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EMI Customer Relations Tells It Like It Is
hype7 writes "The Register is running a story about the most outrageous email sent from a customer services rep at BMI in Germany to a customer who had difficulty playing a copy-protected CD in his CD player. One of the most stunning lines from the translation: "If you plan to continue protesting about future audio media releases with copy protection, forget it; copy protection is a reality, and within a matter of months more or less all audio media worldwide are copy protected. And this is a good thing for the music industry. In order to make this happen we will do anything within our power - whether you like it or not.""
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widdowed bride.
But something touched me deep inside,
The day, the music died.
But you probably knew that anyways.
There's unlimited supply
And there is no reason why
I tell you it was all a frame
They only did it 'cos of fame
Who?
E.M.I. E.M.I. E.M.I.
Too many people had the suss
Too many people support us
Un unlimited amount
Too many outlets in and out
Who?
E.M.I E.M.I E.M.I
And sir and friends are crucified
A day they wished that we had died
We are an addition
We are ruled by none
Never ever never
And you thought that we were faking
That we were all just money making
You do not believe we're for real
Or you would lose your cheap appeal?
Don't judge a book just by the cover
Unless you cover just another
And blind acceptance is a sign
Of stupid fools who stand in line
Like
E.M.I E.M.I E.M.I
Unlimted edition
With an unlimited supply
That was the only reason
We all had to say goodbye
Unlimited supply (E.M.I)
There is no reason why (E.M.I)
I tell you it was all a frame (E.M.I)
They only did it 'cos of fame (E.M.I)
I do not need the pressure (E.M.I)
I can't stand those useless fools (E.M.I)
Unlimited supply (E.M.I)
Hello E.M.I
Goodbye A & M
"I don't think it's selfish, to eat defenseless shellfish." -NOFX
I don't know much about the reputation of The Register, but the letter is translated from German and the German version is posted on www.heise.de. The translation was very well done and there is no doubt about the outstanding reputation of the Heise publishing house. They are very much known for serious (and mostly objective) journalism.
Since the editors are useless, I'll point out that it's the BMG (Bertelsmann music group), or EMI (a German recording company, NOT BMG).
There are in fact two different companies involved here: one who pioneered the protection, and one who has implemented it in their own CDs in Germany.
Mooniacs for iOS and Android
The Reg is no Enquirer. How many haunted computers, Jesus-image-in-mouse-fuzz or flying chimp-boy bullshit type stories have you seen on there? How many stories on there have been patently false and untrue? Just because it isn't dry as your grandma boring like the WSJ doesn't mean it's crap. Did you RTFA? If so then I guess you think Heise is crap too.
"Gold still represents the ultimate form of payment in the world." - Alan Greenspan, 1999
all confused in this thread.
BMI is the Broadcast Music institute, one of the bodies that license the use of composers (or the people to whom composers assign their rights):
http://www.bmi.com/
EMI is a recorded music seller, and a music publishing company, based in London:
http://www.emigroup.com/
BMG is the Bertelsman Music Group, a different company in the same business as EMI, whose headquarters is now in New York City (but used to be in Germany, once upon a time):
http://www.bmg.com/
MEK
Credo quia impossibilis -- Tertullian
The fact is, most of their stories are from respected analysts, representatives of the companies themselves, or rebranded content from Newsforge, Security Focus, etc. As you said,
Maybe you should read it more often before you speak about it authoritatively.
You forget (or did you read the article and the links provided?) that the Reg does have evidence of other e-mails, some of which are also harshly worded.
If you read the original e-mail (posted on Heise.de in German), the tone of voice in the original is not far off from their translated version. Indeed, they adopted a tone of voice that German bureaucrats *love* to adopt. Very imperious, arrogant and pointed, but at the same time they stay (as a German would say) "sachlich", meaning "factual" or "sticking to the facts". German bureaucrats love to insult you between the lines, while being able to claim that they were 'only' making statements of fact.
Ah, another German that perfectly describes EMI's e-mail: "Scheinheilig". Means something like "holier-than-thou". And another word that most people will recognize: "Schadenfreude".
In meagre defense of EMI, the person who e-mailed them to complain about their CD was at times a little rude (see the Heise post) -- but that does not excuse the snotty response they sent him back.
I think I'm going to boycott EMI and BMG music from now on. Which is sad, since Beatles CDs are published by EMI, if I remember right, but I have quite a few Beatles CDs anyway (and plenty of cassettes).
I'm not mad so much because I want to copy or rip CDs (though I do it sometimes for my own use), but what *really* ticks me off is the attitude that it's somehow my responsibility to make their damned crippled CD work in my Red Book standard (!) player, and if I can't do it, then I must be some kind of idiot.
