Message from Tim Foreman of Switchfoot relating to stupid copy protection:
Hello friends,
my heart is heavy with this whole copy-protection thing. Many PC users have posted problems that they have had importing the new songs (regular disc only, not the dual disc) into programs such as Itunes. Let me first say that as a musician AND as a music fan, I agree with the frustration that has been expressed. We were horrified when we first heard about the new copy-protection policy that is being implemented by most major labels, including Sony (ours), and immediately looked into all of our options for removing this from our new album. Unfortunately, this is the new policy for all new major releases from these record companies. It is heartbreaking to see our blood, sweat, and tears over the past 2 years blurred by the confusion and frustration surrounding this new technology. It is also unfortunate when bands such as ourselves, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, etc... (just a few of the new releases with copy protection) are the target of this criticism, when there is no possible way to avoid this new industry policy.
For mac users these songs should import seamlessly. We are told that itunes is coming out with a new version for PC users in early November that will be compatible with all of these new CD's but in the meantime it's frustrating for all of us. That said, there are a number of solutions (as is always the case with these types of things) for importing the CD into your itunes and ipod. We have compiled some of the easier ways below. I feel like as a band and as listeners, we've all been through a lot together over the past ten years, and we refuse to allow corporate policy to taint the family we've developed together. We deeply regret that there exists the need for any of our listeners to spend more than 30 seconds importing our music, but we're asking as friends and partners in this journey together to spend the extra 10 minutes that it takes to import these songs, which we think you'll agree to be our finest collection of songs yet. As a band, we've always been known for having the best fans in the world and I know that will continue for years to come. A month from now, I hope to be singing these songs together at a show, and the extra time spent importing the music will perhaps be forgotten, or at least forgiven. Thank you for your understanding and the continued kindness that you have always shown for five dreamers from San Diego, we love you guys,
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Scott
Or just download them illegally... because this disc has been on p2p for weeks. Just another incentive not to buy music. Thanks RIAA and major labels. FU!
2 - Chris Beaumont
Illegal downloading doesn't help the artist.
And i agree that the copy protection is going too far...
3 - Guppusmaximus
If you wanna rip any cd(doesn't matter if it has copy protection) just use dBpowerAMP Music Converter(free program)....
You should load the program first then insert the CD....Rip it to wave.
4 - DJRadiohead
I am glad to hear an artist come out and address this directly- especially because I am a Switchfoot fan. Fans have unfairly directed their frustrations. The labels are behind this. I had already posted a workaround here.
5 - Tom Johnson
All you need to do is hold down the Shift key while the disc is loading. No need for extra software. As long as the Sony crap doesn't get loaded, Itunes should see the disc just fine.
But, people, please, download TweakUI, which is a part of the PowerToys bundle for XP, and disable Autorun. You won't have to deal with this crap ever again . . until the labels come up with something that works around this. (I've seen comments about something called XCP that is being used in Europe that does not require anything to be loaded onto the computer that plays the disc in order to prevent copying. From what I understand, this technology has not been used in the US yet. YET. I wouldn't be surprised if we see it soon . . . )
A couple other recent/upcoming titles that I know are copy-protection laden:
Dave Matthews Band: Stand Up
David Gray: Life in Slow Motion
Fiona Apple: Extraordinary Machine (keep those leaked copies from earlier this year - you're going to need them!)
I'm surprised Switchfoot's okay with the DualDisc version of their albums - that format is notoriously incompatible with a huge number of audio equipment, from the cheapest of the cheap to extremely high-end stuff. DualDisc is pure crap.
6 - DJRadiohead
Tom, actually just hitting the shift key was not enough in the case of Switchfoot. Somehow, iTunes was unable to recognize that I a CD in the CD player so it did not work. I wound up having to go with the CDEx option - which worked.
Holding down the SHIFT key is important though to all you kids out there who want Switchfoot, DMB, etc. on your iPod.
7 - Mark Saleski
the problem is that if you allow the software to install once (which i did with the latest Leo Kottke cd), things are screwed up until you reboot your computer.
in my case it wouldn't even play the cd, popping up instead some diaglog box indicating that a valid copy wasn't inserted.
i had to reboot because my CdMax player was would no longer function properly.
moronic is indeed a good description.
8 - Matt
I am not a Switchfoot fan, but props to them for addressing this and seeming genuinely sincere about it.
I disagree with Tim on one point, though:
"there is no possible way to avoid this new industry policy."
