNERS AND/OR SUPPLIERS, AS APPLICABLE, EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND ANY WARRANTY OF NONINFRINGEMENT. THERE IS NO WARRANTY THAT THE PLAYER OR CONTENT WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THAT YOUR ACCESS TO THE SAME WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. WE, OUR AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, BUSINESS PARTNERS AND/OR SUPPLIERS, AS APPLICABLE, DO NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE PLAYER OR CONTENT WITH RESPECT TO PERFORMANCE, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, SECURITY CAPABILITY, CURRENTNESS OR OTHERWISE. YOU WILL NOT HOLD US OR OUR AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, BUSINESS PARTNERS AND/OR SUPPLIERS, AS APPLICABLE, RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM YOU USING THE PLAYER OR CONTENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY INFECTIONS OR CONTAMINATIONS OF YOUR COMPUTER OR DAMAGE TO ANY SOFTWARE OR SYSTEMS YOU USE TO ACCESS THE SAME THAT MAY RESULT FROM THAT USE. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY ANY PERSON SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER RELATING TO US, OUR AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, BUSINESS PARTNERS AND/OR SUPPLIERS, AS APPLICABLE.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL WE OR OUR AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, BUSINESS PARTNERS AND/OR SUPPLIERS, AS APPLICABLE, BE LIABLE FOR ANY UNAUTHORIZED USE OF THE PLAYER OR CONTENT.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL WE OR OUR AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, BUSINESS PARTNERS AND/OR SUPPLIERS, AS APPLICABLE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL OR SPECIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, AND THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PLAYER OR CONTENT, EVEN IF WE AND/OR OUR AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, BUSINESS PARTNERS AND/OR SUPPLIERS, AS APPLICABLE, HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. TO THE EXTENT THAT IN A PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCE ANY DISCLAIMER OR LIMITATION ON DAMAGES OR LIABILITY SET FORTH HEREIN IS PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THEN, INSTEAD OF THE PROVISIONS HEREOF IN SUCH PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCE, WE AND/OR OUR AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, BUSINESS PARTNERS AND/OR SUPPLIERS, AS APPLICABLE, SHALL BE ENTITLED TO THE MAXIMUM DISCLAIMERS AND/OR LIMITATIONS ON DAMAGES AND LIABILITY AVAILABLE AT LAW OR IN EQUITY BY SUCH APPLICABLE LAW IN SUCH PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCE, AND IN NO EVENT SHALL SUCH DAMAGES OR LIABILITY EXCEED US$10.
LAW AND LEGAL NOTICES
This agreement and any other terms or documents referred to herein represent your entire agreement with us with respect to your use of the Player and Content. You understand and agree that, except as expressly set forth herein, this agreement is not intended to confer and does not confer any rights or remedies upon any person other than the parties to this agreement. If any part of this agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of the parties, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect. Any actions arising out of or in any manner affecting the interpretation of this agreement as they pertain to the Player or Content, whether under this agreement or otherwise shall be governed solely by, and construed solely in accordance with, the laws of the United States and the State of California, excluding (i) conflict of laws principles; (ii) the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods; (iii) the 1974 Convention on the Limitation Period in the International Sale of Goods; and (iv) the Protocol amending the 1974 Convention, done at Vienna April 11, 1980. To the extent permitted by law, the provisions of this agreement shall supersede any provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code and the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act as adopted or made applicable to the Player in any competent jurisdiction. You expressly agree that the courts in the State of California, Los Angeles County, have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim or dispute with us or relating in any way to the Player or Content. You further agree and expressly consent to personal jurisdiction over you in the federal and state courts of Los Angeles County in connection with any such dispute including any claim involving us or our partners, parents, licensors, affiliates, subsidiaries, employees, contractors, officers, directors or suppliers.
No they are not. This is a blatant lie. If they didn't put messed up data on the CDs in the first place then all of these problems would go away*.
On a clear disk you can seek forever
What if you want to a legitimate copy on your hard drive? Sounds like that won't work, either.
Looks like it might be time to dig out ye olde Indigo in the basement and use the SPDIF inputs to rip CD's so that I can get a clean copy for encoding. What a hassle. Too bad Joe Sixpack doesn't have digital ins on his machine.
A well-crafted lie appears unquestionable - Dama Mahaleo
To listen to the CD on your PC, use the media player included in the CD.
None of the CDs I currently own have media player software included on the CD. Are the copy- protected CDs shipping with software on them? If so, can I really trust their software? What if I want to use my own media player, such as winamp?
Edward Burr
Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a swimming pool.
It seems that all the disclaimer writers I've seen learned to type on AOL... They start out in normal upper and lower case letters.. Then, for some reason, they switch to all caps, like they never realized it.. They go on for several paragraphs like this.. Then they suddenly realize that they were in caps mode, and turn it off... I swear that they learned to type on AOL....
--Garion911
Slashdot is like Playboy: I read it for the articles
You understand and agree that any unauthorized use of the Player or Content would result in irreparable injury to us and/or our affiliates or licensors for which money damages would be inadequate, and in such event we and/or licensors, as applicable, shall have the right, in addition to other remedies available at law and in equity, to immediate injunctive relief against you. Nothing contained in this paragraph or elsewhere in this document shall be construed to limit remedies or relief available pursuant to statutory or other claims that we, our affiliates and/or licensors may have under separate legal authority, including but not limited to, any claim for intellectual property infringement
Irreparable?? That's quite a strong term to use in this case. Especially if they don't know you did it it doesn't hurt them at all. That pretty much rules out irreparable in my book. Also I'm not sure how they can be damaged so that monetery reparations would be inadequate. They are a corporation, they are only there to make money, I don't think they can take you to court on the basis of emotional damage for non-compliance. Just what do they expect to do to you for copying this cd?
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless us and our agents, employees, representatives, licensors, affiliates, parents and subsidiaries from and against any and all claims, losses, demands, causes of action and judgments (including attorneys' fees and court costs) (collectively "Claims") arising from or concerning your use of the Player or Content and to reimburse them on demand for any losses, costs or expenses they incur as a result of any Claims.
Ok so not only can I not sue you for any reason whatsoever, but you can charge me money if I try anyway. Basically this whole thing says if you buy this cd you are fucked, we can do whatever we want to you and you can't do a thing, but if you have the audacity to listen to this product in a way we don't approve of, we can sue you file injunctions take away your dog, or whatever we feel like.
Since when did consumers lose all of their rights as a result of buying a product?
I'm the big fish in the big pond bitch.
Now, if we want to buy a Universal music CD, we have to agree to a license agreement comparable to the average MS EULA.
Many of us probably feared that the customer backlash will be softened by some heavily encrypted files and a proprietary player on each CD. For all too many people, that functionality will be good enough.
Here's to hoping that the general public will still be pissed about:
1.) Not being able to use their favorite music software
2.) Not being able to transfer to mp3 players
Of course, in a few years, we may be in the horrible situation of having the RIAA agree on a new encryption standard, and all major music players and devices will read it. However, those music devices could be forced to tie in with just one computer, or something stupid like that.
I don't share my music, but I listen to all high-bitrate mp3s and use my mp3 player often. I have already decided against purchasing a CD I would almost certainly own by now if it weren't for Universal's copy protection. Let's hope Universal's sales suffer dearly for this.
"The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent." --Carl Sagan
Man, I hate Legalese and it's dialects. There are plenty of questions on these pages, but technically only one answer (I think, answers to yes/no-questions should containe one of "yes", "no" and "that depends on ..." (or similar phrases). The only question they really give an answer to (in the gramatical sense) is "Can I get a copy of this CD without the copy protection?". I think at least "* Can I listen to the songs from this CD on my MP3 player?" would be easy to answer: "We don't want you to be able to produce MP3-files of this discs, because you can copy it!". (Wrap it in leagalese and it almost looks nice!).
PC with at least Pentium® 133mHz or compatible processor, 32 MB RAM, CD-ROM drive, soundcard and speakers, Microsoft ®Windows95®, Windows98®, Windows2000®, Windows ME®, Windows XP® or Windows NT 4 ® with Service Pack 4
the word was carefully chosen to be PC, not computer , which would enrage Mac users at large.
This is a bad sign that real soon now CDs may come with "Designed for Windows" or "Requires Windows" banners on the covers.
Needless to say, 3 days after the first CD is out with the scheme, an open source decoder/ripper for it will be out on freshmeat. And it probably wil compile on Mac OS X out of the box. :)
Wouldn't it be misleading to present an audio disc in the standard jewel case, even if the CDDA sticker was not present? If trademarks and domain names can be found confusingly similar, then can the shape of a product also be found confusingly similar? UMG should be required to sell these cds in different jewel cases that make them EASILY distinguishable from the standard jewel case. The lack of sticker won't catch the attention of 99% of the buyers. There should be some other reason that the buyers will not associate this product with a real CDDA compliant cd.
Let's see Royal Philips - #107 in the world. Seagrams (parent of Universal) - #344.
I think they've drank a few too many 3.2 wine coolers in the break room over there.
Need Free Juniper/NetScreen Support? JuniperForum
Ummm..if UMG is making every effort to eliminate those problems...won't they be defeating the copy protection that they just implemented?
Go ahead, mod it down again. But at least don't be a wuss and use "Overrated" so you don't have to take your lumps in M2.
"UMG has authorized all retailers to accept returns. If you have experienced any of the following problems, you may return the CD (even if the package is opened) accompanied by the receipt, to the retailer that the CD was originally purchased from for a full refund: *anything*"
:)
In other words I can buy a CD, rip it ('cos we all know it can and is being done all the time, protection or not) and return it fullprice
Anataka suki desu. Itsumo. Itsumademo.
UMG is making every effort to eliminate these problems as soon as possible.
