So they're pushing this new software called Microsoft Windows Media Data Session Toolkit. [HERE and HERE for the news story.] Naturally I am skeptical, both as a purchaser of factory CDs and as a user of MP3s.
From the Reuters story:
It enables music labels to lay songs onto a copy-controlled CD in multiple layers, one that would permit normal playback on a stereo and a PC.
The PC layer, laid digitally on the same disc, can be modified by the content provider, so that they could prevent, for example, burning songs onto another CD, said David Fester, general manager, digital media entertainment for Microsoft.
First off, let me say that I support the right of the record companies to put out whatever kind of coding they want to, so long as it is not maliciously taking over people's computers. To some partial extent, the record companies have legitimate concerns about massive downloading of their recent material. I would not support legal blockages against companies encrypting their music software anymore than I would support legal blockages against people encrypting their email.
This sounds like a bunch more crappy, complicated programing to screw up the basic product, though. The record companies seem to think that they'll just get the right technological and legal strokes, and they'll get to keep screwing consumers as hard as they want and as long as they want with quadruple pricing of CDs and endless extensions of copyrights.
Hint: it will not work. Whatever kind of blocking and encryption you come up with will take some high school kid about 20 minutes to bust up, and there won't be anything you or your schills in government can do to prevent it. All you're going to do is to come up with something to cause more problems for paying customers wanting to use your product.
Article comments
1 - Jim Carruthers
When are the majors going to realize that they can only succeed by selling what we want to buy, not what they want to sell us?
It's not difficult, it only requires getting people at record companies who can find their ass with both hands.
2 - Bjørn Stærk
One sad example of this is EMusic, a buy&download service that's been around for a couple of years. I've always wanted to like them. You give them money, they give you good, old-fashioned unrestricted mp3's. One problem: The last time I checked, their music was still only available as 128kbps mp3. No mp3 group would be caught distributing less than 192 or 256. 128 is audible worse than CD quality, unless you use playback equipment that is bad enough to hide the loss.
There's a reason people who used to rent VHS, now _buy_ DVD. Same reason why I might listen to a free 128kbps mp3, but would never give money for something less than 192. I really want legal, online music distribution to work, but if music companies won't compete with the "black market" [*] on neither price _nor_ quality _nor_ ease of use, what chance do they have?
([*] The black market is still a better metaphor than piracy for illegal file distribution on the internet. If you think of time as a cost, there are noe free mp3's on the internet. The money value of time varies, but it really is possible for music companies to compete on price. Same goes for quality and ease of use. Just need to think differently.)
3 - Eric Olsen
Excellent story and comments - good to hear from my ancestral countryman, Bjorn.