Uhh, yeah there is--don't deal with a major label.
9 - Sarah
See, another problem is that the companies that are making these c.d.'s are not addressing the problems that blind ppl cna't access the player. I was trying to put in another copy protected c.d. Natahsa Bedingfield, and didn't know why it wouldn't play and installed the software. I can load the player but my screen reader Jaws, won't read anothing on the player so I can't even click to play the c.d. in the computer. That's the whole reason why I have a problem with the copyright stuff. It's not fair. I payed like 13.99 for the Tasha B. c.d. and can't even put the songs on my mp3 player. crapy! oh yah, and don't have new switchfoot c.d. yet but love the band! Beautiful letdown is da'bomb! God bless!
10 - Temple Stark
Music Editor Matt picked this his pick of the week. Go HERE to find out why. And thank you very much.
11 - Ethan Hereth
hey.... I tryed the CDex 1.51 solution but I couldn't get it to work. I extracted the tracks to WAV files and tryed to drag them from my "mymusic" folder to iTunes but I get a message saying that "the songs being added are in the protected WMA format and could not be converted." does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?? I would really like to be able to add this CD to my iTunes.
Thanks for any help. Ethan Alan
12 - Lance Fisher
Hey, way to post the full text of Tim's post. I just posted a link to the forum post on Sony's website, and they have removed it now.
13 - Winter Knight
Please forgive me for making several posts, but I'm getting a "banned word" error, and I have to do this to figure out what the word is so I can change it.
14 - Winter Knight
This copy protection software is a "trogan". The EULA is misleading, and you should not load it under any circumstances.
15 - Winter Knight
....If you have already gotten yourself infected,
16 - Winter Knight
...there are software tools that can erradicate or
17 - Winter Knight
...help you to erradicate this,
18 - Winter Knight
...antivirus,
19 - Winter Knight
***********, and of course hijack this. I'm not sure, but I think Spybot S&D detects and removes this one. And I would recommend against installing Microsoft ***********, as they have a severe conflict of interest regarding ******* and trojans.
20 - Winter Knight
To prevent further infection, it is imperative that you disable autorun. As mentioned above, Microsoft TweakUI can do this. Some viruses also spread through CDs, and tweaking this "feature" will curb that.
You can press Shift to prevent the loading of trojans such as these, but this is only a temporary fix, and because this is a security issue, I wouldn't recommend it unless you're using someone else's pc. (Like work or school (wouldn't recommend that either, really) or a friend's (But please refer your friend to one of the tens of thousands of articles on the internet regarding this.))
Also, I'm pretty sure that it is perfectly legal to download the mp3s from p2p software if you own a license to listen to the music. I wouldn't want to go through this hassle if I had the CD in front of me, but it is an option.
As far as special software required for certain protected CDs, I don't know, I stopped buying CDs when the RIAA started harrassing and threatening people. I just stick to downloading mp3s for free now.
21 - Winter Knight
FYI, This forum does not allow you to say at least two specific words. The first word start with an "S". It is a term coined by Steve Gibson, and it is usually software that spys on your surfing habits. It ends with the syllable: ware.
" would be adequately helpful. If I wasn't so determined (say obsessed if you will), I would have left your site without posting. I'm sure several other people have done just that. I don't know exactly how much that means to you, but it must mean something, or your wouldn't have a comment area.
The other word that this forum has banned is software that helps to prevent the other word. Kind of the opposite, like a anti-otherword.
Note to webmasters, or whoever is responsible: I don't know why you would ban an everyday term like this, but that is your right. Giving an error message such as "Banned word" is slightly helpful. Giving a message such as "Banned word:
22 - Winter Knight
Correction: I said the second word prevents the first. Actually, I mean erradicate, it rarely actually prevents. The only real prevention is good security and common sense.
23 - Winter Knight
Correction 2: I didn't realize that part of my ninth post was eliminated by the script. I should have realized it would be, as I used tags instead of brackets. It would be helpful if the banned word error said "Banned word: [word that you used that we do not allow]".
Also, the navigation on this site sucks. When you post a comment, you should be directed back to the post you were reading, not the home page. I apologize for my language in advance.
24 - Gale
I'm a long time Switchfoot fan, and I'm glad to see that they addressed this--directly to the fans--even if they did have to remove it from the site because the record label got on their back. I plan to write the record label about this.
25 - theartfuldoger18
I already had Windows Media Player 10 and burning switchfoot onto a blank cd still doesn't work.