OTOH most of the music I tend to buy is usually marked "Nice Price" and is in the discount bins 'cos they were popular 10-20 years ago (man, I feel old). *sigh*
I doubt The Man would bother copy-handicapping them...
Cheers,
Ethelred
Everyone wants to be Ethelred. Even I want to be Ethelred.
The music industry really tries to follow the marines saying "Adapt, Improvise, and Overcome!"... unfortunately for them, they'll never reach the Overcome part since their attempts to Adapt and Improvise fails miserably.
I wouldn't hesitate to say that this punk (the customer service rep.) doesn't know what he's talking about... check out this article from New Scientist where John Halderman, a computer scientist from Princeton University, argues that any type of audio-CD copy-protection is futile with the advent of upgradable firmare in CD players. As long as we can reverse-engineer their copy-protection, we can play our CDs in our computers.
I read German pretty well (6 years of classes and two long trips to Germany) and this letter is written in a very informal way, so if this IS a legit response this guy is probably acting as an individual and not responding with official company line. But the Reg's translation actually does a pretty good job of getting the point across. The informal style is considered to be rude if you are not talking to a friend, and this author uses it liberaly. He also uses a fairly dismissive tone when discussing the origional letters concerns. My guess is this is a pissed of answerdroid who just gave his company some really bad press (article is on slashdot, the register, and fark, not pretty if you want to cultivate the digeratti) and will be out of a job tomorrow.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
I was discussing a billing error with them last night. They said to me, flat out, "It doesn't matter who's right, we're a big company and there is nothing you can do to touch us. We say you owe us the money. Pay up." It's not just BMI. Corporations know they can roll right over any single one person and they are happy, happy to do it.
Maybe the state's highest function is to grind out insoluble problems. (Zelazny, Hall of Mirrors)
I think that pretty much gets the point across. Them's fightin' words. :-)
GreyPoopon
--
Why is it I can write insightful comments but can't come up with a clever signature?
Yes, music sharing people are doing me a favor, at least.
:), because they don't work for me. Not a principle thing, I just can't get the music I want that way. So I buy it at concerts. And copy from friends (locally).
I don't use kazaa, gnutella, or any other file sharing product (not for music
If the major labels fall flat on their backs, I insist that I would lose nothing. Any new musician that I would like to learn about has to be good enough that I could hear of them via word of mouth. Music and other media is all my friends talk about, and it's all we're interested in. If mass market artists made less money due to filesharing, there would be less reason for the labels to pimp them so hard. We might have even more channels to discover independent musicians.
We don't need no water. Let the mother fucker burn.
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
Here's a google translation of the original letter sent out by Mr xxx, the original German can be found here.
Mail of EMI (attention, long text) RF600R (27 October 2002 17:13) Hello,
after bought CD ran in none of my devices, I had one Mail written EMI. Here can do you my Mail and the answer from EMI read.
schnipp --
Ladies and Gentlemen,
yesterday I acquired the CD of TOTO "Through the looking glass". Up the back is to be read:
"It is designed tons compatible with CD audioplayers, DVD players and PC-OS, ms Windows 95, Pentium II 233 MHz 64MB RAM or more higher."
These statements are definitely wrong!
* Only the pieces of 1-8 in my DVD Player leave themselves actual play. The pieces of 9-11 appear not and are not playable. A common CD Player does not possess I no more, so that these CD becomes worthless.
* My Macintosh with MAC OS X 10,2,1 with that actually plays Software of itunes only the pieces of 1-7. All remaining pieces appear as only one audio TRACK, which is playable to the half only. Result: the CD is worthless.
* My PC with Windows XP actually plays the CD only with up that CD Player present off. Unfortunately you conceal the fact, that this Player is mandatory on the CD Cover. There I very much carefully the software selects, which I on my computer is installed and I do not force themselves leave, proprietaere Software to use, is worthless as result these CD.
I insured myself fortunately with the purchase that I these CD if necessary under refunding the purchase price to return can. This is but only possible, since the dealer was so obliging.
In the long run the copy protection does not fulfill its task, because it applies obviously: Copy protection = purchase protection!
This is the more unfortunaty, there I an expressed fan of the group of TOTO are and all albums possesses among other things. Too it harms that IT prevented that I also the most current work at my cabinet to place can. Because I tend to also hear the music, which I buy. PilotFederal Labour Office-close I do not need.
