Musicians tell how to beat system

[canadateck]

Musicians tell how to beat system
Web sites instruct fans on how to beat copy-protected CDs

Tuesday, October 4, 2005 Posted: 1557 GMT (2357 HKT)

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• Sony BMG
• The EMI Group
• Columbia Records
• Dave Matthews Band
• Foo Fighters
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Manage Alerts | What Is This? NEW YORK (Billboard) -- Major labels Sony BMG and EMI are releasing more and more new CDs that block fans from dragging their tunes to iPods.

Now, in the most bizarre turn yet in the record industry's piracy struggles, stars Dave Matthews Band, Foo Fighters and Switchfoot -- and even Sony BMG, when the label gets complaints -- are telling fans how they can beat the system.

Sony BMG Music Entertainment now regularly releases its new U.S. titles on CDs protected with digital rights management (DRM) that dictates which file formats consumers can use to digitally copy the music. MP3 is not one of those formats. The DRM also limits how many copies of the files consumers can make.

EMI Music is testing a similar initiative for wide-scale use by 2006.

But these decisions are not sitting well with some of the artists whose CDs have been secured. A number of leading acts are using their Web sites to instruct fans on how to work around the technology. (Others, including Jermaine Dupri, have expressed support for anti-copying efforts.)

For now, the copy-protected discs work only with software and devices compatible with Microsoft Windows Media technology. Apple -- the dominant player in digital music -- has resisted appeals from the labels to license its FairPlay DRM for use on the copy-protected discs.

The DRM initiatives are generating complaints from fans, many of whom own iPods. The message boards of artist fan sites and online retailers are filled with complaints from angry consumers who did not realize they were buying a copy-protected title until they tried to create music files on their home computers.

One solution artists offer to iPod users is to rip the CD into a Windows Media file, burn the tracks onto a blank CD (without copy protection) and then rip that CD back into iTunes.

Columbia Records act Switchfoot, whose latest album, "Nothing Is Sound," is copy-protected -- and debuted at No. 3 on The Billboard 200 last week -- recently took copy-protection defiance one step further. Band guitarist Tim Foreman posted on a Sony Music-hosted fan site a link to the software program CDEX, which disables the technology. The post has since been removed.

"We were horrified when we first heard about the new copy-protection policy," Foreman wrote in the September 14 post. "It is heartbreaking to see our blood, sweat and tears over the past two years blurred by the confusion and frustration surrounding new technology."

To add some minor injury to insult, EMI Christian Music Group had to recall copies of "Nothing Is Sound" that were shipped to Christian retailers. Under an agreement with Sony BMG, the EMI imprint handles manufacturing and distribution of Switchfoot to the Christian market. The EMI discs have incorrect DRM settings that do not allow consumers to rip or burn secure tracks.

Switchfoot is not the only band upset by copy protection.

"I'm completely frustrated," says Jason Brown, president of Philadelphonic, a management company that represents Tristan Prettyman. The artist's Virgin Records debut, "Twentythree," is among the albums in the EMI copy-protection trial. "Copy control as it stands right now is in its 1.0 phase. It was rushed through and into a system that wasn't prepared for it."

Sony BMG says it is not trying to prevent consumers from getting music onto iPods. Fans who complain to Sony BMG about iPod incompatibility are directed to a Web site (http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp) that provides information on how to work around the technology.

The company, which has sold more than 13 million copy-protected discs to date, is urging people who buy copy-protected titles to write to Apple and demand that the company license its FairPlay DRM for use with secure CDs.

The bad thing is that you are almost promoting what you are trying to protect against. You are upsetting the fan that went out and purchased the record.
-- Jason Brown, whose agency represents an artist whose album in among those in copy-protection suit.EMI is not quite so helpful. A source says the company will not instruct consumers on how to work around copy-protected discs.

Sony BMG, EMI and Apple officials all declined comment. However, both majors have said that increased CD burning has forced their hands on copy protection.

But artists and consumers are bristling at the notion of being caught in the middle of this test of wills. Some managers express doubt about the Sony BMG and EMI strategy in dealing with Apple.

"Anything that smacks of corporatism, people don't like," says Jamie Kitman, president of the Hornblow Group USA, manager for Capitol Records act OK Go, which was considered for, but ultimately left out of the EMI trial. "There's no doubt this has the whiff of punitive activity."

What is more, artist managers are upset that the security is so easily beaten -- in the case of Sony BMG, with the company's assistance -- that it makes a mockery of content protection.

Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group are taking a wait-and-see approach to copy protection. Neither has announced plans for secured U.S. commercial releases.

"The bad thing is that you are almost promoting what you are trying to protect against," Brown says. "You are upsetting the fan that went out and purchased the record."

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TECH/ptech/10/04/music.copy.reut/index.html

[Cornucopia]

1. [SHIFT] Key.
2. Rip and Burn like normal (EAC is my app of choice).

When will they ever learn!
:P

Scott

[lordsmurf]

..

[daphy]

I increasingly lose interest in new releases. All the crap about copy protection forces me to buy a second player because my KiSS 450 stumbles over every newer copy protection while replaying it.

The victims of this development are the music groups - in former times I can´t pass through a CD store without buying at least 2-3 CDs - really those times are gone.
DRM and unit mash music makes the companies losing much more money, than ripping that crap
As a good customer I fell bounced. As long that feeling stays, my personal consumer behaviour won´t change.

So, sorry no interest in hearing and buying DRM music

[Noahtuck]

Band guitarist Tim Foreman posted on a Sony Music-hosted fan site a link to the software program CDEX, which disables the technology. The post has since been removed.

Ya gotta love it!!!
The CDEX comment is too funny... i've been using it for at least 2 years just because i liked it back then because it did not crash like WMP every 30 F'n seconds!!!!!!! and it rips great and has tons of options and settings

I beat the system long ago by not buying their crappy CDs.
The radio is free, and I have my CD collection from 5-15 years ago that is far better than the crud released now.

Yep!! except the new "staind" album :P

How could you tell if a cd has the new or any protection on it ??
I have ripped the last couple i have bought in the last couple of months with zero problems, the newest one i bought was "Chapter V" and it's only a little over a month old i think, but then i was using CDEX

[smearbrick1]

You know, I haven't been a big CD buyer lately either, but I'm very pleased to finally see you are getting more for your money these days on certain CDs. The new releases on DUALDISC are very cool, and for $14.99 from Amazon.com, I don't think that's such a bad price.

Of course, I haven't tried copying them either.

[steptoe]

Have a look at AnyDVD, this should let you rip any protected CD

Yes I know it says AnyDVD but it also bypases CD protections as well letting ripping software that can't handle the protection rip that CD "for YOUR own pleasure"

[sybariten]

1. [SHIFT] Key.

Uhh.. i didnt understand this?

[CaptainVideo]

1. [SHIFT] Key.

Uhh.. i didnt understand this?

If you don't have autorun disabled in the OS, you can temporarily disable it by holding down the shift key when inserting a CD that has an autorun executable on it.

[yoda313]

One solution artists offer to iPod users is to rip the CD into a Windows Media file, burn the tracks onto a blank CD (without copy protection) and then rip that CD back into iTunes.

Thats how I do it for ITUNES to play it on my portable that isn't an ipod (the legally purchased Itunes songs I buy occasionally). I make a audio cd which I'm allowed to do then make a mp3 for my portable off of that.

[whitejremiah]

however much i like the idea of the discs being protected from massive bootlegging, this is just getting to the point that its WRONG.....and reguarding itunes>cd>mp3...you know you just took a MASSIVE hit in quality...shouldnt need to have been that way, you should be able to just copy the song to your own device, zero quality loss......i just wish that these companies would figure out that they are starting to irritate their market by trying to prevent copying of stuff......they were better off when there was no copy protection per se...or attempted copy protection to be more exact because most of the time its defeated before the discs that are intended to be protected even hit the shelves...or in rare cases, a few days after........i dunno...this is one reason i stopped buying music period...ive got all the music i care to buy (for now) on cd's that i bought back when the music industry was overcharging people for cd's instead of trying to copy protect them...........

[satviewer2000]

I think movie stars and musicians should be put where they were in the "good old days", on the streets begging for money or a few coins in their coffee cup when they perform exceedingly well.

Looking at the latest figures in the movie earnings, perhaps it won't be that long before this happens.

[Cornucopia]

There are a small percentage of notable "stars" that make wads of money, but there are tens of thousands of GOOD actors, musicians, writers, composers, etc. that just barely make a living.
I (sometimes being one of them) don't want to take away anything from them that they deserve.
What bugs me is that the current system -- THE MAN (in the form of RIAA, MPAA etc)-- is squeezing all they can out of these guys and then saying that "something we did" put them in the poor position they're in.

Why is THE MAN always trying to put a brother down?

Scott