More on copy protection

[adderslj]

Regular readers will be aware that I'm the sort of person who does not download MP3s illegally, but fill my iPod with songs from CDs I own, or MP3s I've bought from sites like MP3.com and eMusic.com. I listen to more music using my iPod, or on my computer, than I do in any other way. Thus, it annoys me no end when a CD is copy protected, because the purchase of that CD gives me a fraction of the listening opportunities of a conventional CD, at the same price. I'm not going to pay the same amount of money for less value.

Now, of all people, Microsoft have come out and said that copy protection won't work. Maybe it has the muscle to make the music industry listen.

Comments

[ladyjestyr.livejournal.com]

Would you say eMusic is worth the cost? What sort of range and selection does it have?

[slog.livejournal.com]

thanks for the link to the article.

I have the same problems that you have, except I don't own a "stereo", I use my computer to play music. I picked up a copy protected CD by accident and took it back the next day. I won't buy from the company that produced the album and most likely won't buy anything from that artist. I wonder how much money artists will lose by going with copy protected CDs?

Re:

[adders.livejournal.com]

A significant amount, I imagine. The current argument seems to be that sales are falling (but not in the UK, which has just as much access to file-sharing, but let's keep that quiet because it undermines our case) and it's all down to CD-burning and file-swapping. Ergo, if we copy protect our CDs, people won't be able to copy them and they will have to buy their own copies.

The utterly ignores people like me and you. I buy a huge number of CDs, but I will not be buying any copy protected ones. The actions of people like me and you mya drive down sales further, but the record companies will continue to blame file-swapping and not their own actions. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Re:

[adders.livejournal.com]

It's well worth it, if you have the time to browse the wide selection and are prepared to listen to new things. There are some fairly well-known artists on there, but not a huge number.

[point5b.livejournal.com]

It's certainly worth the cost to me, though it'd like it much more with broadband. Having dialup at home, I mostly use it to get music at work.

The selection's eclectic, but it's nice for finding stuff you haven't heard before (at least for me).

Re:

[adders.livejournal.com]

Oh, and they have some Bond-related stuff up there now. Cool.