More On CD Copy Protection And Good Business Policies
from the not-quite-as-bad... dept
Yesterday I posted a story about the music industry adding copy protection to CDs soon to ship in the US. I complained that all they're doing is making life worse for consumers without adding any additional benefit. This LA Times article, however, suggests things aren't as bad as I suggested. It even quotes someone at Macrovision, the big copy protection tech company saying that any CD with copy protection should contain "loads of extras" and that consumers should expect to see more, not less, when they put these non-CDs in their computers. I'll be surprised if the music industry actually does that on a regular basis, but I at least give them credit for recognizing this is an issue. The discs appear to also allow some level of copying and the ability to move music around to other devices (though, it's clearly limited). When the music industry tried to push similar "copy protection but plenty of other cool features" via "enhanced" CDs recently, it was pretty much a flop - but that required new hardware. It remains to be seen how the average consumer responds to copy protected CDs. In general, placing additional limits on the CD seems like a bad policy. Taking features away (especially features customers like) never seems like good business. If your fear is that the features customers like undermine your business - then it suggests you're in the wrong business. A good business learns how to offer its customers what they want.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
No Subject Given
Is anyone interested in " The making or taking a shit by the artist's make up assistant documentary " ?
The idea that the RIAA " might adapt " and provide desired CD's/VCD's is currently not happening.
Sure, I would be willing to pay for a CD that had songs, video, perhaps a concert clip. These are enhancements that may lure consumers back to traditional CD sales ... BUT the RIAA is going to have to adapt to P2P if they expect to survive ... this isn't happening and a backlash against the very consumers they are attempting to entice with their " enhanced " CD's ...
Screw 'em ... I'm not buying.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]