{{{I found this article that has a reference to alt.music.prince: http://webcenter.newssear..._aolns.src

"Copy-proof" CDs cracked with 99-cent marker pen
LONDON (Reuters) - Technology buffs have cracked music publishing giant Sony Music's elaborate disc copy-protection technology with a decidedly low-tech method: scribbling around the rim of a disk with a felt-tip marker.

Internet newsgroups have been circulating news of the discovery for the past week, and in typical newsgroup style, users have pilloried Sony for deploying "hi-tech" copy protection that can be defeated by paying a visit to a stationery store.

"I wonder what type of copy protection will come next?" one posting on alt.music.prince read. "Maybe they'll ban markers."}}}

Sony did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Major music labels, including Sony and Universal Music, have begun selling the "copy-proof" discs as a means of tackling the rampant spread of music piracy, which they claim is eating into sales.

The new technology aims to prevent consumers from copying, or "burning," music onto recordable CDs or onto their computer hard drives, which can then be shared with other users over file-sharing Internet services such as Kazaa or Morpheus MusicCity.

SONY AGGRESSIVE ANTI-PIRACY PUSH

Monday, Reuters obtained an ordinary copy of Celine Dion's newest release "A New Day Has Come," which comes embedded with Sony's "Key2Audio" technology.

After an initial attempt to play the disc on a PC resulted in failure, the edge of the shiny side of the disc was blackened out with a felt tip marker. The second attempt with the marked-up CD played and copied to the hard drive without a hitch.

Internet postings claim that tape or even a sticky note can also be used to cover the security track, typically located on the outer rim of the disc. And there are suggestions that copy protection schemes used by other music labels can also be circumvented in a similar way.

Sony's proprietary technology, deployed on many recent releases, works by adding a track to the copy-protected disc that contains bogus data.

Because computer hard drives are programmed to read data files first, the computer will continuously try to play the bogus track first. It never gets to play the music tracks located elsewhere on the compact disc.

The effect is that the copy-protected disc will play on standard CD players but not on computer CD-Rom drives, some portable devices and even some car stereo systems.

Some Apple Macintosh users have reported that playing the disc in the computer's CD drive causes the computer to crash. The cover of the copy-protected discs contain a warning that the album will not play on Macintoshes or other personal computers.

Apple has since posted a warning on its website at: http://kbase.info.apple.c...KC.106882.

Sony Music Europe has taken the most aggressive anti-piracy stance in the business. Since last fall, the label has shipped more than 11 million copy-protected discs in Europe, with the largest proportion going to Germany, a market label executives claim is rife with illegal CD-burning.

Ha HAAAAA!!!!

Now let's see them take the pen makers to the courts!
Dumb ass Recording Industry Association of America and BIG record companies!

More details:
http://www.theregister.co...25274.html

"I wonder what type of copy protection will come next?" one posting on alt.music.prince read. "Maybe they'll ban markers."

He he.....Go Joey!!!

HAHAHAHA

UP URS RECORD COMPANIES

bkw said:

Shh, you guys are gonna get me sued by Sony! lol

Sony have their head up their arse.

It's rather cheeky don't you think, to sell you a music CD and then proceed to dictate the terms by which you can listen to it? Very silly. Many people listen to music on their PCs whilst working etc, it is foolish to alienate those customers by presuming them all thieves.

The funny thing is - if someone really wanted to pirate one of those albums (example: the new Lauryn Hill Unplugged album) it would be a simple matter regardless of the "copy protection". All they (Sony) are doing is making it harder for paying customers to listen to the music they've purchased - by no means does this hinder or slow down pirates in any significant way.

I love it. Record companies now have a marvellous scapegoat for when their figures aren't looking too good. Why blame the crap assembly-line music you've published, or blame the ludicrously high prices of a typical CD album? You can simply blame "all those people with CD writers" and MP3 distribution on the internet. Mmm. Some funny facts:

• Sony sell CD writers, and CDROM drives. The new "copy protected" audio CDs don't work with that hardware (at least before you have a go with your felt-tip marker).
  
• Sony sell MP3 players. Umm how do you get your music from your new copy-protected Sony CD onto your Sony MP3 player? Umm well, you can't.
  
• Plenty of high-end hi-fi gear and car stereo equipment are unable to play these copy protected CDs. More customers alienated.
  

I say vote with your wallets. I've already brought back my copy of the Lauryn Hill album and gotten a refund. If you get one of these CDs and are unhappy with it, bring it back to the store and demand a refund. Sony / Columbia will cop on eventually.

Ian