Altogether I would like you from given cause mine comment to Topic copy protection convey:
Unfortunately you that not only the bad robbery copiers debt survey on Their recession in sales are. Rather are the rather following reasons decisive:
* The main consumer - young people - give a majority of their Budget for Handys out, * with the DVD a competition medium appeared on the market, that deeply into the Gefilden of the music industry it fishes because it applies that one a euro only once to spend can and everyone more or less limited budget has * by the copy protection is playing the CDs on DVD Playern not or only very reduced possible. Many households are only still with DVD Playern equips. Unfortunately you cut yourselves thereby in own meat. Much toericht. * there is no copy protection, which is not to be cracked: -)
Altogether you ignore simply the fact that each salesman by law is permitted to make a copy of its bought CD. Their behavior is altogether illegal. Unfortunately it shows up here that those Disk industry obviously a too strong lobby has.
Result: I become no more CD from their still from another house buy, which is equipped with a copy protection. They are in my household not playable and thus worthlessly.
How do you intend to recover me in the future as customers?
Faithfully,
xxx
||:|::
Send it to MusicLink this the former Fairtunes.Com where you can pay the artists directly!
I am german, I read the original Heise post and it is offensive and completely unacceptable. Even if this was the original party line inside EMI, it should never have been sent to a customer this way. Not in german, not in english, not in any other language.
Kristian
Good ambient - electronical - naturemusic can be downloaded for free from www.kahvi.org in .ogg and .mp3 formats. You also can order a CD from there (obviously, not copy protected).
As i understand it, all copy protection that can be read on a standard cd player is weak to begin with. cdroms can read multiple indexes, cd players can only read the first one. but cdroms read the indexes starting from the last and working its way to the first. so most copy protections corrupt the second index so the cdrom will fail. a simple firmware upgrade to the cdrom can fix that and make it read the first index first and move down the list. Interesting article here
*** I suffer from a colorful array of psychological problems
I'm sure I'm in a very small minority but I understand and agree with the perspective of the music companies. People steal their 'product' and they want to stop it. Fair enough.
Rather than slamming the music companies for trying to defend their livelihood (which they are entitled to do, however rich they are and however many lawyers they have) wouldn't it be better to slam the pirates that are causing the problem in the first place? But no, we have countless pro-piracy stories here on Slashdot and all over the web.
Here's what annoys me: I love downloading my CDs onto my portable MP3 player. I'm legally allowed to do this. But soon, probably within a year, I won't be able to do this with any new CDs without resorting to awkward cracking tools. This is the fault of *pirates*, not the music industry, and yet every time I hear/see the issue being discussed, people are blaming the industry and hardly even mentioning the pirates.
I'm a legitimate consumer. Anti-piracy measures are anti-consumer. But they are a necessary evil and despite the inconvenience they will cause me I fully support them.
How about Nirvana's Nevermind. It probably changed the face of Rock more than any other album before it or since. It got rid of the crap spandex hair bands of the 80's like Motley Crue, Cinderella, Warrant, Poison, and whoever else fit in that category.
After fuming about this as we all probably did, I thought about it and came to this conclusion: EMI's math is inaccurate, and more insidiously, they are hiding some very important facts.
.." well, you're getting PAID for them dude.
Here's what was said:
"There are 250 Million blank CDRs and tapes bought and used this year for copying music in comparison to 213 Million prerecorded audio media. This means the owners are only being paid for 46 per cent of the musical content. "
This assumes that either; A) all CDRs are used to pirate music or; B) EMI has some magic tracer on blank CDRs that returns which of them was used for illegal purposes. Since neither is true, the EMI statement is rubbish. CDRs are used just as much for backups, non-MP3 warez and coasters as much as they are used for infinging music and film files.
But they mention tapes as well. Ah HA! Now here comes the reall bullshit.
Know what the AHRA is? Well the Audio Home Recording act was enacted to make sure people paid for music they taped. IOW, when you bought a blank TDK cassette, the RIAA and labels assumed you were going to use it to copy music, so they wanted a cut. The therefore dreamed up the "blank royalty" which meant that $3 of the $5.99 you paid for that TDK cassette went to publishers, labels and artists (cough). In return you were given THE RIGHT to make copies.
According to the RIAA:
"This 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). "
They get paid for device sales as well. There are similar laws in every First World country, in particular, the UK and Germany.
So Herr EMI, in claiming that ".. 250 Million blank CDRs and tapes [are] bought and used this year for copying music
What's core? That EMI.de is complaining that people are buying media (for which EMI.de is generously paid) to make copies of music that they are entitled to copy BY LAW. The EMI.de guy is complaining that people are buying media that generates MILLIONS per year for EMI!
When EMI, Warner Music, BMG, UMG and Sony Music offer to give back the blank royalty, then we can begin to discuss what percentage of CDRs are actually put to infringing use.
"The pie shall be cut in half and each man shall receive.....death. I'll eat the pie."
