Do you want copy protection on CDs? Some methods don't let you convert your own CDs into mp3s, even though you've payed for the CD. Other methods only let you play the CD in an hi fi cd player, not a pc one.
Not even in the more advanced hi-fi CD players, or potentially in CDs with anti-shock. Very silly - if they just put a reasonable price on CDs (like the same as vinyl or tapes, as they copst less to produce and distribute) they would not need copy protection!
Copy protection is useless. Absolutely useless. All it does is annoy people who've paid for a CD they can't use in their old(er) CD player, discman or computer.
If the copy protection means you can't play the thing or rip it in a PC drive, you can just sling a line out from your stereo into your PC and nail it that way. And as soon as there's one copy out there, everyone's got it.
Anything that provides a musical output can be copied.
It's the old story. Build a better mouse trap and they will build a better mouse.
I would be very supprised if the software isn't available to get around this problem. I've got clone CD and it will copy virtually any protected piece of software (including PS disks) and it's constantly being updated. I back up everything I buy as I have a habit of damaging disks on a regular basis. It will copy music CD's to but beyond that I haven't explored it's potential.
There will be software out there that can though and it's usually quite cheap. It won't take you long to find this software if you get on the internet.
Record companies and the artists want it. Although something should be done about the humongous amount of piracy in the far east and other lesser places.
Australian law provides me the right to make a backup copy. I do. And not being born yesterday, I think it's wise to store the backup off site. I do that too. Sure beats putting 10 CD's in the car changer every time I go out. Secondly, like many people, I rip my favorite tracks into MP3 files on the PC, make a playlist, and enjoy them all the more for it. If I can't do that, I simply won't buy the CD.
As others have commented, that there is no way to prevent coping an audio CD, but if it has to come from an analog output, the quality will be less than the original. I'm sure it won't take long to find the better mouse, and then I will happily download the songs I like, rather than bye a CD I can't use.
Is that the way the recording companies see it working?
I work for a music broadcaster and we're an active participant in every sort of copyright and protection body there is going...
However...
My view is that Music is intellectual property - in the same way that a patent is. In that sense, there is no reason why an artist should not be given the opportunity to protect their work.
The problem is that we're too used to getting summat for nothing so we automatically lobby against this kind of concept.
The margins in physical CDs are actually very low - what is required is to shorten the chain of supply in the music industry as a whole and give more to the artist and charge less for the output (as has ben suggested above). IMHO.
Nuff said. I have as many MP3s on my PC as the next guy, by the way. I'm not throwing stones.
Of course, in the record companies' ideal world (and how far off is the day?) CD's etc will "time out", so that you effectively only rent the music and have to pay again to extend the life of your CD...
I'm constantly amazed by the twaddle that the recording industry puts out in the name of "artists' rights" to justify ever more ridiculous restrictions on legitimate buyers. Perhaps if the same industry restrained some of its own excesses and inefficiencies it could simultaneously increase the amount given to artists (and believe me, they ain't all earning what U2 make) and cut the price of CD's.
I find this hard to believe. If that was truely the case the relative costs of a CD (actual hardware cost less than $0.20) and a cassette (actual hardware cost about $0.90) would be somewhat different.
When it comes to margins I strongly suspect that the distribution of margins is less than equatable, and if the truth came out the recording companies would have to do a lot of explaining to artists.
Your suggestion of a shorter path to market is exactly the thing both artists and fans must work toward, and stuff the greedy useless middle man. Of course the recording industry is well aware of this and thats the reason they have heavy duty "recording contracts" with their artist, so the short path is not open to the artist.
On this topic indirectly. I have just purchased an ASUS DVD player for my PC. Very nice it is too. However it locks you in to one region once you initialise it. Actually you get 5 changes and then the last CODE is locked in. This is, of course bo^^icks. So on a little slip of paper, that you might miss - are the words, "To reset the locking system that has been forced on our system - press [forward] & [reverse] together on startup."
I was really bummed out when the CD I borrowed from my mate Dave (although it was his son's, girlfriend's CD and lent to my wife!) turned out to be protected and could not be copied.
Happy to read the means of circumventing the process here, as I am absolutely sold on the ability to pick my music for free! I regularly do BUY (admittedly mainly used) CD's as a result of individual MP3's I had downloaded from the Internet.
I also can't start to think how many copies of really good albums I have bought on both LP, Cassette and CD over the years as the preferred format and quality have changed and improved.
Must get on with experimenting with these copying programmes. I have a 6 Gig portable MP3 player, with lots of space on it!
I regularly do BUY (admittedly mainly used) CD's as a result of individual MP3's I had downloaded from the Internet.
