Microsoft unveils new CD copy protection - when does it end?

[Goatweed]

copied/pasted in case CNET changes the link :

CANNES, France--Microsoft announced on Saturday new digital rights software aimed at helping music labels control unauthorized copying of CDs, one of the biggest thorns in the ailing industry's side.
Stung by the common practice of consumers copying, or "burning," new versions of a store-bought CD onto recordable CDs, music companies have invested heavily in copy-protection technologies that have mainly backfired or annoyed customers.

For example, most copy-proof CDs are designed so that they cannot be played on a PC, but often this prevents playback on portable devices and car stereos too.



Last year, some resourceful software enthusiasts cracked Sony Music's proprietary technology simply by scribbling around the edges of the disc with a Magic Marker pen, thus enabling playback on any device.

Microsoft believes it may have come up with a solution. The new software is called the Windows Media Data Session Toolkit.

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.

Universal Music and EMI, two of the biggest record labels in the world, "are very excited about this because it enables the industry to build a CD with their own protections built in," he said, speaking at the Midem music conference in southern France.

Microsoft has invested $500 million in digital rights management, or DRM, for music, Fester said. The Toolkit was co-developed with technology partners Phoenix-based SunnComm Technologies and France's MPO International Group, he added.

Microsoft is making a concerted push into DRM, a hotly contested new field.

Technology and media companies, such as Microsoft, Sony, Philips and Real Networks, are looking to build a business out of securing copyright protections across the Internet and other digital media.

Microsoft has discussed plans for an upcoming operating system, code-named "Palladium," that will seek to put user controls on all bits of information they store on a computer document, from medical records to billing information.

Why doesn't the recording industry just give the consumer what he/she wants - cheaper CD's with more content and ultimately, better music? They love to blame Napster/Kazaa, etc. for the decline in music sales, but yet they fail to see that people don't want to buy CD's for only 1 or 2 good songs - and shell out close to $20 to boot! I download a lot of music, and most times if I hear enough good music from an artist I'll buy the CD - which is what I think most people do, especially if they're loyal to a particular band. Maybe if the recording industry got their heads out of their asses and actually gave some $$ back to the artists and consumers, they might see people returning to the music section and actually buying a CD.

And does anyone else think that this MS technology will be hackable - assuming it isn't already? For MS being the monopoly that it is, their software has proven to be the most easily cracked software around. The movie industry tried to kill DVD copying, yet I still see several DVD rips available for download...

edit : I think I meant to post this in the music forum (oops)



Edited By goatweed on 1043076427

[LZMF1]

MS technology will be hackable - assuming it isn't already? For MS being the monopoly that it is, their software has proven to be the most easily cracked software around

give it time.

it won't take long to hack the protection on it.....

[QuickStop]

it won't take long to hack the protection on it.....

3 days tops

[Weird NJ]

Seriously though. They can't shut off my sound card. How hard is it to press play on one program and record on another?

[Jack]

And does anyone else think that this MS technology will be hackable - assuming it isn't already? For MS being the monopoly that it is, their software has proven to be the most easily cracked software around. The movie industry tried to kill DVD copying, yet I still see several DVD rips available for download...

I don't think its the matter of it being the easiest to crack, just most of the effort is concentrated on Microsoft Software.

And I agree with Goaty, if I like the artist, I am going to go buy the cd. I may wait to see if Best Buy or Circuit City have it on sale before I do it, but I ultimately do buy the cd if I like the artist enough.

[Hybrid]

how much is the nickelback cd goin for these days

[Goatweed]

:poke:

[Arpikarhu]

i admit i havent purchased a cd in 3 years and have downloaded lots and lots of albums. AAAARRRRR ME MATEY!!!!

[QuickStop]

in the past few years ive only bought cky and weezer cds. i think i may have boughten the vines cd cause it was $6 and a king crimson cd that wasnt on the ftp because i heard it was good which it was.

[Jack]

You are bad people. :disappointed:

[QuickStop]

im assuming arpi's just cheap, but i have no money, so i feel that im doing nothing wrong. :thumbs-up:

[AdolescentMasturbator]

I have somewhere between 50 and 60 gigs of pirated music. I've bought 1 album in the past 3 years and that was only because my internet connection went down.

[Cunk]

I'm not interested in downloading MP3's but if I can't get my own music onto my MP3 player then I shall be quite fucking pissed.

I wonder how much of an impact shit like this will have on sales of future MS OS's. Probably none but I think I've seen my last MS upgrade.

[GonzoStyle]

I buy albums but only very few artists, like eminem, radiohead, and some others. I feel that it puts a fire under the artists asses now, because people were tired of buying a cd for one good song and 20 tracks of shit. Why should I go out and spend 20 bucks on a cd when I only want one song.

If I download some songs and the majority sound good then I will consider buying the album.

The whole point of CD's was that the didn't have any moving parts like audio tapes, so they would be better in quality and cheaper to manufacture. It's not my problem that they spend so much on marketing, if the CD is good you don't need much marketing.

How come DVD's cost as much basically as a music cd? It's ridiculous, DVD's are almost the same price as video tapes, by the music industry standards, DVD's should cost 50 bucks. Yet they don't.

[LyricalGomez]

Like Gonzo, I have no problem spending money on artists who deserve it, people like Eminem, Nas, Radiohead and so on put alot of work into their cd's, and it shows, so I don't mind spending 10-20 bucks for their cd, because I know I will get my money's worth.

[Skitchr4u]

now I know I am gonna get tooled on for this but so what...I went to the music store the other night, and was looking to buy a cd, which I have also done very sparingly in the past few years...the only cd that I even considered purchasing was the Alanis Morrisette tour CD...this was because she put a DVD in the packaging. You got, a 2 plus hour dvd of the tour, 9 songs previously unreleased, and some other stuff too...all that for the price of $23.95...sitting next to it was the new j-lo cd with i think 10 tracks for $19.99...and none of these extras. sure, alanis is so 4 years ago, but the point of my rambling is that cd's can be done cheaply if they just try and market and package them better...

oh, i didn't buy anything...nothing is good out there really...maybe someday music won't all sound the same

[Ronin]

Microsoft announced on Saturday new digital rights software aimed at helping music labels control unauthorized copying of CDs, one of the biggest thorns in the ailing industry's side

I don't see NSync or Rolling Stones on the welfare line or begging for money. What? Do they only earn $7 million dollars a year instead $15 million?? Dirty bastards.

[LyricalGomez]

Artists don't really care since they make most of their money touring, it';s the record companies who are loosing money because of internet downloads.