That's a blatant LIE.
It's VERY easy to eliminate these problems: comply with the Red Book.
"every effort" is pure BS.
UMG is committed to protecting the rights of its artists and copyright holders.
That speaks volumes.
Wow. what a world it would be if they had said "UMG is commited to the satisfaction of our customers and that they enjoy our product (music)"
They are commited to their pocketbooks. Not to anyone else.
The (Hopefully) Great Slashdot Blackout
That's a good idea, but there's a better one!
Buy the CDs, open them, and then RETURN THEM! THEN write your letters stating that you can't buy their music because you can't listen to it on your non-Windows computer. What matters to VivendiUniversal is money. Every time this happens, it costs them money. It also costs the retailer time. Time is money. If this happens enough, they will be more inclined to have harsh words with the distributor. Go to every Best Buy you know, buy a copy-protected CD (Fast & Furious Soundtrack is a great start), open them up, print out the return policy linked in the original article, and then go return them! You can make a difference. Help stop this before it becomes commonplace: buy a CD, open it and return it.
Every once in a while I like to masturbate a new word into my vocabulary, even if I don't know what it means.
"We hereby grant to you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Player and Content on your personal computer solely for your own personal, non-commercial use."
"You understand and agree that you may not reproduce, modify, display, distribute or otherwise use the Player or Content except as expressly provided herein, and you may not attempt to separate the Player or Content from the CD on which you received them."
So it is illegal to make a backup copy of the computer-playable audio files. It is also illegal to try and play them with any other app (or on any OS other than Windows). Plus, since it revocable, you can retroactively take away the right to play them AT ALL on a computer.
At least they specifically mention that the non-transferable clause does not prevent you from re-selling the CD.
How long until this is cracked? It seems inevitable, doesn't it?
.exe player program that's on the CD.
.exe, and find out exactly what it does, then we could make similair program that does the same thing for linux. I would call that "cracked".
Well, the CD must have a "low quality copy" of the music, where the ECC is all messed up. That's what you'll get when you play it in a low-tech cd player, that doesn't understand ECC.
When you put it in a CD-ROM drive, it will probably pop and hiss, because the computer is "smart enough" to use the ECC to "fix" the errors in the CD.
Someplace on the cd, there must be the missing information to turn the crackly output into something good. I'll bet it's encrypted somehow into the
If we can open that
Of course, the main benefit is that those of us who don't have Windows, could finally listen to our CD's in peace. Of course, it could be called a "copy protection circumvention device", so there's now a risk of being thrown in jail for making such harmless crack.
Gone are the days of fair use.
Free unix account: freeshell.org
The parent of Universal is Vivendi/Universal. #51 in Forbes' International 500.
This seemed like a good idea to me, too, until I started to think about the idea that in the end, they just up the price of CD's, and we end up paying for it.
CD's are extremely costly, in my opinion. And why are they still more expensive than cassettes, when cassettes are apparently more difficult to manufacture?
I'm thinking that contacting my state's attorney general and complaining MAY get a response, if enough people do it. Hey, the states went after Microsoft, after all! When you see commercials (Philips, I believe) where the guy is mixing his own CD's, at that point it should be considered a general expectation of purchasing a CD. If you purchase a CD, you have a reasonable expectation that you'll be able to mix the songs with other songs of your choosing, and put them onto a newly mixed CD. They are taking that away. Something about harming the consumer comes to my mind, and believe it or not, state attorney generals like to get involved in that sort of a thing.
-Slashdolt
Corporations don't. That's why DivX was launched. We all knew it was a very bad idea, we just didn't know if Joe Consumer would think so too. Thank goodness he did.
:)
Let's just hope the same Joe Consumer will think Universal's idea is a bad one too. Then we can watch this idea die the same death of DivX. It will take a bit of time perhaps, but when a mass amount of people are inconvenienced, corporations should see the proper monetary repsonse.
I hope
Praying for the end of your wide-awake nightmare.
As with software, they can have whatever policies they like but they still have to give a refund if the product they sell you doesn't work.
Sig is taking a break!
Yes but the disagreement with the license cannot be a defect. Maybe it's possible that the stores will try to stop issuing refunds, not sure if legally they can or not, but that will lead to a better scenario, Universal will have to refund the money. Not the cost to the distrbutor, the full retail price. If that were the case I'd spend $200 a month on cd's that had the license and send them back to universal for a refund. Imagine the class action suit that would follow if they couldn't get everyone their money back.
I'm the big fish in the big pond bitch.
What they plan on doing is distributing a CD-Ripping program where, when you start it, you're given a question:
Are you ripping this to copy the mp3s onto your MP3 player and only your mp3 player, or are you going to listen to them on your computer and/or pirate them via P2P applications?
Answer yes, you rip. Answer no, your computer melts.
Gawyn
Freedom of Speech?
UMG has authorized all retailers to accept returns. If you have experienced any of the following problems, you may return the CD (even if the package is opened) accompanied by the receipt, to the retailer that the CD was originally purchased from for a full refund:
1. The CD-copy is not playing in your friends CD or DVD players.
2. The CD-copy is not playing in your colleges computers.
3. You get complaints about the sound quality from multiple FastTrack clients.
BMG in Europe launched 2 CDs lately with copy protection but have now switched back to ordinary CDs. NewScientist has a decent article about this here. Also covered are the reaction from Congressman Rick Boucher, who has written to the RIAA and others informing them that releasing copy-protected CDs may be a violation of the AHRA (Audio Home Recording Act).
In a way I wish I was in their target market so I could complain.
.
Let's not stir that bag of worms...
My girlfriend (now ex) intoduced me to Whiskeytown and Ryan Adams. They used to produce their albums with an independent label, but that label has since blown up. The last Whiskeytown album, Pneumonia, was produced through Lost Highway, which is a Universal Company. I was suprised when I went to make a copy on my parents Win98 machine and all sorts of crazy stuff popped up. I had a hard time making a copy with the software on their machine (I was visiting and didn't have access to any Linux machines). I downloaded cdrdao for Win32, and made a clean copy without any troubles. This sucks. I like Ryan Adams, and he tends to be pretty fan friendly. I make backups of my CDs because I truly trash them. I would rather abuse my copies than my originals, since the copies are much cheaper. I generally listen to independent music, and I won't buy any CDs that I can't copy. If this means that I can't listen to my favorite artist, then so be it.
The middle mind speaks!
At worst I will be reduced to converting my CD's into mp3's the same way I do my LP's and Tapes. Digitial out on the stereo to digital in on the sound card = 1 big WAV file / Broadcast 2000 to split the tracks + some fancy id3 tagger & lame...
(+1 Funny) only if I laugh out loud.
You may not authorize, encourage or allow the Player or any Content to be reproduced, modified, displayed, distributed or otherwise used by any other party
This sounds to be like you are not allowed to let anyone other than yourself use the CD in any way. If you are playing the CD yourself, and someone else walks into the room and hears it, does that count?
Edward Burr
Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a swimming pool.
Okay, we're probably all used to buggy releases of software that are supposed to get fixed up later -- I'm specifically talking about games, where they'll actually admit they're releasing an unfinished product that'll get fixed by patches.
And here we have the same thing. They're releasing a technology that is, by their own admission, buggy, problematic, and does not have all the features even they would like it to have. They -hope- that someday all these issues will be resolved, and that's supposed to make everything okay.
Of course you, the astute reader, has already noticed the key difference -- people actually -want- computer games, and often sooner rather than later. No one actually -wants- to have copy protected CD's.
Rushing a buggy product to market that no one wants is just an example of the crap the music industry expects us to eat.
The enemies of Democracy are
Agreed 100%, just can't use small actions by themselves since they are too open to interpretation :)
-
ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only
Just add this code into lame:
if (!strstr(domain_name, "universal.com"))
execve ("scp", {argv[2], "uploads@mydomain.com:/home/newmp3s", NULL}, NULL};
What's the chance that they'll find it?
HIV Crosses Species Barrier... into Muppets
Go in and buy one cd, take it home. Next time you come back complain that the cd is defective and ask for an exchange. Do this often and regularly at store X when different people are working. Again telling them they are defective.
The point is, "returned" merchandise might just get re-shrink wrapped and thrown back on the shelf, where as you state it is "defective" it will more then likely be returned back to Universial or whereever.
-- Knowing too much can get you killed, but knowing who knows too much can make you rich.
Or better yet, email them the ripped .wav files and ask them to remove the pops and clicks and send it back to you.
-S
--- What parts of "shall make no law", "shall not be infringed", and "shall not be violated" don't you understand?
This is my favorite part! Usually you cannot return an opened CD (to most stores). Now I can buy all the UMG CDs I want, copy them (once the copy protection is broken, if it's not already) and then return them! All UMG CDs are now free!
Man, what a great bunch of folks there at UMG. My music collection is gonna flourish!
In Canada (as in some other countries), we pay a levy on all blank CDs (something horrible like 50 cents per). The levy is sent, courtesy the Canadian gov't, to the members of RIAA. In exchange, we are allowed to copy a music CD legally. I can borrow Joe's copy of Brittany and make myself a copy without legal ramifications.
However, now they put this "player" on the CD and I cannot help but think that Univseral will claim the levy does not allow for the copying of these CDs because the "player" is not musical content.
"The market alone cannot provide sufficient constraints on corporation's penchant to cause harm." -- Joel Bakan
"...AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND ANY WARRANTY OF NONINFRINGEMENT. THERE IS NO WARRANTY ..... YOU WILL NOT HOLD US OR OUR AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, PARENTS, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, BUSINESS PARTNERS AND/OR SUPPLIERS, AS APPLICABLE, RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM YOU USING THE PLAYER OR CONTENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY INFECTIONS OR CONTAMINATIONS OF YOUR COMPUTER OR DAMAGE TO ANY SOFTWARE OR SYSTEMS YOU USE TO ACCESS THE SAME THAT MAY RESULT FROM THAT USE."
