Oh, those silly record companies (So much for new copy-protection) (1 Viewer)

[Mike Broadman]

Those corrupted "copy-protected" CDs apparently can be hacked with some tape and a marker. That's just beautiful.

Message to the record companies: we WANT to buy your CDs. Stop releasing albums with only 2 good songs and overpricing them. Focus on developing musical acts and growing a fan base.

Music piracy, artistic merit, and marketing are all related, and the sooner the record companies realise this, the happier they'll be.

 

[Rachael B]

Mike, I think they live in ivory towers and are a bit detached from reality. They seem to like to throw their weight around too. I think this will get alot more contentious before it improves...? They're gonna feel like they can do anything they want to, if they can push the Hollins-Disney bill through too. Me thinks the digital war is coming. Best wishes!

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Not only will the Celine Dion audio disc fail to play on new flat-screen iMacs but it will lock the CD tray and prevent the machine from been rebooted properly. This is not something users can fix themselves and means a trip to a dealer for repairs. An article on Apple's knowledge base explains the issue in more depth.

What!?! Don't these things have a manual eject on them? It's getting to be that I don't want to put anything in my PC!

 

[Jack Briggs]

Class-action lawsuit.

 

[Kevin P]

What!?! Don't these things have a manual eject on them? It's getting to be that I don't want to put anything in my PC!

Macs have never had an eject button. On the iMacs the paper-clip emergency eject hole is covered up by the plastic case. Real smart design there guys. There are ways to eject the disc on Apple's knowledgebase, and if all else fails, maybe with the machine turned off you can grasp and gently pull the drawer open by hand, and remove the offending disc.
The problem here is two-fold. The record companies are releasing corrupted digital optical discs that aren't really CDs but look like them, and Apple's systems crash when it sees one of these discs.
I'll stick with my trusty PC. Sure it's Microsoft, but at least I can still get the CD out no matter what.
KJP

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Hey Mike,

I have removed the link from your post, simply because it includes a "how to" defeat the copy protection- a small "no-no" on the HTF.

Hope you understand.

As long as no one posts the specifics of how to defeat the copy protection- discussion of the topic can continue.

Thanks for understanding.

 

[Mike Broadman]

Oh, sorry Vince. I'll be more careful in the future.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Macs have never had an eject button. On the iMacs the paper-clip emergency eject hole is covered up by the plastic case.

That's insane. I'm sure they didn't want to put an unsightly pinhole on the front of that "work of art".

Sheesh.

Another example of the clash between marketing and engineering.

 

[Mark Lee]

And all along we thought it was only the green markers that made the CDs play better!!

 

[Carlo_M]

Reasonably priced, good quality CDs (content & sound-wise) are all that's needed to combat piracy. There will always be those that seek to crack and bootleg, you can't hope to stem that tide. But if CDs were $10, and had good music on them (no boy bands please) then I would be purchasing a lot more new stuff. Right now I just get remasters of classic rock CDs.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Out of more than five-hundred CDs in my collection, I only paid for about twenty of them! Pays to scam work as a critic and reviewer. ...
However, you guys are right: Real-world prices coupled with compelling music make the temptation to copy less appealing.

 

[Dan D.]

Excellent point, Carlo. I agree 100%. If record companies would stop gouging the public and made CD purchasing a more attractive option, I think they would be surprised at what they'd see. They'd also save millions on worthless protection schemes
In Boston recently, our large Tower Records was displaced by a Virgin MegaStore. Great store, great selection, $18.99 for an average CD. After my initial visit, I've never gone back. Our local chain, Newbury Comics, has done a good job of keeping the prices within reason, but even they have to generate some type of profit margin.
These copy protection schemes remind me of our old friend Divx (the DVD format, I forgot the proper capitalization). Don't try to screw your customer, give them a quality product at a fair price and you'll win their loyalty.

 

[LarryDavenport]

The Tower in Seattle also sells CDs on average for $18.99 (that's $20.64 with tax), so I either have to wait for a killer sale or hit the smaller independent stores hoping to find it for a few bucks less. Since 4 out of 5 CDs I buy are "archive" or "oldies" releases, that's not always easy.

