A few weeks ago, I got a CD made and sold overseas (coincidentally, England). Much to my surprise upon receiving the CD, it was marked as being "Copy Protected & Pre-Ripped for PC." I have turned my PC into a jukebox with all of my CDs, making it really easy for me to listen to my music with juggling CDs. I don't use any file sharing like Kazaa, so I'm not doing anything illegal. I'm not just saying that, either--I really do not share any music.
I use the mp3 format so in the rare event I actually go somewhere and want to take music, I can burn an mp3 CD for my admittedly old mp3 CD player. Still nothing illegal here, since it's all my own personal use. So I get this copy protected CD, which obviously won't rip to mp3. This irks me to no end, because now this CD can't be a part of my normal music collection. I can play it in my computer through its proprietary music player, and I can even copy the "pre-ripped" files and use them on my PC, but then I still have to use the custom player. I really love being treated like a criminal and losing my ability to use my music the way I want to use my music.
This all said, I'm really thankful that I have a Windows machine. If I had only OS X and/or Linux, I couldn't play this CD in my computer. The custom software works only on Windows, and there is no downloadable version for OS X or Linux (even though they say that an OS X version is forthcoming). Isn't this a great technology?
What seems to be overlooked by the record labels is that you can't copy protect analog. It's really amazing what you can do with a simple, short audio cable. :) That's what I don't really get: why bother with all this sophisticated copy protection when anyone with another computer and a CD player (or just the computer if you're really proficient) can make an analog copy? It would take really high-end equipment to notice any quality loss, and frankly, I'll take an unnoticable quality loss over not being able to listen at all.
Given that the copy protection is essentially useless anyway, and that the CD could still find its way onto Kazaa, here's an idea for the record companies: don't treat us all like criminals and make our lives difficult for no reason. This is not the answer to your supposedly sagging music sales. I'm no marketing person, but alienating and disenchating your customers typically isn't a successful sales strategy.
I agree. However, big business is well aware of the "analog hole" and intends to cover it with the Fritz Chip (which has surely had it's name changed by now) It's part of the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance Initiative (which has likely also changed it's name) This chip covers the hardware end of the draconian ideology know as DRM. Among other things, the chip would disabled particular inputs and outputs based on what files were in use on your computer.
"I'm no marketing person, but alienating and disenchating your customers typically isn't a successful sales strategy."
Absolutely. However, if big business forces laws into place that require us to either play by their rules or simply not listen to music, well...we really wouldn't have a choice in that situation. Big spending lobbiests have no qualms about destroying our fair use rights in the name of profit.
That is why I feel it's most important to not only get the word out about such overbearing business tactics but also blatantly defy them. To that end:
http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/
http://www.cdex.n3.net/
Either of those tools should rip your protected Audio CD just fine.
I am into hifi audio. I build audio amplifiers myself.
It doesn't take very expensive audio equipment to make an almost perfect copy of any digital media. Using Digital-Analog-Digital operation, as Kevin describes.
The simplest is to have one CD-player and one CD-recorder/burner.
We also have those audio CD-recording/copying devices with 2 CD-players in one machine.
Or you can have one external CD-player and a reasonably good soundcard
and a CD-burner in your PC.
Basically all digital media that you can play, you also can copy - DIGITALLY.
There are methods for doing it developed almost instantly, when a new copy protection is released. Good hackers can crack digital audio stuff probably even easier than computer stuff.
It is the same with trying to copy protect the contents of your webpages.
Anything that can be shown in our browsers can also be copied.
Anything that can be transfered into my PC and shown onto my monitor CAN BE COPIED.
/halojoy
I'd like to meet this CD :).
I've yet to find any CD, be it media or software that I haven't been able to make a working copy...