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Sony Music Testing New Copy Protection
RandyOo writes "According to this Reuters article, Sony Music is about to start testing a new type of 'copy protection' in Germany. It looks like they'll be releasing multi-sessioned discs with normal audio in the first session, and compressed, DRM'ed music files in the second session, as well added 'extras', including access to exclusive online content. The article explains that the disc's audio can still be copied, and there's a hilarious quote at the end by a BMG spokesman: "All copy-protections can be hacked, but if (we) give people what they are asking for in terms of value, they won't go out and steal it. It's called trusting the consumer." "
Why is that hilarious? Isn't that what you proponents of file-sharing and digital music have been clamoring for? to be trusted not to steal?
Maybe I lack a sense of humour, but isn't that quote pretty sensible rather than 'hilarious'? Sure, they're not actually giving a lot of people what they want, but the quote itself is not at fault, is it?
Daniel
Carpe Diem
how can they ever stop people copying music? even if , at the worst case, it has to be take out as an analogue signal and re-digitised, who really cares? the people making millions (billions?) selling fake cds are going to invest in the equipment to do it. it's these people - largely mafia types - the industry should be worried about (something like 1 in 3 cds is fake) rather than a student copying a cd .
All I Want For Christmas Is My Constitutional Rights
sony appears to think that by making it more convenient they'll avoid backlash. while it's probably a matter of days before someone cracks it, this seems a lot less stupid than some of the previous efforts the record labels have taken.
ed
Why is that quote hilarious? Isn't that what we've been saying here all along? If you're waiting for the music companies to start saying that music swapping is just fine and they really don't mind, then you obviously don't understand the situation. There will be some form of DRM, period. This may be one solution. Apple has another solution. The market will decide what works, but you should realize that sooner or later, some form of reasonable DRM will come in to play.
THIS SPACE FOR RENT
700MB for a cd isn't what Joe teenager wants, especially when the the sharer's DSL/cable may be capped at 14kB/s up. Thats why people compress their music.
If they really trusted the consumer, wouldn't they forget about the copy prevention and the DRM stuff?
I just don't get it. Large scale-piracy outfits have access to large commercial presses, hence their being able to put out CDs that look just like the real thing. They sure as hell don't use burners, so all this copy protection is useless in combatting large-scale organised piracy. So, the only people that these new copy prevention and DRM techniques inconvenience are the consumers.
Tell me again how Sony is showing trust in the consumer?
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
I expect that the logic behind this is simple - the average consumer will simply use the DRM music on their computer instead of ripping the audio files (which is more complex), and this DRM music will not be sharable, hence the real issue, music sharing, will be cut down.
However, it only needs something along the lines of
1) relying on a custom music playing application (windows only)
2) relying on Windows Media Player (ugliest nastiest application ever)
to make the whole system pointless.
But it is a step in the right direction of not messing with the audio on the CD, adding more value to the CD, and yet trying to maintain the rights of the copyright holder without messing with the rights of the consumer.
It's a sad sad day when a record company executive can (even if in jest) refer to "trusting the customer" as a novelty. I'd boycott it for this cavalier attitude alone. However, as I have not purchased any new cd's in over 5 years, it's a non issue for me. Further, instead of "trusing the customer" on the DRM front, I think executives should be focusing on pumping quality out of the artists they sign. To paraphrase his quote, "If you give people what they want in terms of value," you'd five them music they actually wanted to hear instead of two or three singles on a cd chock full of crap.
The english language is in beta. It's evolving but has not yet reached a level of usability.
I have become more accustomed to spending $2 or $3 on the 2-3 tracks I like via iTunes, and getting a superior-quality AAC sound file that I can convert to a high quality MP3.
Spending $14-18 on a CD-ROM (no longer an Audio CD) that has CD Audio, low-quality WMA files, links to low-info "exclusive" websites, and tiny music video files, just isn't worth it.
Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, START
So the disk will still work on real CD players, and I won't miss all the byproducts and floor sweepings shoveled into session 2. Good enough.
If they used the millions that they spend to research this "copy protection" on finding good artists and not the same junk they've been putting out for the last 10 years, then maybe they could start trusting the consumer to purchase their products.
Cannot be fixed by adding useless crap to the CD's. Make the CD's cost less. Piracy will always exist and always had, it just wasn't quantifiable before the Internet.
"All copy-protections can be hacked, but if (we) give people what they are asking for in terms of value, they won't go out and steal it. It's called trusting the consumer."
His heart is in the right place, but he really has to move away from RIAA word abuse. "Stealing" is something that has never been involved in the issue of copy protection, the p2p issue, etc.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Sony is doing the right thing. For years we have been screaming because the entertainment industry has been treating us like children, thinking that we can't do the right thing unless we are forced to.
Now Sony has come out with a scheme that shows they are beginning to place *some* trust back with the consumer and they are jumped all over?
I for one am pleased to see this small move towards the better from Sony.
tinfoilmedia
1) The disc can be played on almost any device conventionally, said Sony Music Chief Technology Officer Phil Wiser.
Almost -- hmm, what does this mean? Surely, this should be "-any-" if it complies with the Philips standard. I notice the article calls it a CD.
2) There are several limitations. The digital files will only play on Sony-licensed digital music players. Wiser said Sony is working on "plug-in's" that will allow the files to be played on more popular players like Microsoft's Windows Media. He expects the plug-ins to be available early next year.
Which players are currently 'Sony-licensed'? If those players are anything like the players that come with the 'copy-protected' discs, no one is going to use them. Why? They're absolute crap.
BTW, what are those other "more-popular" plug-ins?
Audio systems have got more complicated these days, with many able to read ISO-9660 formatted discs.
My DVD stereo system can handle MP3 and WMA CDs as well as Audio CDs, DVD-Video and DVD-Audio (and some other image related formats as well).
The odds on such a system not playing back the audio tracks and instead playing back the WMA content may be quite high!
Joe Teenager is a leech.
Joe lines up 20 ISOs for download and goes to bed. He is not worried if they take a day or two to download. He thinks nothing of downloading a 1.5Gb movie screener. He has a 24/7 connection and bandwidth to spare.
Joe also knows that only real men download ISOs.
Joe is your typical leech.
This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
from my experience, extra content, even online content, isn't worth squat. usually these online sites are only maintained for a month or two, and they offer limited material -- maybe some wallpapers, a few shots of the band, and, if you're lucky, a downloadable live track or work-in-progress.
i've also had a few cds with extra content not work properly on my computers.
at most, this stuff is only worth looking at once. i just hope it doesn't increase the cost of the cd any.
2 sessions on 1 CD well to me it would seem as to use and APPZ to toggle to the 2nd session and rip to wav then convert.
Some things are better the OLD FASHIONED way
Well, Sony isn't testing the full formula either.
As you correctly point out, there is a problem in that current pricing has no link to the cost of production (which has dropped dramatically). Piracy happens when the product pricing motivates pirates.
Sony can either try and add value to justify the pricing, or they can fight a losing DRM battle. Unfortunately, most of the "value added" is just a workaound to the losing DRM battle. I see no need to pay them just to work around a problem they created in the first place. I can solve the technical problem without Sony's help.
At a price of $1/song or $2/disc, piracy would be a waste of time, and the product could still be profitable. At some price higher than that, piracy would be tolerable and the product would be more profitable. Then we have today's prices -- the pirates are in the driver's seat.
People who buy CDs are the problem. How do the files get there in the first place if not from CDs (and don't give me that bit about it all being from inside jobs - the majority of the files I downloaded in the Napster days were bad rips from CDs, not ripped from masters)?
The other argument: that if you cut CD prices you'll lessen the urge to download - that's a good argument.