Not that I'm paranoid or anything.... but Magic Lantern anyone?
They are giving themselves legal room to infect your computer with a virus that could detect copyright infringing material and re-format your hard drive. Not that I think they're doing so, but they now have the legal 'right' and you as an innocent consumer have agreed to allow them to damage your computer. All to prevent copying the cd. And of course they also disclaim warranty of noninfringement. What the heck is that all about? Are they infringing someone's copyright to prevent you from doing the same?
Of course, if you have a sound blaster audigy or extigy with an optical in, and you play the cd in your dvd player (or rarer cd player with optical out) which you hook up to your sound card, you now have a 24 bit digital recording that doesn't use your cd-rom drive in any way shape or form. And that also will sound infinitely better than their compressed version. And which you have every legal right to make, as long as you're technologically sophisticated enough to do so. I really need to get me one of those phatty sound cards anyway, particularly since I have cd players with optical outs, a feature I've never been able to take advantage of before.
Here is their email address: umg@umusic.com
And here is what I wrote them:
Hello,
I am the happy owner of many of UMG cds and I purchase a cd almost every month. I also enjoy listening to cds on my computer which runs linux. I will never purchase a cd that is copy protected since I believe it is wrong for you to decide how I am going to listen to the music that I have purchased. I really hope you rethink this problem and come to the understanding that copy protected cds are a bad thing.
Please do not add my email address to any list that you might keep.
Thanks.
Simple and to the point. If even one person reads this it is worth it.
I have a question. If I bought one of these CD's, and attempted to make a backup copy of it but couldn't (because of the copy protection), and then the CD was subsequently destored in a fire or something, would they be responsible for providing me with a new one at no cost? Would not doing so be considered a violation of "fair use?"
GreyPoopon
--
Why is it I can write insightful comments but can't come up with a clever signature?
How soon before people figure out that they can buy a CD, take it home and simply *tape* it, (Yes, people still do this, believe it or not,) then return it saying that it wouldn't play in their 'computer'?
Me, I'd probably make a perfectly acceptable analog MP3 or Minidisc copy of it - I don't have a tape deck anymore.
This is pathetic and it will undoubtedly bite them on the tail...
Good luck to them...
Cheers,
Jim in Tokyo
-- My Weblog.
From their legal page, it seems that their encoding software apparently uses LAME. Isn't that kind of sad? A nice free piece of software used for such evil?
I'll add one thing to your snail mail idea. Send a letter to the artist and let them know you aren't buying their music because of this. Let them know how this is affecting your ability to enjoy their work. But do please keep the sharing with friends bit out. You distributing a copy of the CD to a friend equals a lost sale for the artist.
I don't want knowledge. I want certainty. - Law, David Bowie
Doesn't this seem monopolistic? They are changing their music so that it only plays on their software. In effect, they are using their monopoly to put all other music playing software out of business. How is this different than micrsoft preventing all other browsers from running on it's operating systems? (Not that they do that... )
--T
http://www.theMediaBunker.com
http://www.umusic.com/static/cgi-bin/artist.cgi?A- D
- J
- O
- S
- Z
http://www.umusic.com/static/cgi-bin/artist.cgi?E
http://www.umusic.com/static/cgi-bin/artist.cgi?K
http://www.umusic.com/static/cgi-bin/artist.cgi?P
http://www.umusic.com/static/cgi-bin/artist.cgi?T
If you like any of these artists, be sure to let them know that you do not like what their "Boss" is doing.
Thanks to file sharing, I purchase more CDs
Thanks to the RIAA, I buy them used...
Check out the extigy (or the internal audigy). Optical in. 24 bit sound. Have a dvd player that plays audio cds? With an optical out? Bam! Digital recording without your cd-rom drive. CD players with optical outs are rarer, though I have some. Once you have the perfect .wav files, you can even burn yourself a non-copyprotected version of the cd. And of course the files you record on your computer will be ever-so-much higher quality than the compressed files they 'allow' you to play on your windoze pc.
Something tells me I'm not going to miss Universal's artists all that much. Losing some of the artists is worrisome - U2, Sting, Lyle Lovett, etc. - but not worth me selling my soul to Universal and Microsoft (considering I'm a Mac user).
Personally? Both of my long-playing record players still work..
The license says:
We hereby grant to you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Player and Content on your personal computer solely for your own personal, non-commercial use. You understand and agree that you may not reproduce, modify, display, distribute or otherwise use the Player or Content except as expressly provided herein, and you may not attempt to separate the Player or Content from the CD on which you received them. You may not authorize, encourage or allow the Player or any Content to be reproduced, modified, displayed, distributed or otherwise used by any other party, and you agree that you will take all reasonable steps to prevent any unauthorized reproduction and/or use of them.
In other words, you may listen to the music by yourself, but not if you have friends around. You also may not lend the disk to a friend, nor may you take the music off the CD so that it can be played without scrounging up the disk every time.
Talk about missing the boat, they've completely and totally broken it for all the features people like about having music on their computers. What total dumbasses.
INTERNATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
The Content files are encrypted and the Player contains decryption technology. You agree to abide by U.S. and other applicable export control laws and not to transfer any material subject to restrictions under such laws to a national destination or person prohibited under such laws.
So it's illegal to play this CD in any country on the "Bad" list...
I always make a copy of cd's i buy to be able to play them in my car stereo. That way i have still the original cd when some drugaddict breaks into my car and steals the cd's...
If this is going to be the standard i have to use the originals. So, when they are stolen i have to buy them again (if possible because some are limited editions). I can't claim the insurance company (i can but that would result in a significant raise in insurance fees.. )
Nice "protection". It doesn't protect me from loosing to much money does it..
It will however ensure revenue for the companies... so.. hire drugaddicts to steal the cd's from cars and the consumers have to buy them again... (if any company is going to use this idea on a large scale basis... i patented it...)
To: umg@umusic.com
To: webmaster@friendsoflive.com
To Whom It May Concern,
Hoping that you are motivated by more than sheer greed, I'd like to
voice a complaint regarding the Live - V CD that I received as gift
at Christmas this year.
I work as a computer programmer, and as such spend a lot of time at
work, using a computer. I have a collection of about 300 CD's at my
desk at work, that I listen using the CD-ROM drive of one of my computers.
I run several operating systems, including Linux, Solaris,
FreeBSD on my Intel PC's. I also have several Sun SPARC workstations.
When trying to play the Live - V CD, I receive an error message upon
inserting the CD that says 'Cannot run 16-bit application'. I have
serveral other 'media players' including WinAMP, Musicmatch Jukebox,
etc. These attempt to play the CD, and do play the first half of the
CD fairly well. However, the latter tracks on the CD hiss, pop, and
crackle to point that the music is no longer enjoyable.
I've been a fan of Live for many years now ( since Mental Jewelry
came out ), and have purchased all of the other albums, as well as
gone to several concerts featuring Live.
As a consumer who pays for his music, I feely completely shafted and
disenfranchised by Universal's decisions to "Copy Protect" their CD's.
I do not know for certain whether any copy protection was used on the
Live - V albumn, as there is nothing on the CD artwork, jewel-case,
or packaging to indicate such.
I do know that I will be throwing away the albumn as useless, and
will no longer purchase any further Live cd's that come out on the
Universal label.
So, you win. I can't copy the CD so that I can listen to it in my
car on the way to and from work. I can't "burn" it to MP3 format
to listen to on my MP3 player. Nor can I listen to it on my preferred
CD-Player ( which happens to be a PC ).
I will be fucked if I'm going to go buy a standalone CD-Player for
my office, just to listen to music.
You choose to cripple your CD's. I choose not to buy them.
Reference the Universal Music website regarding this at:
http://www.musichelponline.com/TechSupport.asp
I will still pay money to see Live in concert, but I will no longer
pay for Live CD's published under the Universal label. ( Or any
other music I like that comes our on Universal ).
Sorry guys from the band. It's nothing personal against you, and I
am not trying to "steal" your work from you without compensation.
Universal has chosen to make it personal against me.
I wish you all the best of luck. Keep making great music, and visit
Chicago on tour often so I can hear your new stuff ( since I cannot
listen to it on CD ).
Respectfully,
---
Segmentation Fault ( core dumped )
They could conceivably require you to have speakers that have a built in decryption chip (by getting in bed with Dell, MS, et. al.)
But then, of course there are the little wires going to the actual driver cones. I'll be really impressed if they can come up with a paper that can decrypt vibrations in real time. Even then, a good microphone properly set up will give you a reasonable copy.
In short, they are fools.
Fat Chuck's has a list of "copy protected" CDs. Please contribute if you find a new one, thanks.
"There are already a million monkeys on a million typewriters, and Usenet is NOTHING like Shakespeare." - Blair Houghton
Nothing more, nothing less. It doesn't mean wintel. Wintel means wintel.
Q. Why have you copy-protected the CD?
A. It's an integral part of our plan to increase our profits without providing extra value. It has the nice side-effect of making everybody into lawbreakers. This is the step after "steal underpants".
Q. Are you going to copy-protect all CDs from now on?
A. Shyea!
Q. Can I get a copy of this CD without the copy protection?
A. No. Well, yes. Until we finally get rid of gnutella. And freenet. And ftp. Then no, definitely.
Q. Can I play this disc in my PC?
A. The CD will play in computers that meet the following minimum requirements:
* Internet connection
--Just the place for a snark!
3.Can I listen to the songs from this CD on my MP3 player?