Kids will "steal" music no matter what price you charge. When I was a kid, I used to check out records at the public library and tape them. As I got more and more into music, I started buying the records because I wanted the packaging almost as much as the music itself (you can't tape the inner gatefold picture of The Ventures Golden Greats...still the hottest chick on all record covers!)

I only use my CD-R to make compilations for work, or for friends, with the hope that they will like the music so much that they'll go out and buy the records. This is successful most of the time. The rest of the time I've misjudged my friends' "taste" and they don't even give the CD-R a second listen.

If the record companies had any brains, instead of spending money to copyright Celine Dion and Charley Pride records, they'd invest that money in blank media.

 

[KeithH]

Carlo said:

But if CDs were $10, and had good music on them (no boy bands please) then I would be purchasing a lot more new stuff. Right now I just get remasters of classic rock CDs.

Absolutely. There is a lot of crap out there these days, and most music these days is overpriced. I simply will not pay over $15 for a domestic, in-print CD. Like you, I have been buying a lot of inexpensive remastered CDs lately, and I have been able to fill in my collection with many other CDs for $10-13 each. However, I saw the remastered Peter Gabriel CDs at Best Buy for $16 each yesterday. I left empty-handed. I have to draw the line somewhere.

 

[Mike Broadman]

Dan, I haven't gotten a chance to check out the new Virgin, but after reading your post, I am less enthused. I really like that Tower store, and I'm not going to pay 18.99 for a CD.

And yeah, Newbury comics is great. It's common for me to find stuff at 8.99 or 12.99. Even Tower does a good job with the prices.

As for quality music-wise, I think it's interesting that there are so many "festivals" and multiple headlining tours going around now. It's as if these bands don't have enough by themselves to merit a successful tour alone or can sell CDs honestly. That's because bands used to make it from the ground-up: gig, record album, slowly build-up a following, learning and improving musicianship and writing in the process. Now, it's as if they're just throwing dozens of green not-ready-for-primetime groups at us to try to find one that sticks.

NP: Mahler, 2nd Symphony, SACD

 

[Rachael B]

Do the big five think that kids should rob and steal so they can afford to buy music? If it takes a boycott to send a message to the industry I'm game. I've always been anti-bootlegging but if the industry can't reform itself I could change my mind about that. The digital war is heating up....:frowning:

 

[Thomas Newton]

I believe the Tower on the corner of Newbury Street and Mass. Ave. moved because the landlord wanted more rent than they were willing to pay. It's hard to believe that the new Virgin Records (which I have not visited) would have a better selection.

There is/was a smaller Tower Records in Cambridge, and there is a reasonably large Tower Records in Burlington.

 

[Mike Broadman]

A boycott wouldn't do much good, since it would hurt the artists as well as the record companies.

Thomas, the Tower in Burlington is the one I go to all the time! There's also a Newbury Comics right next to it. Between the two of them, I usually find what I want at a decent price.

 

[Dan D.]

No to get too far away from the topic of the thread, but you're right about the Tower Records rent thing, Thomas. What I had heard was that Tower had an option to go into a building that was going to replace the Howard Johnson's on Comm. Ave on the B.U. campus. Naturally, they didn't see the need to soak up the extra rent for their original location. Unfortunately, that plan fell through and the HoJo's in now a B.U. dorm. Tower did relocate though, to the old Staples location on Boylston next to WBCN and Fenway Park. I haven't gone over to check it out because frankly, Tower's prices skyrocketed in recent years. I'd rather support Newbury Comics.

Mike, it's worth a stop for the very good import selection, even better than HMV in Cambridge. I can see spending $18-24 for a hard to find import at Virgin. Also, they sank a ton of money into refurbishing the place so it's interesting to see. Less functional and more flashy than Tower was, but interesting.

 

[Ricardo C]

good quality CDs (content & sound-wise) are all that's needed to combat piracy.

Reasonable prices I agree with. However, if the content is of SUCH lousy quality, then why are they pirated so much? One would think that only the "worthwhile" songs of any given album would get passes around, as opposed to the full record, since the chief defense I hear from leeches-- er "file swappers" is that "I'm not about to pay $15 for two songs I like and ten songs' worth of filler."

People are cheap, plain and simple.