Dave Matthews and other Bands Adopt New Copy Protection Scheme for Plain CD’s

Did you specifically grant permission for any software on the CD to run on your computer? Is there a “breaking this seal means you agree” sticker on the CD? I’m no lawyer but I’m pretty sure that your civil liberties have been violated otherwise. It is NOT reasonable to assume that there will be a foreign program run when you insert an audio CD. Audio CD’s are widely held to be just data.

What happens when you place the CD in a Mac? or in a Linux box? or even a PC running Windows 3.1?

Since the data files are protected WMA’s, is there a disclaimer on the CD that the CD is compatible with XP only?

Since the CD plays on a regular CD player, the first session on the CD MUST be intact and in an unsecured format. Therefore, as a security protection mechanism, this is very weak. It will do nothing to stop those that want to bypass the protection while at the same time infuriate the casual user. This seems to be a specialty of the music industry! I can’t imagine another industry that is trying so hard to drive away it’s customers.

Oscar Papel

Thank you for contacting us. We appreciate your purchase of the Dave Matthews CD and apologize for any inconvenience.

Please note that due to the fact that some portable devices allow for the uploading of mp3 and wav files (note: these are un-secure file formats) to P to P sharing networks, MediaMax only supports those players that can play secure WMA files which do not allow for further transferring. We would like to suggest that you check your player’s tech support site to see if there are any firmware updates available.

Please let us know if we can assist you further.”

Translation:
Thank you for buying our CD and helping to put more money in the pocket of our CEO, he really needed the money to buy his 3rd house at the shore. We really feel sorry that you can’t do what you want with the CD the you just BOUGHT, but too bad, we make the rules and you will obey.

The only way this nonsence will stop is if consumers stop buying these CDs. Otherwise it will be business as usual with the Fat Cats dictating what we can do with something we PAYED for.”

And another funny thing is that they provide full instructions on how to get this CD into the iPod. The instructions are basically burn WMA files to a new cd and rerip to the iPod on a Mac. Nice and secure from P2P networks.

“You can also tell by looking at the back of the cd that something is strange just by looking at the pattern on it.”

Can we see a scan of the CD os something to that effect? For us to know what to avoid.

Like other ‘protection’ schemes that treat us consumers as criminals, the way to act is to NOT BUY them. Simply. Vote with your money. Let these idiots see that greed is bad.

First, I am shocked that somebody hasn’t hacked it yet.

Second, isn’t this the first step towards forward integration into a napster-like subscription model? I think it is crude, but the signs are there. Napster went nuts trying to figure out a way to keep people subscribed. What’s keeping the RIAA, once they get realistic, from just putting their whole catalog out and charging for subscriptions?

Digital Rights Management has always creeped me out.

The moral of the story is that machine is kicking in, starting to learn how to control our behavior on this new front. Ready?

I recently purchased this CD and the fact is that the rights protection is only on the ‘additional content’ included on the CD. I popped the CD into my PC (which has CD autoplay disabled, natch) and ripped it with iTunes straight away no problem. I paid to get the 14 songs ($9.99 @ Target) and could care less about the ‘extra’ stuff on the disc. I’ve had no problems playing the disc in my car or in my home stereo system.

Now, if they start messing around with the plain audio tracks I’ll be pissed too.

Great business model.. offer less quality and functionality, while keeping the product overpriced like normal CDs. I absolutely refuse to use online music services after actually listening to the horrible quality of the poorly encoded WMAs they release. Completely worthless format, with or without the evil DRM licensing.

Here’s an article about how Suncomm threatened to sue a Princeton student that published a paper describing the incredibly simple method to defeat their “copy-protection.” Not sure if this method applies to their current technology or not.

http://vigilant.tv/article/3371/suncomm-to-sue-student-over-cd-copying-paper

I am of two minds on this issue.

First, when you buy a CD, you don’t buy the music. You only buy the right to listen to the music. The artist, producer, and publisher all retain their rights to that music. They may offer to allow you the ability to enjoy hearing that music in any way they choose. That may be on vinyl, a compact disk, mini CD, or on computer storage, in analogue or digital format. As the owners, they may attach such conditions, as they deem sufficient, within the limits of the law.

If you don’t like the format or conditions attached to the music then you do not have to buy the vehicle that holds it.

Take it or leave it.

Second, if the music industry continues to alienate and frustrate their customers and fans then they will continue to see sales decline. I often listen to CDs as I work at my computer and my computer is not in the same room as the stereo. And NO, I will not install more software that I do not know about to listen to a CD I just bought.

Then there is the price. When they first appeared, it was understood that CDs cost more then vinyl records. As the production process matured though, CD prices do not appear to have come down. And cases of music artists getting rich from music sales are rare.

Sell it or keep it.

***

I believe that CD sales have declined over the last few years because there are no real “super stars”. If anything, music sharing has probably helped sales.

Recorded music has been with us for over a century now. It has gone from scratchy wax cylinders to very high fidelity digital storage. It wasn’t until Elvis Presley, in the mid-50s, that the music industry, including both hardware and recordings started booming. In the mid 60s, domestic playback equipment improved as consumers wanted to hear the superstars; the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Judy Collins, and many others, in true splendor. In the 70s there were super bands such as Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, and Pink Floyd driving the listening experience. We used 8-tracks and later cassette players in our cars. Into the 80s we got Madonna, U2, and Michael Jackson. Into the 90s the super stars declined and it was the changeover from vinyl to CDs that continued to fuel the music industry. After everyone’s collections were changed over and no super stars came along, the industry stopped growing at the rates it had become used to.

Personally, my wife and I own over 2,000 CDs, cassette tapes and vinyl albums purchased from the early 80s to the present. Yet, neither of us feels any urge to purchase more then three or four albums a year as there just isn’t much we really care for out there. I don’t want to hear another Rolling Stone or Eagles Greatest Hits collection.

Until we get another group like the Beatles, or Michael Jackson to fuel the music buying public, sales will continue to decline. I doubt that such a super star(s) will appear as the music industry has fragmented into so many different tastes that no one could appeal to most people. There are lots of very good music groups out there already and more trying to make it. But ordinary does not cut it. We need inspiration.

No One should waste thier money on CD’’s or poor quality mp3 at a buck a pop.
The industry is just too greedy.
The smart move is Sirius or XM Radio.
The units are now handheld. You can listen to anything you want.and the quality is excellent.

They want our money more badly than we want their music.

Even on a Windows box with autorun enabled, I think that you can just hold down SHIFT when you insert the CD to prevent it from installing malware on your computer:

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/10/09/2211259&tid=93&tid=141&tid=123&tid=17

Well… With that kind of inconvienance and hi cost for low album lengths and tracks, its no wonder the world is turning to P2P programs to get the full 80mins that the average cdr holds at quality.

After all… what happened to that EXTRA TAX that was applied to blank CD-R’s to compensate the “Fat cat” for custom cd’s… now they say we can’t do that… hrmmm…

Guess nobody said that “Fat cat” was a “smart cat” eh?

Love from Canada