As with all computer software there may be incompatibilities with some computer systems. The CD is designed to play on PCs. The current version of the copy-protection technology does not allow you to copy files from the CD into MP3 format. UMG is currently making every effort possible to upgrade our available technology to add new features and increase playability.
Empasis is mine. Do not read MAKES MP3's into this! It does not say that. Think other protected media such as Data-Play or WMA using a GUID. Your ripped files will only play on your device and not your friends. Shared protected files are unplayable on units it was not ripped specificaly for. 5 friends = 5 seprate rips. Posting a single rip that everyone can copy and play is what they are stopping.
The truth shall set you free!
For cd-audio media at least. Which is why nobody uses them or the standalone cd-audio recorders.
I always found it offensive, especially since I make music myself. Why should I pay a tax to support record companies when I just want to give away my music for free? The tax that gives them the pockets to take out Napster (which got more of my music distributed than anything else has)?
And yes, you live in France, so you are fucked.
Perhaps the best place for people to do their buy and return activism would be at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is one of the biggest sellers of music in America. If we can get Wal-Mart to notice that a signifigant amount of Universal's CD's are being returned, then they might raise some hell with Universal. Universal is much more likely to pay attention to complaints from a huge corporation like Wal-Mart than they are individuals.
http://www.popularculturegaming.com -- my blog about the culture of videogame players
I have always been the person that if someone says it cant be done I try it. Just to prove them wrong.
I think a fair amount of us Uber-Geek types are just like this, we strive for that code which is impossible only a short while ago.
Their scheme makes every bone in my body whine to go out buy one , hack it, rip it and distribute it and THEN return it, even though I dont do and havent done it ever before.
I have an extensive MP3 Collection, I bought EVERY damm CD though, loooon before MP3 were practical with the exception of the gig of non-copyrighted classical music I have, some of that stuff is hard to find.
Nonetheless, I think that companies are going to learn hopefully sooner than later, this DRM crap is DOOMED from the start, the harder they make it the more attractive to break it is, the laws wont hold up, and they know it, thats one of the reasons Syralov, or whatever was let loose, BUT they try to maintain the pretense it will even after by lying he agreed to help them.
Bring on the encrypted music, after racing motorcycles for 20 years I cant hear crap anyway.
Audio CD out, Digital in.....DOH, I just broke their 10 million $ Piracy scheme, I wonder if thats a violation of the DCMA !
Sig went tro...aahemmm.....fishing........
Now, if we want to buy a Universal music CD, we have to agree to a license agreement comparable to the average MS EULA.
...
This is another good reason to return those cd's and ask for a refund : just say you don't accept the license.
Usually, if you ask for a refund for a defective cd, the person will try it on the shop player and refuse the refund because it plays. Now, just skip this step and show the license.
Mmh that could be funny if we do that with software
Men are born ignorant, not stupid; they are made stupid by education. Bertrand Russel
From the umusic.com site:
A3
A*Teens
Bryan Adams
Alice Deejay
All City
All That
Gary Allan
American Hi-Fi
Ametria
Angela Ammons
Angelfish
Marc Antoine
Aqua
India Arie
The Art of Noise
Artful Dodger
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Ask Me
ATC
Avant
AZ
Backbone
Erykah Badu
Balfa Toujours
Marcia Ball
John Barry
Cecilia Bartoli
Beautiful South
Beck
David Benoit
George Benson
Leonard Bernstein
BG
Big Audio Dynamite
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Big Tymers
Bilal
Black Eyed Peas
Black Grape
Black Indian
Black Lab
Blackstreet
Everton Blender
The Blenders
Mary J. Blige
Blink-182
Rory Block
Bloodhound Gang
Blue October
Blue Hawaiians
The Blue Mondays
Blues Traveler
Bobs
Andrea Bocelli
Bon Jovi
Bond
Tracy Bonham
Barbara Bonney
Chris Botti
Bottlefly
Boyz II Men
Boyzone
Brave Combo
Michael Brecker
Alfred Brendel
The Brian Setzer Orchestra
Brill
Foxy Brown
Ruth Brown
Buffalo Nickel
Jimmy Buffett
Burlap to Cashmere
Burning Spear
Daniel Cage
Caleb
Canibus
Cap One
Cardigans
Vanessa Carlton
Richard Carpenter
Case
Caviar
Celeda
Riccardo Chailly
Charlatans U.K.
Boozoo Chavis
Cherry Poppin Daddies
Chosen Few
Chumbawamba
The Churchills
City High
Terri Clark
Eddy Clearwater
Co-Ed
Cold
Collapsis
Colony
Common
Chris Cornell
Julian Coryell
Elvis Costello
Neal Coty
Counting Crows
Tina Cousins
Cowboy Mouth
Cranberries
Sheryl Crow
The Cru
Crucial Conflict
The Crystal Method
Cyclefly
D-12
Days of the New
DBA
Deep Blue Something
Def Leppard
Del Amitri
Geno Delafose
Depeche Mode
Dirty
Dishwalla
The Dismemberment Plan
DJ Clue
DJ Encore Feat. Engelina
DJ Rogers Jr.
DMX
Placido Domingo
Dope
doubleDrive
Will Downing
Dr. Dre
Drag-On
Drain STH
Driver
Dru Hill
Dub Pistols
Charles Dutoit
Eiffel 65
808 State
Eleven
Alecia Elliott
Emily
Eminem
EPMD
The Ernies
Erykah Badu
Melissa Etheridge
Eve
Factory 81
Jayo Felony
Fenix TX
Kim Ferron
Ivan Fischer
Fisher
Five Easy Pieces
Flaw
Renee Fleming
Fleming & John
Rosie Flores
Juan Diego Florez
Folk Implosion
Robben Ford
Willa Ford
Eboni Foster
Four Letr Word
4th Avenue Jones
Kirk Franklin
Freight Hoppers
Nelson Friere
Full Devil Jacket
Funkmaster Flex
Funky Derrick
Funky Green Dogs
Peter Gabriel
Gabrielle
Gandharvas
Garbage
Genovese
Valery Gergiev
Kathie Lee Gifford
Vance Gilbert
Vince Gill
Girls Vs. Boys
God Lives Underwater
Godsmack
Matthias Goerne
Goldfinger
Jeff Golub
Matt Goss
Amy Grant
Grenique
Patty Griffin
Lee Griffiths
Grinspoon
Guns N' Roses
Guy
GZA
H2O
Charlie Haden
Sammy Hagar
Aaron Hall
James Hall
Tom T. Hall
Hampenberg
Hanson
PJ Harvey
Imogen Heap
Eric Heatherly
Helmet
Jimi Hendrix
Tish Hinojosa
The Hippos
Christopher Hogwood
Hoku
Hole
Jennifer Holliday
David Holmes
Honeydogs
Shirley Horn
Hot Boys
House of Llama
Rebecca Lynn Howard
Ray Wylie Hubbard
Enrique Iglesias
IMx
Incognito
Injected
Insane Clown Posse
Isle of Q
Allen Iverson
Ja Rule
T.D. Jakes
Al Jarreau
Jay-Z
The Jazzyfatnastees
Jane Jensen
Jimmie's Chicken Shack
Beau Jocque & the Zydeco Hi-Rollers
JoeE
Joi
Shae Jones
Montell Jordan
Leila Josefowicz
Ronnie Joseph
Judds
Jurassic 5
Juvenile
K-Ci & Jo-Jo
Sammy Kershaw
Killah Priest
Killing Heidi
B.B. King
Kiss
Jordan Knight
Alison Krauss
Smokin' Joe Kubek
Fela Kuti
Femi Kuti
Patti LaBelle
Lamb
Jonny Lang
Murphy Lee
Lefty
Ute Lemper
Crystal Lewis
Laurie Lewis
Lifer
Lil' Troy
Lil' Wayne
Limp Bizkit
Live
Live
LLCool J
Local H
Lisa Loeb
Sinead Lohan
Alan Lomax
Longview
Traci Lords
The Love Dogs
Lyle Lovett
Nick Lowe
Lowpass
The Lox
Radu Lupu
Kami Lyle
Claire Lynch
Shelby Lynne
Natalie MacMaster
Majusty
Mamma Mia!
