Difference between CDR and Music CDR?

[ejp]

now, i know the music CDRs were especially made for the standalone music cd burners. they couldn't use regular CDRs, right?

however, for my burner on my pc, i could use either one. i bought the music CDRs the last time i went shopping because they were a few dollars cheaper (but they used to be a lot more expensive).

so, what's the difference between the 2 anyway?

[adam]

Practically speaking, nothing. I don't know what is is about them but they are the only cdrs that "audio recording devices" will accept. And that is the only reason for their existence.

When they passed the Audio Home Recording Act they imposed royalties on all "audio recording devices and media." The idea is that the consumer subsidizes the music industry for the right to copy music, and they make these payments when they buy the device and when they buy each cdr they use to make audio copies.

So the law forces all of these recorder manufacturers to only support these special music cdrs, so that you only have to pay the royalty when you actually make an audio recording, as opposed to if you bought a regular cdr to archive data for example.

Most people don't realize this, but its actually illegal to copy a copyrighted audio cd to a regular cdr via your computer. Its only legal if you use one of these standalone recorders and a music cdr.

[ejp]

wow. that makes a lot of sense. thanks for the reply.