Copy Protection on CDs
As an adjunct to my post on new audio formats, I want to make a comment on Sony-BMG's decision to begin making copy-protected CDs. If you want it in nutshell form, here it is: Sony-BMG are idiots.
But for thoughts on piracy, how this new copy protection system works, and how a 12 year old can break it in as long as it takes him to walk to one of his neighbours' houses, clickie!
When I first came across the DualDisc format, I had high hopes that the music industry had seen the error of its ways. That rather than punishing those who legally use their music for the sins of those who don't (and the fact that file sharers tend to be a bigger music buyers, that the industry manipulates its numbers, and that music sales are actually increasing so the whole "file sharers are reducing music sales" thing is a crock anyway we'll set aside) the music industry had realised that offering music buyers something extra that they don't get on the latest napster clone was the right way to combat piracy. DualDiscs are exactly the way to do this - as home theater becomes wider spread, it offers the consumer something extra without demanding that they buy new hardware, and with 5.1 surround DualDiscs, the difference is immediately noticable. These are the first new format discs that seem to have made a splash, so you might think that this strategy was working.
But no. They have learnt nothing. Sony-BMG are beginning to phase in a new copy protection mechanism. Mostly, the music I purchase is outside of the mainstream, so this doesn't really bother me, however I'm pretty impressed with the wonderful Alicia Keys, and have been keeping an eye out for when a new disc from her will be coming out. Classically trained pianist doing hip-hop/piano stuff? Count me in.
So I was excited to see she had a new CD coming out, a recording from MTV's newly resurrected Unplugged. Just click on that link. See what it says in big, bold letters next to the title of the disc? Yes, that's right, "Copy protected CD". Guess I'm not buying that, then. After all, who would buy a disc that they can't rip to their computer these days?
Well, Sony aren't complete idiots, at least this time. You can get the tracks onto your computer, and through some digital rights management, you can copy them round a bit too (5 times is the number I've heard). As long as you don't mind Windows Media Player files, that is. Oh, and making a straight copy of the disc? Count that out, too. It'll only make one copy, and you can't copy the copy. I bet you're wondering how they achieve this, right?
From here on in, everything I say is gleaned from reading many various websites in an attempt to figure out what's going on. As near as I can tell, the new copy protected CDs are partitioned. The first partition contains a driver and software, which will allow your computer to see what's on the second partition and play it. The driver, once installed, will also make sure that it is completely impossible to find a way around this. The disc autoruns, so when you insert it the driver and software is installed without your consent. The driver also has its date modified so it's impossible to find once installed. Sound like malware? Yup. Installing crap that interferes with the operation of your computer is not a good way to win customers, Sony.
So, once you're in there, what does it look like? Well, you can play the CD from Sony's player provided on the disc (and only on that player), which by all accounts is a full screen abhomination that makes it barely possible to achieve anything else on the machine while the disc is playing. It won't minimise. It's fullscreen or off.
How the Windows Media files are achieved I don't know, but I do know they come off the disc with digital rights management, making it difficult to copy them around. I steer clear of DRM files because I don't want to deal with the hassle, and up 'til now it's just been easier to buy a CD and rip it. Oh, and don't expect to get the music onto your iPod - Windows Media only means incompatible with iTunes. Sorry.
So, can you get around this? Yes. And pretty easily, actually. Firstly, there's the "felt tip pen" trick. Take a black felt-tip, draw around the inside edge of the CD, and you overwrite the first partition, meaning that when you drop the CD in your computer's drive, you go straight to the music.
Secondly, if you're willing to install malware on your computer, you can burn the Windows Media files to an audio CD, which isn't copy protected. Then just rip that back to the computer. Lossy, but it works.
Finally... you could just use a Mac. Or Linux. Neither of these will autorun the crap on the CD, and both are able to see both partitions on the disc.
As I said above, a 12 year old boy could figure this out. It's ridiculous.
Despite the fact that there are various different solutions (all of which probably break recently enacted Federal Law prohibiting you from breaking copy protection), I'm still not going to buy these discs. I have no desire to own something which carries even the risk of installing software on my computer without my consent. Neither do I wish to endorse a product which impinges on my rights to use my property the way I want to. Plus it's a bad copy protection system - if it's that easy to break, why bother? I mean, it's not as if it will actually stop anyone from distributing music illegally, but it will make my life, as a law abiding consumer, harder. Fuck that, frankly. Offering the consumer more, like DualDiscs and higher fidelity audio, will keep him or her buying. Sony's obviously not learnt this, because their recent Foo Fighters DualDisc release carried this abhomination on its CD side.
Treating consumers like criminals in waiting will not make them buy your product.
So the music industry is making itself a self-fulfilling prophesy. They create a product that enough people don't want to buy, so sales of that product go down, and they can blame file sharing. If they'd just make decent product, reasonably priced, they wouldn't have this problem. I will not buy Alicia Keys' new Unplugged album. Because I will not buy a product that I cannot use the way I want to, and I will not buy a product that treats me like a criminal.