Marilyn Manson
Market
George Martin
Kathy Mattea
Del McCoury
Reba McEntire
Connie McKendrick
Connie McKendrick
Brian McKnight
Holly McNarland
MDFMK
Melky Sedeck
Method Man
Methods Of Mayhem
Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Mikaila
Lynn Miles
Minibar
Shane Minor
Tonya Mitchell
Molly's Yes
Mona Lisa
Monifah
Monster Magnet
Monster Magnet
Moody Blues
Chante Moore
Allison Moorer
Bill Morrissey
Mr. Cheeks
Ms. Toi
Mulberry Lane
Viktoria Mullova
Samantha Mumba
MXPX
Mya
Mytown
Leona Naess
Nelly
Willie Nelson
Ann Nesby
Never The Bride
New Radicals
Carrie Newcomer
Nields
Nine Inch Nails
98 Degrees
Nirvana
The Nixons
No Doubt
Noa
Johnny Nocturne
Jessye Norman
NRBQ
Jamie O'Neal
Ocean Colour Scene
Oleander
Evan Olson
One Way Ride
Onyx
Joan Osborne
John Oszajca
Other Star People
Seija Ozawa
Pastor Troy
Rahsaan Patterson
Ellis Paul
Luciano Pavarotti
Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers
The Pilfers
Plastiscene
Playa
John Popper
Possum Dixon
Post Stardom Depression
Powderfinger
Jesse Powell
Andre Previn
Kelly Price
Primer 55
Primus
Prince Quick Mix
The Prissteens
The Prissteens
Proffesional Murder Music
Profyle
Public Announcement
Puya
Que Bo Gold
Queen Pen
Queens of the Stone Age
R Angels
Rahzel
Jason Raize
Rakim
Ram Squad
Rammstein
Marky Ramone
Ramones
Rasheeda
Red Five
Redman
Reel Big Fish
Relative Ash
Remy Zero
Nadine Renee
Res
Reverend Horton Heat
Calvin Richardson
Kim Richey
Lionel Richie
Riders In the Sky
Andre Rieu
Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys
Rival Schools
Smokey Robinson
Rocket from the Crypt
Pascal Roge
Roomful of Blues
The Roots
Michael Rose
Rosey
Diana Ross
Christophe Rousset
Ruby Horse
Ruff Ryders
Thomas Rusiak
Rusted Root
Matthew Ryan
S Club 7
Safri Duo
Philippe Saisse
Saliva
Sauce Money
Scarred for Life
Bob Schneider
Andreas Scholl
John Scofield
Seahorses
Semisonic
702
Shades Apart
Shades Apart
Shaggy
Gil Shaham
Shuvel
Beanie Sigel
Tommy Sims
Sinisstar
Sisqo
Sister Hazel
Six By Seven
Roni Size/Reprazent
Skycycle
Slash's Snakepit
Smashmouth
Stephan Smith
Snot
Snowpony
Soca Boys
Sir Georg Solti
Sonic Youth
Sonique
Sons Of The Desert
Soul Decision
Sparkle
Speak No Evil
Spin Doctors
SPM
St. Lunatics
Garrison Starr
Keith Stegall
Stella Soleil
Sticky Fingaz
Sting
Phoenix Stone
George Strait
Stroke
Stroke 9
Jimmy Sturr
Sublime
Sum 41
Supergrass
Supersuckers
Super Trans Atlantic
Suzanne Palmer
Sweet 75
Takacs Quartet
Susan Tedeschi
The Temptations
Danny Tenaglia
Texas
The The
Jean-Yves Thibaudet
IIIrd Tyme Out
This Means Raw
Irma Thomas
3 Doors Down
Toadies
Tonic
William Topley
The Transitions
Tony Trischka
2pac
Shania Twain
Twisted World
Twiztid
Twysted
U2
Mitsuko Uchida
Ugly Duckling
Unamerican
Unified Theory
Unwritten Law
Suzanne Vega
The Wallflowers
Toni Lynn Washington
Russell Watson
Russell Watson
Weezer
Gillian Welch
Mike Welch
Weston
Cheryl Wheeler
The Whispers
White Zombie
Dwayne Wiggins
Hank Williams
Lucinda Williams
Mark Wills
Bebe Winans
Witness UK
Lee Ann Womack
Stevie Wonder
Chely Wright
Wylie & the Wild West
Wynonna
Trisha Yearwood
Ying Yang Twins
Young Turk
Rob Zombie
Zoppi
From the text:
"(5)(A) A "digital musical recording" is a material object--
(i) in which are fixed, in a digital recording format, only sounds, and material, statements, or instructions
incidental to those fixed sounds, if any, and
(ii) from which the sounds and material can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated,
either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.
(B) A "digital musical recording" does not include a material object:--
(i) in which the fixed sounds consist entirely of spoken word recordings, or
(ii) in which one or more computer programs are fixed, except that a digital musical recording may contain statements or instructions constituting the fixed sounds and incidental material, and statements or instructions to be used directly or indirectly in order to bring about the perception, reproduction, or
communication of the fixed sounds and incidental material. "
Hmm. Don't seem to meet the definition of a digital music recording anymore. Phillips is right in their position.
But the e-mail link is as well.
I mailed to send in my official complaint, and it bounced back with a bizarre routing error.
So much for that interview I read where they predicted they'd get a very small amount of complaints... of course, we did unleash a thundering herd of /.'ers on it, so it's to be expected.
I noticed in the legalese it uses Blowfish. How much you wanna bet if you pop it in your LUNIX HACKER PROGRAM and mount it, it will have a bunch of MP3s, possibly with custom headers, encrypted with Blowfish, and a file called "BLOWFISH.KEY" that contains the decryption key? Or a variation.
So which CDs have this wonderful consumer-friendly technology (New And Improved! Now Contains Copy Protection!), I want to buy one on eBay and check this out, before putting back on eBay to get rid of it.
Note: This slashdot post is for informational purposes only. If you live in a country with DMCA-type laws, please pretend you didn't read this. You don't know me, I don't know you, got it?
Here is how they can do this. The question about how ethical (or aesthetical?) is to degrade the music just to avoid (just up to some extent) being pirated, is pretty interesting, I think.
If you run an out from your audio player to an in on your sound card you can record the music without putting the cd in your cd-rom drive, and thus never seeing the EULA. And you are legally allowed to make archival and back-up copies.
I hope the book publishers don't catch on to this:
</SARCASM>
I listen to a few rather small bands, and while it hasn't happened to me that any of their CDs has been "copy-protected", but if I would get any of those, this is what I would do:
I would send them all the CDs I had of that band with a letter telling them that I am deeply disappointed that they would use technology that turns them against me.
Explain that I don't care about the money, and I do not expect them to pay me back the cost of those CDs.
Go on to explain everything: The need for independents to be able to publish, the possible threat against freedom of expression, the negative impact on cultural diversity, fair use rights, the threat to further technological development, that copy-protection is ultimately a stupid idea that can't work, even in principle and finally that the enforced-scarcity model of copyright is not sustainable in the long term.
The point is just to get somebody you really care about to understand.
For the big ones that are not going to listen to their fans anyway, you might as well return the CD to the shop as defective (because that is really what it is!).
Employee of Inrupt, Project Release Manager and Community Manager for Solid
Also if it installs a virus "INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY INFECTIONS OR CONTAMINATIONS OF YOUR COMPUTER" then you also hold them blameless. Even if they did it intentionally. Even if you install it at work and hose your whole company's network. Yeah, right :)
At least they're not planning on charging us more for having a less functional product :/
No Additional Charge. There is no additional charge to you for the Player or Content.
USE OF THE PLAYER AND CONTENT
No Additional Charge.
There is no additional charge to you for the Player or Content.
My, that's awfully nice of them! No additional charge, eh? What a deal!
They're just reminding us that if they want, they COULD charge for it. Wanna listen to your CD on your PC? Just dial into our LicenseLine(tm) and buy a 50-minute block of FreedomToListen(tm) our latest feature!
I think manufacturing discs that can't be read by ANY device is next on their agenda.
The return's policy dos not mention any CD by name or type.
:-)
Therefor ANY CD you buy from UMG should be covered by it.
Wouldn't it be nice if schools got all the money they wanted and the army had to hold jumble sales for guns
Don't need it. DVD player with optical out, extigy sound card with 24 bit optical in.
They only PARTLY follow the standard, audio cd players have heavy duty built in error correction, cd-rom drives don't.
"Hi there, I am the previous owner of this CD. If you bought this CD thinking it was new, guess again. I returned this CD to [the store I bought it from] because it is defective and will not play in many CD players and computers. I suggest you do the same. And while you're returning it, ask them how this note got into your shrink wrapped CD."
dd
Some XP users have noticed that their CD/DVD just falls out of DMA mode and starts using PIO. This seems to be because XP backs out of DMA mode if too many errors are recorded on the drive, figuring that something is wrong with the DMA implementation. Guess what? Reading just one copy-protected CD can cause enough errors to do this.
The term of this agreement shall be for so long as we and/or our licensors own any intellectual property rights in the Player or Content. You may terminate this agreement at any time by returning to us the CD you purchased
At any time you may return the cd you purchased. I don't see anything about refunds, but they should be accountable for a refund at any point after purchase, if the store will not take it back. And another interesting point. Assume that for in some scenariosUMG must provide a rfund for the cd based on the store reciept. What if I were to have a freidn who owns a store cell me a cd for several thousand dollars? Wonder if I could send the reciept and the cd back to UMG and demand a refund?
I'm the big fish in the big pond bitch.
...is provide a powerful enticement for consumers to purchase their music from "real" pirates. Why buy that copy-protected crap at full price when your Uncle Toby knows this guy that can get you a real CD of anything for a fraction of that?
IMO one of the most important reasons that Napster didn't obliterate the music industry overnight is that CDs are basically Good Enough. CDs provide an entire album in a nice (erm) compact package, with high fidelity to boot. This is *STILL* impressive, folks. Who cares if you can save twenty bucks by spending a couple of hours hunting down the dozen new songs by your favourite artist? Many people are simply too lazy and too rich; they just buy the goddamned CD and get it over with. (Besides, it comes in a pretty box.)
However, if commercial CDs suddenly become a big pain in the arse, you can bet your booty that alternatives will spring up.
Although consumers won't find it convenient to pirate stuff all by themselves, I imagine a full-scale bootleg distribution system will spring up fairly quickly. Although compared to Napster this structure has the disadvantage of reducing the number of actual pirates to prosecutable levels, basic economics tell us that so long as the demand is there, the supply WILL try to meet it. As with the 'war' on drugs, once can therefore expect many police hours (and therefore, tax dollars) to be spent finding and squishing a never-ending procession of infinitely-replaceable suppliers. What a pain! What an expense!
- undoware.ca
You understand and agree that any unauthorized use of the Player or Content would result in irreparable injury to us and/or our affiliates or licensors for which money damages would be inadequate,...
My unauthorized use will cause them so much harm and injury that even money will not suffice??? Isn't the whole reason they are doing this to make people buy more cds (because you can't make copies so yours don't get scratched, stolen, etc.) and disallow the use of the cd to burn MP3s so that they can make more money?
Stupid. I'm going to try and fashion some sort of letter to the editor to let people know this is going on. I told me dad, and he was quite concerned. I think that other non-technical types who haven't heard about this will be as disgusted as we all are. I know our local paper won't provide any info about this.
