Sony Copy-protected CDs Anger iPod Owners

A recent Reuters article discussed the release of new Dave Matthews Band and Foo Fighters CDs that feature copy-protection.

Aiming to curb piracy, labels like Sony BMG, which released both records, are rolling out copy-protected albums in the United States, which let users make three exact duplicates of a CD, and store files on a PC in Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Media format.

But the copy-protection bars users from importing music onto iPods since Apple's Fairplay software is incompatible with Windows.

This release is a bad idea. Considering that over 30 million people own iPods, the bands are making their music inaccessible. People who don't use the Windows Media format will get their music someplace else like the iTunes Music Store, AllofMP3, or an illegal p2p source. It doesn't make sense why Sony BMG would use this technology.

UPDATE (8/16/05): In response to fans complaining about getting Stand Up onto their iPods, the Dave Matthews Band issued instructions to copy the cd into iTunes from a PC. Of course, they could have just instructed PC users to disable autorun by holding Shift. Hmm...

posted by Liam @ 12:22 AM