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CD Copy Control technology is a farce


Astrotoy7

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Howdy

 

I just got my hands on the Beastie Boys new album, now replete with the copy control technology and highly intimidating sticker.

 

Now I dont want the anti pirate ppl coming down on me, I have the cd, I can even show you my receipt dammit ! but, this cd(and many others) now comes with software that you must install when you pop it into your pc to play it. It doesnt allow it to play through anything other than that crap it installs. So of course, I wasnt really happy with this for starters.....

 

Secondly, I like to make backups of my disc, for my discman when i go out. Of course I hate to take the original along as it inevitably gets scratched etc etc. but, with this copy control, its difficult to do it now. Whats worse is that it can also prevent you extracting tracks to your HD, for exampe if you want to upload them as mp3s to a mp3 player....

 

it seems I am not the only fan who was a bit miffed about this, and many have expressed their dissatisfaction with this group in particular(on their message boards), who made a show of being liberal minded in the whole filesharing/piracy debate that erupted as a result of napster's demise.....

 

of course, I got around this all, eventually, but I think copy control is a difficult issue that cant be solved by whacking some extra data lines on a cd. also, for those consumers, like myself who have bought the cd, and want to extract the data into other media, it hasnt really been helpful either.

 

I think record companies need to think a bit harder about this issue....

 

have others encountered similar problems with cds they've bought recently ?

 

 

mtfbwya

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Countless times im afraid, the other thing that bugs me is when you try to copy a cd with "interactive content" or needless crap as it should be known, it messes it up it starts skipping all over the place. As you say record companies have dropped the ball with this one :mad:

 

EDIT: incedently whats the new beastie boys album like?

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Originally posted by Poggle

EDIT: incedently whats the new beastie boys album like?

 

not too bad...I was very tired today when I first listened to it :( Definitely an older retro flavour to the hip hop tracks, which I didnt mind at all :)

 

What was disappointing was that they didnt do even one instrumental track...cause I really liked that aspect of their music on the last few albums...

 

*remembers hella cool 'sabotage'* :)

 

mtfbwya

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oh crap... :mad:

I've ordered this cd, but i'm going to be rather miffed if i can't extract the files to mp3. I never actually listen to the cds anymore (which are all safely stored away), i just use my pc as a jukebox and my mp3 player when on the move....

Is there a way to get around it that you can post without getting in trouble... or am i gonna have to start searching the web again... sigh.

 

I thought the beasties would avoid this sort of rubbish. With this and the fact their new tour is through Clear Channel i'm starting to think they have sold out.

 

I wasn't sure about the new single, is the whole album like that?

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from the b-boys site admin:

Just to clarify, here's the deal with the copy protection on the CD:

a) The copy protection is in all territories except the US and UK -- US and UK discs do not have this protection on them;

b) All EMI CDs are treated this way, TT5B isn't protected in any special way;

c) Beastie Boys would have preferred not to have the copy protection, but weren't allowed to go against EMI policy in these territories.

 

Now i don't know if i'll be ok or not. I'm in the uk, but i've ordered it from cd-wow (best company ever:D ) who are based in hong honk, but should source stuff from europe. Hmmm. It'll be interesting to see...

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I would just like to add that it is possible to an mp3 encoder to convert the tracks straight off the disc, I have Roxio easy cd6, worked like a treat. I imagine the equivalent on Nero would do the same. It seems its just trickier to *copy* the cd so it has its original form, namely with the TOC and cda tracks.

 

well it was heartening to read that the BBoys werent too happy with the copy protection bizzo,,,,,

 

wow, this cd has really brought this issue to the forefront, put 'beastie boys' and 'copy control' into a search engine and see how many ppl are whinin about it in forums all over the place :p

 

mtfbwya

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Originally posted by Astrotoy7

Now I dont want the anti pirate ppl coming down on me.

Eh?!?! Did someone call me? ;)

 

I think record companies need to think a bit harder about this issue....
There needs to be something different ... most of these discs won't play at all on a non-Windows computer.

 

It is very unfortunate that the level of piracy has brought the usual response - put something in place that is a minor inconvenience for those who are committing the piracy, but a major hassle if not showstopper for all of the legal music users who just want the same basic usage rights we had when CD's and MP3 players first came out.