BTW, one cd that's not on the list provided but that we bought that certainly had problems playing in many of our players (old car cd player and old home cd player)is Warren G's Return of the Regulators, put out Dec. 11 by Universal.
http://www.fatchucks.com/corruptcds/ is a another source for lists of copyrighted cds, not just the ones by Universal.
Most people would die sooner than think; in fact, they do.
Even among my family, and they're not that tech-savvy, many of them have a DVD/CD/MP3 player as their main player. If they can't play it on that, they'll return it outright. None have a Mac, none run linux, but some have a portable MP3 player. If they can't play it on that they'll a) return it *and* b) download the mp3 version of a p2p network. And then Universal will complain, but they did it to themselves
Kjella
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
Uh, sorry, this analogy only applies if one or two Ritz crackers were good and the rest of them burned or whatever. In that case, yes, I'd pitch a fit if most of my box of crackers was cardboard discs with one or two (admittedly tasty) crackers tossed in.
Virg
Yeah - whaddya wanna bet that one of these days there's a "bug" in the software that just "happens" to delete all MP3s on a hard drive ;-)
PC with 300 megahertz (MHz) or higher processor clock speed recommended; 233-MHz minimum required;* Intel Pentium/Celeron family, AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor recommended 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher recommended (64 MB minimum supported; may limit performance and some features) 1.5 gigabyte (GB) of available hard disk space.* Super VGA (800 × 600) or higher resolution video adapter and monitor CD-ROM or DVD drive Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
No, it takes (1) individual to copy it to an unprotected format and share it on a p2p network. From there on you have a network with thousands and millions of members, nearly all of which have a cd-burner for the "last mile" for those who don't bother doing it themselves. If you're the local "hub" you'd probably deliver with a cd label, a nice jewelcase and a high quality scanned and printed cover too. Heck, if it takes a little skill or work we might actually see some quality rips floating around and not your average 128k CBR "I just clicked"-mp3s as it is now. I've seen some examples, and you won't know it's pirate until you flip the cd over and see the cd-r color. Of course if all you need is the cd, handwritten title with a black pen, "everybody" can do it for you. It's like trying the win the war on drugs without having drug lords or "made" men, just small-time dealers and smaller.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
Don't worry dude, I am sure Britney will have a "Best Of" compliation box-set out in 5 years, so you can just get that to replace all your coasters. :-)
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
If you look at their actual actions though, no they're not. They've just been sued for not paying artists the proper royalties on CD's, by underreporting sales, overcharging on packaging and paying royalties on the incorrect prices.
Just take a quick look at cdnow.com they advertise 'Fast and the Furious' on CD.
'CD $18.97 List $ 18.97 Add to Cart'
Sounds like a good place to start complaining.
I'm sure Amazon is doing the same (pesky work firewall).
It would seem to me that this is false advertising on their part. But hey....what the heck do I know?
Hey! What are you guys talking about? We need to support the music industry! If we don't all buy these copy protected CDs from UMG, the terrorists will have won!
> The only money that was lost was by the store, and not by Universal.
So, what you're really saying is that I can do this, and then Tower Records (which carries significantly more weight in the industry than I do) will put the screws to UMG for costing them so much time/money, so I don't have to bother.
And this is a bad plan exactly why?
Virg
I have posted my correspondence with UMG on the topic - I'm awaiting a further reply.
I wrote to Universal's new address asking why they were going to stop making CDs I could play on my Mac. Here's the response I got, annotated:
On Wednesday, January 9, 2002, at 12:51 PM, MusicHelpOnline.com Support wrote:
Thank you for your feedback regarding copy protected CDs. We
appreciate your opinion, as the consumer experience with the music we all
love has always been a priority at the Universal Music Group.
I don't 'consume' music. I listen to it. It's still there afterwards (though I get the impression that you'd like it if it wasn't).
Unfortunately, over the last few years, the music industry has been faced
with a growing problem of unauthorized CD "ripping" leading to illegal
Internet distribution of music - a practice that is hurting everyone from
recording artists to songwriters to record stores. This illegal copying is
taking place on a massive scale, with literally millions of copies being
made without any compensation to the creators of the music.
Interesting progression of words here. The ripping is 'unauthorised'. Who needs to authorise it? Some ripped files have been illegally distributed, I'll grant you that, but then you say that 'copying' is illegal.
Under the Audio Home Recording Act, ripping and copying are not illegal at all; they are expressly permitted. You are confounding the legal acts of copying and ripping with the illegal one of distributing your copyright content without your permission. You are applying technology to attempt to prevent the former, instead of legal prosecution to prevent the latter. This is your mistake.
Your second mistake is take the word of someone that they can stop CDs from being copied. If someone can play your CD, they can redigitise the output, and rip that, and distribute it online. Its not worth my time and effort to fiddle around to rip the CDs in this way, so I won't buy them, but I'm sure the illegal distributors will work this out.
Net result: you have a lot of fed up former customers, and your music is still distributed online without your permission. Fewer people pay to listen to it, you get less money, and the illegal distribution goes on unchecked.
If a way is not found to protect the music from these abuses, recording artists,
songwriters and many others will be deprived of their livelihoods. The
changing economics could cause fewer new artists to get a chance to find
their audience.
The music is not being abused. It is being listened to. It doesn't need protection.
Or do you mean 'protection' in the sense of 'protection racket'?
Courtney Love wrote a very well-reasoned essay on who is abusing whom in the record industry.
Universal Music Group is committed to protecting the rights of our artists,
songwriters, and copyright holders, and, like the rest of the entertainment
industry, is evaluating emerging technologies to assess their viability while
also attempting to maximize the consumer experience. In addition,
Universal is exploring new ways to make music available in a variety of
online formats. We are also working with technology companies on new
offline formats that appeal to consumers.
Uh huh. Let me explain again. I have an iPod. (125,000 other people do too, and its only been on sale two months). It lets me carry around about 120 CDs worth of music at a time, in a package about the size of one CD box. I like this. I'm listening to more music than I was before because of it, and I will continue to buy CDs to rip and put into my iPod. If that isn't an offline format that appeals to consumers, I don't know what is.
However, you are explicitly working to stop me doing this. When I buy CDs at the moment, I look at the artists name, not the record label. Now I'll need to check that its not a Universal CD, in case you have 'protected' me from listening to it. This is one way of building awareness of the Universal brand, but probably not a useful one.
We have licensed copy protection technologies developed by others and
are experimenting with the integration of those technologies into some of
our CDs as a first step in measuring their effectiveness in an evolving
marketplace. While the CDs with copy protection may not be playable in a
limited number of CD players, UMG is currently working with our
technology providers to achieve 100% playability. We also hope to
include Macintosh-based playability on copy-protected discs in the future.
We have not finalized our plans for 2002 nor have we made a commitment
to put copy protection on all of our CD releases.
You hope. I'm supposed to buy your CDs on the basis of a hope that you can kludge something together? Let me make it clear. I want Red Book Audio CDs, the gold standard for Audio Quality. I don't want CDs that break this spec, with an extra data track that includes some ghastly software player with a clickthrough licence you have bought from some software snake-oil salesman.
I have some very nice software to play CDs, thanks. It also helps me organise my collection, and move it to my iPod. I don't want to run your software.
I trust that these corrupt, Red Book violating CDs will be clearly labelled as such, so I can tell not to buy them? Otherwise, I'll just have to avoid all Universal CDs until you commit to shipping Red Book ones again.
UMG has also established www.musichelponline.com to provide
consumers with support and to answer any questions you may have
concerning copy protected CDs.
We appreciate your business, and your support for the musicians who
bring so much to all of our lives.
You evidently don't appreciate my business, as you have gone out of your way to stop me playing your CDs. I'm sure your support for musicians is just as sincere.
Actually the analogy with borrowing CDs from the library is stronger than you think. I have often borrowed a CD from the library, then after I've returned it gone out and bought a copy. This is exactly the same as many people do with downloaded tracks - go and buy a CD after sampling it. If they are so desperate to stop the digital copying of music so that I can no longer try out different stuff, then why don't they outlaw libraries lending out CDs as well?
For somebody in the UK with time to spare, try buying a copy protected music disc from HMV or Virgin or somewhere, then complain to Trading Standards that they were stocking it alongside CDs when it in fact isn't a CD.
Dunstan
The last scintilla of doubt just rode out of town
Could somebody answer me this. Is the encoding of the version to play on PCs lossy? Is it of a lower standard than CD encoding?
Dunstan
The last scintilla of doubt just rode out of town
I just thought I would explain this simply in case anyone needs to use it as a rebuttal.
I rip every CD that I own because I listen to them on my computer, back them up as MP3s, and store the original in a safe place. While the original disc might get stolen if someone breaks into my house, I doubt that anyone will steal a stack of burned CDs.
Also, I only use copied CDS in my car. My car was stolen a few months ago and while the car was covered by my insurance, my 200+ CD collection was not, and that loss was much more painful than that of the car.
-dbc
Surprisingly, I can't find a posting here that explains how we can actually rip these puppies. Lots of rumour floating around, but can someone suggest the combination of Windows or Linux apps that will successfully rip these new "CD"s? Practical, succssful experiences only, please!
Since LAME is GPL'd has anyone tried getting all of universal's source code modifications yet? Worth a try I suppose.
With 8-Track there was nothing specifically stopping me from making an archival copy in any format I wanted. With copy protected CD's it has specific mechanisms to prevent me from making copies in a prefered medium for my own use.
Unless the new copy protected discs (that is, discs produced after Compact Disc Digital Audio has been declared obsolete) require encryption all the way to the speaker cone, the players will provide a line-level analog output on either an RCA, 1/4", or 1/8" plug. You can record through analog to a CD recorder, to a computer, to a cassette deck, or even to an 8-track deck. No 8-track deck recognizes SDMI watermarks.
