I’m sure most of you who are interested in technology, music, DRM and so on have already heard about Sony BMG Music Entertainment’s PR disaster with the rootkit some of their records install on your computer. As you may know from various postings on this blog I’m against copy protected CDs. In fact, copy protected records aren’t CDs any more according to the Red Book standard. They are just some round shiny pieces of plastic that may or may not play on your CD-player.
So, where’s the joy of listening to a CD you’ve just purchased when you nowadays have to ok a long EULA first, that’s taking away all your rights and only gives you a licence to listen to the music instead of owning it? And you may have a malicious rootkit installed. And it dosn’t matter if the copy protection is delivered by First 4 Internet (XCP DRM) or by SunnComm (MediaMax). Actually they all want to phone home, spy on you, intrude your privacy and your computer. And it doesn’t matter if you using a Windows computer or a Mac.
Well, you can still have the joyful, easy and safe listening experience either on your CD player/stereo or on your computer. Just avoid labels like Sony-BMG or EMI and their sub-labels (here’s a list of all Sony BMG labels you shouldn’t buy) who use copy protection. As far as I know Universal is the only major label who don’t use copy protection (at least here in Germany). Rather support independent labels and artists. The independently released music reviewed here is free of digital restrictions and you can rip and burn the music as often as you like. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t copy whole albums for your friends. Better give them a compilation of your favourite tunes, whet their appetite and give them the joy to discover more of the artists themselves.
2005/14/11 at 10:55
I couldn’t agree with you more!
First of all, buying a CD should give you the right to burn copies for your car, your office, your weekend cottage and for wherever else you wish to listen to your music.
I know the major labels would be ecstatic about our buying multiple copies, but that’s just because they have long evolved into art “pimps”, squeezing their gold-egg-laying geese dry.
I will definitely not go to the extreme of supporting the idea that art is not a commodity; in today’s world it would simply sound naive, to say the least. But let’s all focus on the artistic aspect of art and support the sharing that should always be one of art’s cornerstones.
In most cases, burning a compilation CD and giving it to a friend is nothing more than making a statement of our favourite music, and hopefully letting them sample another drop in the ocean that music is in our global village.