I've been trying to convince my family and friends for months to boycott CDs until the RIAA gets real. Now that they'll start running into useability issues when they try and play CDs in their new stereo, it looks like they'll finally get that disincentive to buy $20 CDs churned out by the media/ad agencies (who are one and the same, at this point). Hopefully, they'll start buying independent artists' works. It's a shame that much of this type of product is still poorly produced, but compared to 10 years ago, the indies have really made some progress. It's exciting to see where indies' production quality will be 10 years from now.
Of those 250MM blanks purchased for the sole purpose of raping the RIAA and its members, I'm responsible for about 250 units. None of them are CD-R for audio, since I don't subsidize the RIAA. Not a single one of them was used to burn a copy of a purchased, or burned-from-a-purchased, or even third, fourth, or 10th generation pirated audio CD. About half were used to archive old data from servers / workstations, perform backups; and the rest were used for my own musical projects: original Ded Serius songs, and practice CDs so I could promote other artists work (covers) during live gigs in bands.
So, now that the "industry" is about to force it's consumers to stop buying, I'd like to continue to offer my own material here:
Ded Serius Music, some friends' music here: Layden Robinson, Turkestan Road, and Twig free of charge. Because real musicians (Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Chopin, etc.) did it (and still do) for... the music. People who do music for the $$$ are... the Industry. Who are you going to support?
Go see a local band play live and buy their CD. We'd love to see some people show up for the show.
www.dedserius.com
VB != VisualBasic
There are 250 Million blank CDRs and tapes bought and used this year for copying music in comparison to 213 Million prerecorded audio media. This means the owners are only being paid for 46 per cent of the musical content. For a comparison: In 1998 almost 90% of all audio media was paid for.
Let's take a look at those numbers. I'll use US sales figures, supplied by the RIAA (The European data, provided by IFPI are not freely available to the public).
If we look at US sales in 1998, we see that CD sales had just increased to 847 million units. The folks at EMI claim that this number is 90% of all audio media paid for, so there were 941 million CDs listened to (941=847/.9).
Now, lets look at the numbers for 2002. In the first half of 2002, there have been 398.1 Million units sold (which is down 10% from last year). Let's assume that Christina Agulara and Eminem's new albums do well, and that the second half of 2002 is as good as the first half. This gives us a total of 796.2 million units for 2002. Now, if we assume that these represent only 46% of all purchased audio media, that means that music fans are listening to 1.73 Billion CDs worth of music (1731=796.2/.46).
So, to sum up,according to EMI, music demand has skyrocketed 183% over the last three years (183=1731/941*100).
Who is making all this great music? All I hear is crap on the radio. Why is everyone complaining about the quality of music these days when in fact the public demand for music has nearly doubled in just a few years?
No wonder I'm swarmed by homeless record executives trying to wash my windshield at every intersection. Won't someone think of the Record Executives?!?
Sure they claim that the use of MP3/Ogg and file sharing is costing them money. well they are probably right, just not to the excess they claim.
whats really hurting them is the cost of CDs, the quality of the music, and the numerous attempts at stopping you using what you pay for.
In my case I buy lots of CD (my collection is heading for 400), and yes every CD I buy is ripped to ogg or mp3 format, but not to be shared, but to make life easier for me to listen to them, on my laptop, as I work, which does not have a CD drive, not that I want to have to carry large numbers of CDs anyway.
I do not share these rips, not though any dislike of piracy, but more selfeshness, a real case of I paid through the nose for the CD, why should others benefit for free.
Mandatory copy protection on music CDs is total madness, and all its going to do is piss off lots of CD buyers, driving them to the file shares.
A far better solution would be to provide legal Mp3/ogg downloads, that are water marked, so they can be traced back to the purchaser.
Sure someone can share these mp3/ogg files, but they can be traced. Given a stiff penality, the sharing would be reduced to a trickle.
There has been discussion of using DRM from the beast to allow for secure digital distribution of music legally. Sure this may work, but again its limiting what you can do with your own property, and will/has pissed off lots of people.
As a non-windoze user, all the beasts DRM is off limits to me, which when/if music distribution happens in this format, will drive me to the file sharers.
I would like to be able to buy single tracks in MP3 or ideally ogg format, straight of the internet. But provided that they are not restricted in any way.
Buying single tracks in this way would save us consumers lots of money, which is why its not likley to ever happen! Just think about it how many cds have you bought that you like every track? very few right?
Message to the RIAA, remember DVD regions? its hard to find a player thats not been cured of the region madness these days, which is just what will happen with your CD copy protection, sooner or later it will be cracked, there is no way you can stop it.
Far better save your self truck loads of pain, and money, and embrace digital distribution before you are sent broke by it. Digital watermarking is the way to go....
The first copy protected CD that I buy, will be the last CD I buy, and I will not be alone in that.