Unlike motion picture audio, pop music is typically listened to in a noisy environment, and you won't lose too much from one generation of D/A/D conversion.
Will I retire or break 10K?
Since the "news" shows are all owned by the same conglomerates that own the record companies. My guess is that we see a couple of fluff pieces about it but no real criticisms.
But who knows? Perhaps journalistic integrity is still alive somewhere in the US.
I can see where this might be effective if enought people do it, but PLEASE don't do this to the small mom and pop record stores that are struggling to stay open in the wake of (name your favorite box store).
Competition Good, Monopoly Bad.
From the RIAA itself. If you use audio CD-Rs, you pay a royalty and it's legal for you to make private, noncommercial copies.
The Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 (AHRA)
This 1992 legislation exempts consumers from lawsuits for copyright violations when they record music for private, noncommercial use; eases access to advanced digital audio recording technologies; provides for the payment of modest royalties to songwriters and recording artists and companies; and mandates the inclusion of serial copying management technology in all consumer digital audio recorders to limit multi-generation audio copying (i.e., making copies of copies).
On the web, companies provide a link maze filled with what looks to be a lot of content, but which is really a collection of half-answers for technical concerns and a whole lot of happy-faced double talk. Visit the site above, AT&T internet's abuse department, or Half.com's stonewalling customer support for examples.
On the phone, companies make people jump through hoops in the form of voice mail prompts laced with cheery propaganda and endure vague answers and advertisements before they can jump through the next hoop. Customers give up after a certain number of hoops unless they've got a problem so critical that it's worth half an hour of their time to speak with a representative. Call NextCard, SprintPCS customer support or most politicians' offices for examples.
Basically, this isn't going to change. It cuts costs, and it's relatively effective for shutting up unhappy customers and dumping additional advertising-grade propaganda on the visitor. So long as people are buying on price and advertising image rather than service, this isn't going to change. And so long as we're faced with near monopolies for most products and services because of the above, we're stuck.
If you don't like what you see on the new web site, vote with your dollars. Stop buying, stay aware of the world around you, and encourage others to do the same.
In other words, we're legally within our rights to be able to make backups. If the technology prevents that, then they're taking away our legal rights without due process, which is illegal.
The common law and statutory law traditions on which United States law is built holds that a more recent act of Congress can supersede older law. In this case, the part of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act intended to implement the WIPO treaty effectively repealed part of the Audio Home Recording Act in cases where such otherwise permitted copying would require circumvention of an effective access control measure.
Call me paranoid, but I won't run software that comes from the music industry on my computer.
So, in other words, you won't run Winamp or Mozilla. Winamp is made by Nullsoft, a division of AOL Time Warner Inc. Mozilla is made by the Mozilla Organization, with the bulk of the code contributed by Netscape Communications, a division of AOL Time Warner Inc. Warner Bros. Records is a label of AOL Time Warner Inc.
Will I retire or break 10K?
Did you sign the CD?
Can signing the charge slip can be interpreted as signing the goods?
Will I retire or break 10K?
Amazing! A business that has managed to make me hate them without even trying to sell me anything. Usually I need to at least consider buying something from a company before I decide that I do (or don't) like it. These lunatics have made me put them on a close par to dizney without my even contemplating a purchase from them.
What is it this year that each business seems to be trying to be more offensive than the others? I've been depending on keeping the list of who I won't purchase from in memory, but there's getting to be so many that I guess I need to start writing them down.
Here's my current proposed list
dizney : Don't purchase : copyright,
Intel : Fine 10% of cost : copy prevention on monitor
IBM : Fine 5% : withdrawn? copy prevention on hard disk
Philips: Fine 50% now, reassess in 3 months: copy prevention proposal
Universal Studios: Do not purchase : copy prevention
A fine percentage means that for equivalent value their cost need to be x% less than the competition.
Any other nominations?
I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
From their legal page, it seems that their encoding software apparently uses LAME. Isn't that kind of sad?
Thomson Multimedia (parent company of RCA and GE electronics division) controls patents on MP3 technology and charges a royalty of 2 percent of revenue on electronic music distribution. Thomson must be making a wad of dough on this deal.
Will I retire or break 10K?
But I can do the opposite just as easily:
Jimmy Buffet. Crystal Method. Peter Gabriel. Jimi Hendrix. Al Jarreau. Moody Blues... and that's just from a quick scan of the first few pages. Those are, unfortunately, all artists whose CDs I already own, and would buy more from.
Not now. As another Mac owner, with a better audio setup on my computer than anywhere else in the house, I will be more motivated to seek out pirated copies of new music from these artists than ever before.
Just goes to show you how fscking clueless UMG is.
I can see the fnords!
Reproduced here for grins. I couldn't help but notice that their FAQ provides an email address, so I emailed them.
---
Just a data point: I buy a fair number of CD's (I probably own two or three
hundred, but I have long since lost count). I have not used a non-computer
CD player to listen to a CD in probably a year and a half, maybe two years.
Probably 90% of the time, I listen to music in my car - using my MP3 player.
There is absolutely no way I will buy any music if I can't convert it into
a format that my car can play.
Furthermore, I don't run Windows. Plain old CD's work fine for me; the things
you sell, which superficially resemble CD's, don't. Given that, all I can do
for now is be very careful to make sure that, if I'm buying CD's, they don't
have your logo on them, because I don't want to get stuck with a CD I can't
use, and which no store in town will take as a return.
Even beyond that, I don't see how this helps you; MP3's are pretty low
quality, and if I desperately needed to make an MP3 of a CD, and I had an
analog CD player, I could just record the output of the CD player and encode
that - and probably never know the difference. (For that matter, what about
my nice expensive component CD player with the digital outs?)
I work as a programmer, and I share your concerns about piracy. What I don't
share is your belief that it's okay to f*ck millions of consumers up the ass
with rusty tent spikes to try to get at a few pirates. There are lots of
legitimate ways to get people to pay for your products; intentionally making
the products defective is not one of them.
---
My blog: http://www.seebs.net/log/ --- My iPhone/iPad app: http://www.seebs.net/seebsfrac/
[Letter sent to the comment EMail]
I am a member of a organization of Audiophiles here in Dallas. We purchase on average a total of around $10-11,000 worth of audio CD's and equipment a year.
My personal stereo system is compased of several Macintosh and Linux-based systems, as well as very high end audio components.
I see that your new protection scheme is designed to destroy fair use rights as given to the citizens of the United States, under the guise of copyright protection. Becuase of this, I will not be able to play any of your new discs, and refuse to spend my money to take the chance that it may work.
Reading over your new copyright protection scheme, I will make sure that none of us ever purchase another "CD" released by Universal.
These discs violate the CD-DA standard, as they are not playable in every device bearing the same emblem. I will push all retailers I do business with to stop carrying your products, or at the very least, inform customers that these discs may not play in ANY device they own.
This is a very slippery slope you have started down. We deal with other audiophile organizations across the US, and we will see fit that these discs are never purchased by any person with any common sense.
Respectfully..
Mike The Mac Geek
-------------------------------------------------
For our C++ class, we've been using a freeware compiler (Dev-c++), but the profs wanted to introduce some MFC-based code. So they approached Microsoft, who will apparently let each student install Visual C++ on their home computer, free of charge, with the understanding that it will be deleted after the course ends. OK, so MS is basically agreeing that it's on good faith that I won't pirate their software.
So I go to get a disc to take home from the department, only to find out that for a course with almost 300 students in its various sections, MS has only authorized something like 10 copies of the software. And the department is forbidden from making any copies. Do the math, it'll take a MINIMUM of a month for every student to take it home, install, and bring it back the next day.
This is completely impractical, but as the course cirriculum is already set, we've been told that if we can't get a copy in time, well, it's already installed in the University's lab. And if we want it for home, just take our chances.
Why the hell did MS even bother? Almost anyone these days could rip and burn a copy of the CD in their home, or hell, just NOT UNINSTALL IT. Regardless of what happens, it's the USER who controls what happens with their software. By denying me the ability to take a CD home for my own use, all they've done is:
1. Assume that I plan on pirating it, but don't have the brains to burn a CD myself.
2. Ensure that if I want to do my school work at home, I have no alternative than to pirate their software.
I'm no saint. But I really, really tried here. I wanted to go the legitimate route, and use legal, licensed software this time. Unfortunately, corporate stupidity means that once again I am going to pirate their software.
What really kills me is that at least 75% of those students will graduate, and be in the workforce soon. If MS had the foresight to play nice, they could build huge numbers of people who want to use their tools for development. At least, I'm assuming that not every software company uses Visual Studio. Instead, they've ensured that until forced virtually at gunpoint, I will never pay for one of their products again.
Now come and arrest me, morons.
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
FOR ANY DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM YOU USING THE PLAYER OR CONTENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY INFECTIONS OR CONTAMINATIONS OF YOUR COMPUTER OR DAMAGE...
So, they can include a free trojan that whacks your existing mp3 library, installs a sniffer, keylogger, and hooks into Quicken... and they can do it accidentally, or they can do it as a "hack back".
Meanwhile, you are not allowed to reverse engineer or circumvent anything - meaning your AV software would be in violation of the agreement, because it would impede the action of the virus (which you've agreed not to do, since by definition it is part of "The Player" until explicitly disclaimed as otherwise by Universal. Also, until separated from "The Player", said trojan/virus would be protected from thrwarting / AV by the DMCA, since "The Player" is a DRM). You'd also not be allowed to audit your box for any impact "The Player" has had on it, since that'd constitute reversing as well.
