In the forums on the Sony Music website, Tim Foreman of the band Switchfoot talks about the copy protection on their CD:
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.
He goes on to explain how to (relatively easily) circumvent the copy protection on their discs.
I wonder how long before Sony makes them remove that post …
I hate that CD protection .. they’re punishing the people who actually buy their product. Luckily people are smart and theres probably not much they can do to totally protect the music short of just not selling it. 🙂
I believe the Dave Matthew’s Band was doing the same thing about a month ago, but I’m too lazy to find a link.
Isn’t it grand that music pirates have a better experience than legitimate customers?
Funny you never hear of bands actually negotiating anti-DRM control clauses into their agreements with their labels. Are there any examples?
Good to know who wears the pants in that relationship…
This is indicative of just how ludicrous copy protection on CDs is. What I find most interesting is that Switchfoot neither wanted nor authorised the addition of copy protection on their CD. This is the opposite of what EMI claimed when they announced the addition of copy protection to all new releases in Australia (i.e. not just Aus artists); EMI stated that all artists had agreed, in their record contracts, to copy protection.
My response? I simply refuse to purchase copy-protected audio CDs.
Oh, and the DMB link is here: http://www.davematthewsband.com/news/news_popup_IPod.asp (which I found on their homepage).
Since the days of the Napster bust I always thought it was odd that these bands, and record companies, making millions of dollars off of those people either too lazy or stupid to download illegally or just thought it was wrong and didn’t do it, created such a hoopla when they ‘found out’ that their songs were being downloaded illegally. Now, I can hardly believe that these guys ‘regret’ this happening at all. They have nothing to regret, other than maybe not getting enough of a share of each disc they sell. People have always been able to get around this type of stuff. The fact is, somebody designed the “copy protection”, so there is somebody out there who can find a way through or around it. I personally have been able to rip songs from the new Foo Fighters cd with absolutely no trouble, so I’m not sure exactly what copy protection they’re talking about. Hopefully they mean the surface is better protected so I can make more copies.
I am ver happy to see that bands are taking action against this mess. I am also glad to see that there is another way to get the music on my pc, besides using a Mac that is.
The thread has — surprise! — disappeared. Google’s got a cached copy.
The google cache has also disappeared.
Why did the site disapear?
Is Sony trying to stop us from learning how to get the CD copied?
http://www.muchmusic.com/news/story.asp?id=16576
This article has been mentioned in WFMU’s Beware of the Blog.
Don’t follow the directions listed in the DMB website. That is how you get infected with the Sony DRM “rootkit”!!!!
See http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html
Can anybody post a copy of the link on how to circumvent the copy protection; both the original and Goolge cache appear to have gone? Tks
Now I see why they are upset.
dude…what the hell is going on? i guess i am one of those stupid or foolish enough to buy the cds. i usually rip cds from friends, but it’s switchfoot, and i didn’t want to do it to them. how do i get rid of the crap software from my computer?
i am never buying a sony cd ever again, nor a drm cd.
Hm, the links to Tim Foreman’s response have disappeared. Coincidence? Hm.
I for one have switched almost entirely to iTunes because of this. Feh on Sony.
“no possible way to avoid this new industry policy,” eh?
Yes there is – Don’t buy the crap. I know *I* don’t!
This is the last time I buy ANYThing from $ony. Sorry Switchfoot. I saw you in concert and you rocked! Maybe next time you come around and are playing with other bands that don’t have DRM on their CD’s, I might consider watching your concert.
My computer is now infected, and I have to reinstall the entire OS, all my apps and data. Why don’t you look up a PC repair place and see how much they charge to do this for my CD. The cd costs HUNDREDS of dollars to fix this McCarthy-like music industry-infected (Root access making it invisible for anyone else to come in and trash my machine). Never again will I buy cd’s. What’s the point? They will just trash your computer until smart hackers find a way around it. When there’s a class action lawsuit, I’ll be a part of that and expect full payment for the damage done to my machine and the time I spent trying to “fix” it. I’m finding bands that are indies who aren’t concerned about BIG BUCKS from monsterous record labels. Too bad you sold out.
I love switchfoot, coldplay and Foo Fighters and I would hate to take money away from them but it’s this stupid crap that makes me want to download music.
I’m glad Steven and other muscians are taking a stand against this but I WILL NOT buy cd’s that have these pointless “protections”.
If people like Soney aren’t careful they will start turning their loyal listeners into Pirates.
This is why they switched to a different recording company lol
Melissa’s right. Switchfoot’s latest album Nothing Is Sound is on Columbia Records.
Personally, I don’t think downloading music is such a bad thing. And at least from something like iTunes, you’re still paying for it. Besides, on Windows Media Player, I can make it unprotected when I rip it. Can you do that on Mac?