- The right to listen to our CD's anywhere we wanted.

- The right to make a backup copy.

- The right to burn to MP3 players.

- The 'fair use' rights, to borrow a friends CD and copy it.

 

As always, it is the innocent who are punished for the crimes of the guilty. But I don't know the alternative solution ... :(

 

As for me, I basically get everything from the iTunes music store now ... unless I can't, in which case it is hard-to-find stuff I have always paid top-dollar for anyway.

 

Mike

 

[edit: as an aside to the 'fair use' thing, I had no qualms when my wife borrowed her friend's new Evanescence CD about ripping it on my backup Mac - with her iTunes library - and putting it on her iPod)

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I bought this disc yesterday (as they are my favorite, and it has only been 6 years since the last one). First CD I've bought in a long time. It says right on there that due to the copy protection it might not be compatible with some players. As soon as I got out of the store I opened it up so I could listen to it in my car on the way home.

 

And it wouldn't play. I was ****ing pissed.

 

For the most part I usually listen to my music in the car. So is there a way I can burn my disk or something so that it is playable? Can anyone help me?

 

This is ridiculous. I'm trying to rip off a CD I actually bought... :mad:

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Originally posted by Prime

I bought this disc yesterday (as they are my favorite, and it has only been 6 years since the last one). First CD I've bought in a long time. It says right on there that due to the copy protection it might not be compatible with some players. As soon as I got out of the store I opened it up so I could listen to it in my car on the way home.

 

And it wouldn't play. I was ****ing pissed.

 

For the most part I usually listen to my music in the car. So is there a way I can burn my disk or something so that it is playable? Can anyone help me?

 

This is ridiculous. I'm trying to rip off a CD I actually bought... :mad:

 

aw man ! they cant do this to the mighty Prime !

 

as i mentioned above,

1. get any one of those programs that will take the audio tracks and convert them into mp3s. Nero, easy cd, etc (for some reason, this isnt prevented by the copy control......EDIT : this is very dependant on what type of drive you have :D )

2. Place them on your HD.

3. Choose favourite cd burner software, burn a music cd using these mp3s(namely, this converts them back to cda format)

4. Play in Prime's slammin car stereo :D

5. Expect follow up pm from astro

 

mtfbwya

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Originally posted by Prime

And it wouldn't play. I was ****ing pissed.

Boy that is really awful.

 

Unfortunately, as I said, we have the Napster generation to thank for this ...

 

... and the very human nature that young people are very open to fast changes (esp. in technology/convenience things) whereas older folks are very conservative and resistent to change.

 

I was also displeased to see that on iTunes they are doing lots of new stuff 'by song', especially if there are more than 10 songs per album. Beastie Boys is $14.85 (exact same as 15 songs at 0.99 each). Personally I like it when they have 0.99 per song or 9.99 per album. Oh well - if you did it that way you'd not have the copy protection issues anyway ...

 

Mike

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on the bb forums they reckon dbPowerAmp cd ripper works, and if you are going to convert the fils BACK to cd then i would use a lossless codec rather than mp3... otherwise your PLAYABLE cd will be lower quality than your purchased one.

 

How is Boucher's DCMRA doing in the US? It might be the only chance a lot of people have of getting ANY rights to the stuff they buy. I'm not in the US, but whatever happens there seems to impact the rest of us, so i'd recommend as many of you as possible support it if you can...

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CNet is reporting about the RIAA's appeal yesterday to the FCC to restrict end-users' ability to make home-recordings of music broadcasted over high-quality digital radio. Fortunately, the proposals are not going unopposed, as both consumer groups and electronics industry consortiums are pushing back against the RIAA's move to remove home-taping rights that consumers have had for years. Remember kids, Now That It's Digital, It's Wrong!

 

cnet

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from the b-boys site admin:

Just to clarify, here's the deal with the copy protection on the CD:

a) The copy protection is in all territories except the US and UK -- US and UK discs do not have this protection on them;

.

c) Beastie Boys would have preferred not to have the copy protection, but weren't allowed to go against EMI policy in these territories.

 

Oh thank god. I was gonna buy this cd today, and then I decided not to. And now I've decided to again.

