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  • (January 12, 2023, 01:18:11 AM)

Author Topic: Copy Protected CDs  (Read 3738 times)

Anonymous

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Copy Protected CDs
« on: June 25, 2004, 10:51:49 AM »
http://www.geekforum.org/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=13" target="BLANK">http://209.225.8.65/shifty/images/demo_avatar_ruprecht.jpg"> Submitted by Demosthenes

From http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=495&e=1&u=/ap/20040625/ap_en_mu/cd_copy_protection">this article:

Velvet Revolver's "Contraband" has sold 380,000 copies since its release last week, when it grabbed the top sales spot with 256,000 units sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

It's one of a few CDs issued in the United States equipped with such copy-protection measures, which the recording industry has been cautious to implement.

...

And users loading the CD on a PC running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system can easily bypass the protection features by pressing the "shift" key.

Phoenix-based SunnComm Technologies Inc., the company behind the copy-protection features on "Contraband," says its technology is not supposed to be hacker-proof, just effective enough to reduce piracy overall.


Which won't reduce piracy at ALL, since anyone actually intending to create and distribute illegal copies of this CD will be more than capable of bypassing its half-assed copy protection.

So again, the only people copy protected CDs hinders are legit users.  Because CDs "copy protected" in this way don't work in many CD players, and won't play on most portable MP3 players (like iPods, for example).

But anyone that wants to circumvent these schemes can easily do so.

So what's the point?

At this stage in the game, I'm half-convinced that the music industry is going out of its way to reduce their own sales.  Sure, this particular album has sold a lot of copies.  But how many of those copies were sold to individuals that had no idea what the "copy protection" label on the CD meant when they bought it?  How many of those individuals ended up with a CD they can't play in their stereos?  How many of those individuals ended up getting mad because they discovered that they couldn't rip MP3s off of it and play them on their favourite portable MP3 player?

How many of those individuals are going to be wary of "copy protected" CDs in the future because of this?

If that number of people is significant, then that will simply mean fewer sales.  Which makes me think the RIAA labels are doing it on purpose to add further fuel to the "anti-piracy" fire they've started.

But I'm sure it's still just incompetence.  The people in charge of this industry are mind-numbingly stupid, and this is just one more thing out of millions of others that continues to reinforce that notion.
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The_FOO

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Copy Protected CDs
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2004, 12:46:42 PM »
Wow.. that sounds like a paranoid conspiracy rant. :-)

I think they're too dumb to do something like that on purpose. I think they honestly believe what they're doing is working and will help them get their precious sales back.

The problem is they (and their) advisors have no idea what current technology is actually capable of.

The "CD" is close to 20 years old FFS.
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Demosthenes

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Copy Protected CDs
« Reply #2 on: June 25, 2004, 01:29:37 PM »
Quote from: The_FOO
Wow.. that sounds like a paranoid conspiracy rant. :-)

I think they're too dumb to do something like that on purpose. I think they honestly believe what they're doing is working and will help them get their precious sales back.

The problem is they (and their) advisors have no idea what current technology is actually capable of.

The "CD" is close to 20 years old FFS.


I know.  Which is why I finished up by saying this:  "But I'm sure it's still just incompetence. The people in charge of this industry are mind-numbingly stupid, and this is just one more thing out of millions of others that continues to reinforce that notion."

They are D-U-M dumb.  And any time some scheme of theirs doesn't work, and sales go further into the crapper, they just point back at the internet and say "See? We told you!  It doesn't matter what we do!  Those goddamn internet pirates are the cause of ALL of our woes, not our poor quality product, self-destructive public relations campaigns, incredibly short-sighted business decisions and a recessive economy!"  :roll:
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The_FOO

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Copy Protected CDs
« Reply #3 on: June 25, 2004, 01:39:14 PM »
Quote from: Demosthenes
I know.  Which is why I finished up by saying this:  "But I'm sure it's still just incompetence. The people in charge of this industry are mind-numbingly stupid, and this is just one more thing out of millions of others that continues to reinforce that notion."


Oops.... me so stupid... Sorry, I *did* read that bit, I just didn't *read* it.
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