According to Yahoo! News Sony is planning to introduce a new audio CD copy protection technology in Germany. The technology will prevent users from copying songs to file-sharing sites, but it does allow them to make copies for their personal use.
According to the article, Sony will today release the first protected CD in Germany. The CD, by rhythm & blues group Naturally Seven's, will have a so-called second session and should be playable on almost any device conventionally. On the CD there will be a compressed digital copy of the music that can be copied and transferred to Sony portable digital music players.
The protected Sony CD's will also allow users to connect to Internet sites with exclusive features such as bonus songs and concert tickets. The features are of course only available if you have the original CD:
The copy-protected discs faced a backlash from customers and music fans, and several lawsuits emerged from some customers that complained these CDs caused their computers and other devices to malfunction. But Sony thinks it has an appealing approach: Give customers added incentives to buy copy-protected CDs. Sony will evaluate customers' reaction to the new technology before introducing it in other countries. Wiser declined to specify a timetable for which the technology will be available in the United States. "We believe we can deliver more value by delivering more immediate content, an interactive experience, a better experience. Even if you could go to a (file-sharing) site and download a single song, you won't get the kind of content that we can deliver." A label on the disc will say it includes the new copy protection software features. There are several limitations. The digital files will only play on Sony-licensed digital music players. Wiser said Sony is working on "plug-in's" that will allow the files to be played on more popular players like Microsoft's Windows Media. He expects the plug-ins to be available early next year. At this point, music can be transferred only to Sony portable players, although Sony executives note that Apple Computer's popular iTunes service works the same way with the Apple-branded iPod. |
Now I know what you are all thinking, every protection can be cracked sooner or later. Sony acknowledges this but adds a valid point: "If you give people what they are asking for in terms of value, they won't go out and steal it. It's called trusting the consumer." Well said in my opinion.
Source: Yahoo! News
