For those of you who know me, you know that I rarely get upset or excited - especially since I retired! My blood pressure is actually pretty good these days. But there is something going on that is really bothering me, and perhaps with your help we can solve the problem. The issue is copy protection of music. I have written previously about new schemes that were about to appear to prevent copying of CDs and digital music, and it seems that the situation has escalated even faster than I had predicted.
First, some terms: Let's call the collective music industry the Big Music Business - BMB for short. The BMB makes lots of money - the artists get some of it. Apparently, only those artists who hit the top of the charts actually make any real spending money - most musicians are part-timers who work the local clubs at night hoping for their Big Break.
Next is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA. This was enacted by congress in 1998 to clarify some of the issues involving the copying and copyrighting of digital material. A good summary of the otherwise incomprehensible legal stuff can be found at http://www.arl.org/info/frn/copy/primer.html .
Now, the BMB and the artists it represents want to make money, and I think most people agree that they should make a reasonable amount. The fact that most CDs cost about the same (let's say an average of $15) and the point that you can buy a blank CD anywhere for 15 cents indicates that there is a multiplication factor of 100 - somebody is making good money in CD sales.
The BMB perceives that the problem is that people are copying their CDs illegally, and thus they are not getting the income they deserve. And, let's be frank here: that is probably true to some degree. It's too easy to copy a CD using standard computer technology these days. And it's also too easy to "rip" the CD music to digital music files (mp3 files) and illegally trade them over the Internet. But in the BMB's efforts to thwart CD copying, additional issues have been introduced.
Copy protection of music CDs will become common very soon. This means that you will not be able to copy the CD. But worse than that, you can only play the CD on a CD player - you cannot "rip" the music for subsequent download into an mp3 player or store it on your computer's hard drive - or even play the CD on your PC's CD drive.
Getting back to the DMCA, the "twist" is this. The DMCA says that you can make a copy of a copyrighted work for personal or backup use. But, you are not allowed to intentionally thwart copy protection. So, if the CD is copy protected, you can't copy it even if you are allowed to copy it! A real modern Catch-22!
The core issue is the question of whether you are buying the media itself (i.e. just the CD itself) when you plunk down your money, or are you buying the rights to the tune - to be played wherever and whenever you choose.
What is the answer? If the product pleases you, buy it. If it does not meet your requirements, then don't. If all you want to do is play the CDs in a CD player, then you shouldn't notice any difference. But if you want more, read the packaging and make sure you get what you want. The BMB has already shut down online file sharing - they will get away with CD copy protection if we let them.
(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport / Oak Island area. You can visit his website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail him at bsc@bobseidel.com).