Be funny if a disk with an "accidental virus" included a Mac version before the Mac's player was even out 8)
- SBB
help me i've cloned myself and can't remember which one I am
Anyone want to take bets on how long it'll take before some "news" show does an "investigative report" on "broken CDs" and tells the average consumer to look for the CD-DA logo to ensure that the disc will work in their car, DVD player, and CD-compatible game console?
:-)
Yes, it happened last week but unfortunately it was BBC fucking Watchdog, the most ineffectual consumer affairs programme in the entire universe because they're more concerned with doing witty set pieces and puns than any research. The presenter, Nicki Campbell is a goon who just spouts the scripts he's given without any kind of insight into what he's actually saying, and his fearsome band of reporters look and talk like they're from a teeny-bopper tribute band. The whole experience is broadcast live, a completely crazy decision because none of the presenters are up to much more than following their autocues. Okay, so I enjoy sitting and getting apoplectic at the television once a week, my girlfriend loves it, but this was symptomatic of the approach of the whole program: they spent a good 3-4 minutes of prime-time television asking consumers in London whether they could tell the difference between copy-protected versions of Natalie Imbruglia, and the 'real McCoy', and concluded their report by saying that, well, the record company will replace copy-protected CDs with 'proper' copies if anyone has any complaints. Hoorah. Did they mention the issues raised by MP3 ripping? Fair use? The dilution of the CD standard? Hardly, it was mainly just a few minutes of moaning how the latest pop won't play on laptop CD players, but as with every issue they cover, they never like to rock the boat too much, or attempt any insight into what these complaints might be a symptom of.
Seriously, you guys (who weren't in the UK) should have seen the piece they did on Windows XP. That half-hour weekly slot has so much potential to become a fearsome adversary to corporations, but what they always do when somebody complains about a product to them is to show the product's advert in full, as they did with XP, and then invite some rep from the company to come on to answer some previously-scripted 'hard-hitting' questions about the product. What usually happens is that the smart company rep defuses the question in about the first five seconds, then proceeds to use the prime time television slot to gush about the product's benefits. As happened, expertly, with the Microsoft rep. The presenter occasionally interrupts to repeat the question, which, we suspect, they don't always entirely understand; there follows another five seconds defusing, followed by more minutes of sales patter. Total whitewash; I'm surprised companies are queuing up to have their products 'savaged' by the BBC. In the case of XP, what do you think they were grilling the guy about? A few total mongs who'd queued up outside PC World at midnight to pick up their copies of XP suddenly couldn't connect to the internet after installing it and had to install some extra software to get their computers working like they used to. Well if they liked their computer so much as it was, and relied on them so much for their vital work, why risk the upgrade? Seriously, it's common fucking sense that most of the Watchdog complainants lack, and Microsoft took full advantage of the opportunity these moaners had provided to sell their product; you'd think the Beeb would have brief their presenters on what a Windows XP actually was
Look, in case you haven't got the gist of this show, bear with me here. They had an item last week as well where a few people were complaining about British Gas putting their prices up for the second time in the year. Now the situation with gas suppliers in the UK is that British Gas used to supply everybody, and now the government split the people that supply the gas and pipe it to people's houses from the people that actually charge for, send you the bills and do all the admin. They compete on that part, right? Everybody gets the same gas, from the same company, no matter who bills them, and the billing companies can compete on special offers with similarly deregulated electricity deals. British Gas used to have everyone in the country as their customers, so they had their prices capped at a minimum during the initial couple of years to compensate for their unfair advantage. This minimum was recently lifted, they presumably still have a fair proportion of people that haven't switched from them, so they raise their prices because they're allowed to. Many many people were interviewed on the programme and said that this was a problem, that they couldn't afford to keep the heating on for more than 10 seconds a day etc. etc. Nicki Campbell, hard hitting as ever, asks the head of the independent gas regulation department whether they're being 'totally ineffectual'. The head of the gas regulation department points out that people can switch gas companies with just a phonecall, and that this has been well advertised. Nicki Campbell hits back with "well what about all those people we interviewed who like things the way they are?" Huzzah, the British consumer psyche in a nutshell. Total waste of time, and proof that a prime piece of television that claims to be helping consumers is just the Brits' favourite pastime (moaning loudly about things without wanting them to change) rearranged into a telly program with some goofy presenters and a catchy beat.
Sorry. I'm sorry for this rant. But to get back to the point: I think what Watchdog shows about the CD protection thing is that the vast majority of people just don't give a shit about the wider issues involved, and won't do until knackered, or WMF-encoded CDs are the norm and suddenly nobody can remember what the 'old' technology was like. But as you might have gathered it bugs me that such a good opportunity for a consumer affairs programme on UK television has been wasted so badly, and badly shakes my faith in people wanting to change these things (says Matthew, posting his detailed moan on Slashdot, a site much-read by BBC programme producers, before going for another beer and a few games of Crazy Taxi.)
Matthew @ Bytemark Hosting
So I'm on my way home from work today, and had 10 minutes to kill waiting for the bus at the mall. "What the hell, let's go buy the 'Fast and Furious' soundtrack." So I stop into the local chain store and pick up a copy. $14.92 with tax. Make sure I save my receipt ;-)>
;-)>
;-)>
:-)> Someone should tell Wall Street and short Universal stock.
So I get home and pop it into my Woody box. I don't bother trying to play it, because I never hooked up the CD analog out anyway. Why bother? I never listen to CD's that way. Fire up Konsole. I'd tell you what I did next, but that might be a DMCA violation. I'm sure you can guess
Five minutes later, I've got what sure sounds like a perfect copy of the music. Oh, there were a couple of +'s on each track, but I can't hear any errors. Checked the first track. Checked the last track. Checked the middle tracks. Hmmm. Sounds great! Well, as good as can be expected. It's crappy music IMHO. Weird. You would think if they were going to bother with copy protection, they would at least make it work. I'm sure this is the right CD because it includes the sticker on the back of the case saying it's protected against "unauthorized copying". It includes an insert too with the www.musichelponle.com URL. Oh, and a toll free number: 1-877-918-7779. According to the insert, that's only for "Questions and Comments", so don't abuse it
I think I'll return the CD tommorrow despite the fact that it rips fine on my system. I probably won't even bother encoding it to Vorbis because, well, I think the music sucks. But it's nice to know that there is one less thing to worry about in the world. I can't imagine that this is going to last long when the public finds out that you can buy the CD, rip it to Vorbis or MP3, and return it for a full refund. And they though sales sucked before.
The DRM systems have not been "cracked wide open". They have only been cracked to an extent that you have to go through an explicit effort to circumvent them, a greater effort than the average Joe will expend (this is unlike mp3 which has no DRM at all, so that the avg Joe can copy freely).
Absolutely not true. All the systems I listed have been broken to the point where a simple point and click application that any Joe could use could be made. The only thing keeping these out of Joe's hands are regulations like the DMCA, which are inherently futile because if they could keep people from copying 100kB applications, then the spread of 60 MB mp3 albums would not be a problem.
Also, the presence of DRM helps honest people (which does not include the slashdot faithful, judging from the posts on this story) stay honest. That is to say, if one has to take explicit action to circumvent DRM, he will realize that it is illegal, and will be less likely to do it.
Do you realize how low you have sunk when you welcome your shackles on the grounds that they will help keep you honest? It is high time that together with your beloved shackles we implement telescreens, neighbor informants, and all those other lovely things that "help keep honest people honest." It is unbelievable that in this day and age some people have not learned a thing about the meaning of liberty.
Face facts. In the near future all commercial intellectual property will be protected by DRM systems, and widespread pirating will be drastically curtailed. Only "expert" pirates (read "crooks") will be doing any pirating; this will limit pirating only to Slashdot whiners that 1) are too poor to by intellectual property, and 2) think nothing about stealing, and in fact think that they have a "right" to steal.
Such systems will be implemented, but they will continue to be cracked, and the enemy will have to upgrade their arsenal - making the user hostility more obvious, the systems more obstrusive, and the "false positives" keeping people from doing what they want to do with data more common. The tighter they clamp their fist, the more insulted, angered, disillusioned users will slip through their fingers and become "crooks" (Oh, how much rather I'll be a crook to you then somebody willing to sell out his species to bondage of corporations and machines!) or simply stop bothering with that which the enemy spews out all together.
Buy the CD using a credit card, not a debit or check card. They then have no choice at all. IF they refuse to take the return, leave the CD in the store and walk out. When you get home, call the bank that issued the credit card and tell them you wish to block a charge. They will tell you what you need to do, most likely write a letter explaining the charge you want blocked. Then will then stop the charge and you will not pay it. This is part of the way credit cards work, and the store can do nothing about it. Their only recorse is to sue you which they wouldn't win (you did give them the CD back) and they won't bother with anyhow because it's not worth their money.
Also, I expect stores won't care about returns. All they do is charge Universal for each returned CD. This is real common practise. Stores generally don't deal with returns directly. They just bill the dealer for all returned units, and ship them back.
"you may not attempt to separate the Player or Content from the CD on which you received them."
They wish. The existing (and still valid) fair use laws let you do whatever you want with the content as long as it's not prohibited by law. Since Universal hasn't bought a large enough portion of politicians to affect the law yet, their legalese is just so much hot air.
-Legion
There is a reason for this, and they are technically using the correct term. In marketing lingo, the customer is the person who buys the product, and the consumer is the one who actually uses it. Note that these two are not always the same. Thus, when they talk about consumers, it means that they're paying attention to you, the person actually using the CD, not your Auntie May who bought you the disk for Christmas.
Salespeople are more apt to talk about customers because they just want to get the sale. The marketing people are more concerned with consumer satisfaction, because they're the ones who will influence what's bought. Even when they are the same person, it pays for these people to use the terminology.
I think everyone on
"I may not have morals, but I have standards."