Afrayem used our newssubmit to tell us that AOL Time Warner is beginning efforts to add copy protection to CDs, underscoring the company's desire to limit unsanctioned digital distribution of its musical works:
CDs present a daunting security problem for the record labels. Created before the advent of the Internet and the MP3 file format, CDs can be easily copied, or "ripped," onto computers and subsequently traded on file-swapping networks such as Morpheus, Kazaa and LimeWire--a practice that the recording industry blames for declining sales.
A handful of companies provide software that aims to prevent CD ripping, including SunnComm, Midbar Tech and Macrovision. But attempts to embed copy protection in commercial CDs have run into a host of difficulties. Record label BMG Entertainment recalled hundreds of thousands of copy-protected CDs sold in Europe after people complained that the discs were not compatible with some CD players.
In an attempt to sidestep consumer discontent, some labels have begun experimenting with a compromise: special PC-compatible tracks on CDs that include limits on the number of times they can be copied.
Vivendi Universal's Universal Music Group has been the most outspoken proponent of CD protection from the Big Five labels. Last December, Universal released its first copy-protected CD, using software from Midbar's Cactus Data Shield to lock up audio tracks. The release, a soundtrack based on the movie "The Fast and the Furious," included digital files that could be played through proprietary audio software but not copied.
Well let's just say that as long companies are seeking to protect their discs, another person is working on a way to bypass it. Although it is getting harder and harder...
Read the whole story on News.com.
Source: News.com