 

PS: I hope it's all old school-ish. If it's anything like Ch-Check it out, I'll be pretty damn happy

 

*puts on Paul Revere while he waits for parents to wake up*

 

:)

 

EDIT:

Fortunately, the proposals are not going unopposed, as both consumer groups and electronics industry consortiums are pushing back against the RIAA's move to remove home-taping rights that consumers have had for years. Remember kids, Now That It's Digital, It's Wrong!

 

THANK YOU! I have been saying this since the scrutiny over Kazza started. And the way they said that makes what the RIAA is saying so stupid.

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other related stuff i spotted today...

 

For the first time, the No. 1 album in the United States is loaded with anticopying protections, marking a clear step into the mainstream for the controversial technology. According to figures released by Nielsen SoundScan, Velvet Revolver's "Contraband" was the top-selling album in America last week, despite being prominently labeled on its cover as being "protected against unauthorized duplication." The success of the album is likely to prompt more experiments from BMG, the band's label, and other record companies, industry watchers said.

 

cnet

 

I just heard the EFF's Cory Doctorow give this fantastic argument critiquing DRM. He makes a great case for why DRM is bad for society, business, and artists, why it simply don't work, and why Microsoft (the audience for this talk) should not invest in it. Broadcast this far and wide, and maybe someone will listen."

 

slashdot

 

Personnaly, i've never understood why you get less rights wheen it is digital. And i've REALLY never understood why microsoft is SO INTENT on making DRM so powerful in windows. I can see some limited uses.. but they seem MORE intent on hugely strict implementations than even the RIAA. It just confuses casual users, limits media pc abilities and makes things difficult for everyone. I have a whole load of media gadgets that should logically all be able to share stuff... but due to DRM every one has to be tweaked, hacked, coverted, patched and things all have to be done in the most complex way possible. grrr...

 

I've never got windows dvd-region protection, for example. The drive has region protection. THe player software has region protection. WHY does the OS need it too? especially when every hardware dvd player is multiregion out of the box these days anyway. Why does MS have to make the pc LESS flexible than a dvd player???

 

PS/ Anyone know how linux handles copyprotection and dvd regions? I'm thinking of making a media pc to sit under my tv and linux seems the best bet... but all my dvds are all from around the world, and i'm going to need to rip all the future cds with copy protection onto it for the jukebox function.

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Originally posted by BongoBob

...PS: I hope it's all old school-ish. If it's anything like Ch-Check it out, I'll be pretty damn happy

 

*puts on Paul Revere while he waits for parents to wake up*

 

 

yeah it is old schoolish, but check it out is definitely teh stand out track on the album IMO

 

mtfbwya

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Originally posted by BongoBob

Fortunately, the proposals are not going unopposed, as both consumer groups and electronics industry consortiums are pushing back against the RIAA's move to remove home-taping rights that consumers have had for years. Remember kids, Now That It's Digital, It's Wrong.

THANK YOU! I have been saying this since the scrutiny over Kazza started. And the way they said that makes what the RIAA is saying so stupid.

There is a distinct difference between the 'home taping rights' and Kazaa/Napster/etc. That was the correct-minded basis for the wrong-minded, over-the-top 'solution'.

 

The whole thing reminds me of the abortion debate. Each side takes a black & white, polar opposite stance. The result is draconian solutions where compromise is what is really needed.

 

So long as the recording industry believes me ripping my own CD's is marginal, and borrowing a friend's CD to rip is 'suspect' ... and as long as downloaders see no issue with building a 1000-CD library for $0 ... we will have these problems.

 

Mike

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Originally posted by RoxStar

Well it is the beastie boys.

 

Just Kidding.

 

I would reccomend this for all of your music converting. I use it so that I can make soundtracks from my DVDs and so I can convert hings to MP3s and then burn 'em on a CD.

 

I tried this, it didnt recognise the tracks on the BB cd because they are encoded in a RAW format, or somethin like that.....

For some reason though, my easyCd6 program recognises it, and actually separates the audio and data tracks :D I also found that if I encode one track at a time, the quality is generally ok, I tried to the 15 at once and a cpl of songs came out w crackles... :(

 

*uninstalls power-wank*

 

mtfbwya

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