But for thoughts on piracy, how this new copy protection system works, and how a 12 year old can break it in as long as it takes him to walk to one of his neighbours' houses, clickie!
When I first came across the DualDisc format, I had high hopes that the music industry had seen the error of its ways. That rather than punishing those who legally use their music for the sins of those who don't (and the fact that file sharers tend to be a bigger music buyers, that the industry manipulates its numbers, and that music sales are actually increasing so the whole "file sharers are reducing music sales" thing is a crock anyway we'll set aside) the music industry had realised that offering music buyers something extra that they don't get on the latest napster clone was the right way to combat piracy. DualDiscs are exactly the way to do this - as home theater becomes wider spread, it offers the consumer something extra without demanding that they buy new hardware, and with 5.1 surround DualDiscs, the difference is immediately noticable. These are the first new format discs that seem to have made a splash, so you might think that this strategy was working.
But no. They have learnt nothing. Sony-BMG are beginning to phase in a new copy protection mechanism. Mostly, the music I purchase is outside of the mainstream, so this doesn't really bother me, however I'm pretty impressed with the wonderful Alicia Keys, and have been keeping an eye out for when a new disc from her will be coming out. Classically trained pianist doing hip-hop/piano stuff? Count me in.
So I was excited to see she had a new CD coming out, a recording from MTV's newly resurrected Unplugged. Just click on that link. See what it says in big, bold letters next to the title of the disc? Yes, that's right, "Copy protected CD". Guess I'm not buying that, then. After all, who would buy a disc that they can't rip to their computer these days?
Well, Sony aren't complete idiots, at least this time. You can get the tracks onto your computer, and through some digital rights management, you can copy them round a bit too (5 times is the number I've heard). As long as you don't mind Windows Media Player files, that is. Oh, and making a straight copy of the disc? Count that out, too. It'll only make one copy, and you can't copy the copy. I bet you're wondering how they achieve this, right?
From here on in, everything I say is gleaned from reading many various websites in an attempt to figure out what's going on. As near as I can tell, the new copy protected CDs are partitioned. The first partition contains a driver and software, which will allow your computer to see what's on the second partition and play it. The driver, once installed, will also make sure that it is completely impossible to find a way around this. The disc autoruns, so when you insert it the driver and software is installed without your consent. The driver also has its date modified so it's impossible to find once installed. Sound like malware? Yup. Installing crap that interferes with the operation of your computer is not a good way to win customers, Sony.
So, once you're in there, what does it look like? Well, you can play the CD from Sony's player provided on the disc (and only on that player), which by all accounts is a full screen abhomination that makes it barely possible to achieve anything else on the machine while the disc is playing. It won't minimise. It's fullscreen or off.
How the Windows Media files are achieved I don't know, but I do know they come off the disc with digital rights management, making it difficult to copy them around. I steer clear of DRM files because I don't want to deal with the hassle, and up 'til now it's just been easier to buy a CD and rip it. Oh, and don't expect to get the music onto your iPod - Windows Media only means incompatible with iTunes. Sorry.
So, can you get around this? Yes. And pretty easily, actually. Firstly, there's the "felt tip pen" trick. Take a black felt-tip, draw around the inside edge of the CD, and you overwrite the first partition, meaning that when you drop the CD in your computer's drive, you go straight to the music.
Secondly, if you're willing to install malware on your computer, you can burn the Windows Media files to an audio CD, which isn't copy protected. Then just rip that back to the computer. Lossy, but it works.
Finally... you could just use a Mac. Or Linux. Neither of these will autorun the crap on the CD, and both are able to see both partitions on the disc.
As I said above, a 12 year old boy could figure this out. It's ridiculous.
Despite the fact that there are various different solutions (all of which probably break recently enacted Federal Law prohibiting you from breaking copy protection), I'm still not going to buy these discs. I have no desire to own something which carries even the risk of installing software on my computer without my consent. Neither do I wish to endorse a product which impinges on my rights to use my property the way I want to. Plus it's a bad copy protection system - if it's that easy to break, why bother? I mean, it's not as if it will actually stop anyone from distributing music illegally, but it will make my life, as a law abiding consumer, harder. Fuck that, frankly. Offering the consumer more, like DualDiscs and higher fidelity audio, will keep him or her buying. Sony's obviously not learnt this, because their recent Foo Fighters DualDisc release carried this abhomination on its CD side.
Treating consumers like criminals in waiting will not make them buy your product.
So the music industry is making itself a self-fulfilling prophesy. They create a product that enough people don't want to buy, so sales of that product go down, and they can blame file sharing. If they'd just make decent product, reasonably priced, they wouldn't have this problem. I will not buy Alicia Keys' new Unplugged album. Because I will not buy a product that I cannot use the way I want to, and I will not buy a product that treats me like a criminal.