Record Companies Sued Over Charley Pride CD 429
DevNova writes: "This posting describes a woman in California suing Fahrenheit Entertainment, Inc. and its label Music City Records over CDs she has purchased which use a proprietary music encoding scheme that prevents them from being listened to without the user identifying themselves. These CDs won't play on standard CD players, are not encoded in the popular MP3 format, and will not play on a computer until the user enters personal information. A large part of the suit is that Fahrenheit discloses none of this information on the packaging."
let's join the underground (Score:5, Interesting)
this is the only way to keep out controls like this.
this shit is just going to get worse, and it makes me very quiet, i feel like everyone around me is a little fascist now. i won't take an opportunity in music although it's not likely i'd get one anyway since i don't look like britney spears.
i guess that i am willing to get sick and die and not go to a hospital, or to have my own teeth fall out because i don't have benefits, so a corporate system doesn't own me.
in a few months my honeymoon will be over.. if i don't post anymore it means i am gone for good.
A Possible Precedence here? (Score:1, Interesting)
If some sort of precedence in a court of law is found in this case, it may prevent companies from making this type of CD, or at least provide proper labeling of these "BAD" cd's. I know I'd be able to stay away from these types of CD's.
Let's hope she wins over corporate America, and help all of us who burn CD's like mad.
CDNOW Admits to Protection (Score:4, Interesting)
the sneaks! (Score:5, Interesting)
My wife just bought a cd (arg! I can't remember the artist name, Toby sumthin-or-other, your basic country crapola [metal rules, imho]). Anyways, there was NO indication anywhere on the cd that it was copy-protected, but it absolutely could not be backed-up with ezcd (she likes the security and convenience of having copied-cd's for use in the car, and leaving the original at the house). After a couple of tries, I moved on to attempting to just rip the tracks to
My point (having wandered a bit away from the original topic), is that more than one record company seems to be trying to sneak this sort of crap past consumers.
jury trial... (Score:3, Interesting)
Natuarally the defendants will do everything hty can to block a jury and have just the judge.
Re:nope, sorry. (Score:2, Interesting)
So I guess you've never heard of software licensing? There's very little software that once you purchase the CDROM you actually "own". When's the last time you bought an MS product and actually had rights to use it however you like? What's to stop the music industry from moving to a "licensing" model as well? They're all just bits, after all.
That'll go over well. "Oh, you haven't paid your Led Zeppelin subscription fee, all your CDs will no longer work." See: DIVX (the old one).
Re:Punitive damages (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:the sneaks! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Summary not correct (Score:5, Interesting)
According to this company you do not have the rights to listen to it on ANYTHING but a home CD player. You aren't allowed to convert it to another form to listen to it (ie: rip to mp3 to play in my car mp3 player) and you have to register with them if you want to play it on a computer CD player.
Since I got myself a MP3 CD player for my car the idea of being able to buy mp3s instead of CDs is stronger and stronger. I rarely listen to normal CDs anymore... why would I want a format where I can only fit 10-20 songs on a disk instead of 200+ songs?
I'm interested to hear if this is a windows only thing or if a linux CD player would play the CD normally?
Re:nope, sorry. (Score:2, Interesting)
I feel the same way, only RS apparently doesn't do that anymore. I needed a couple of d-sub connector kits to build a cable (hacking my bros TiVo) and went into the local RS. I was really surprised when the clerk added up the parts, asked me for the total, gave me the change, bag and receipt without asking for even a zip-code.
I asked him about it... he said they don't do that anymore - too many people were walking out instead of buying stuff.
Seems like it took a loooong time for them to figure that one out.
To the Audiophiles out there: (Score:2, Interesting)
How much sound quality would be lost if one plugged the "out" on a moderatly good stereo into the "in" on a moderatly good sound card and recorded that way? The sound is going from digital to analog and back to digital, but it's never leaving the wires. As long as one made a "master" copy at full sampling rate, then made one's recordings from that, I would not think you'd loose much.
I'm just curious, because all these protection schemes seem to leave out the idea of a direct, hardware to hardware, copy being made, once the "appoved" player has decoded the sound. Since most decent sound systems are component systems, I don't see them removing the "out" from stereos, and since more and more people are playing with amatur video editing, I don't see them getting rid of the "in" on sound cards, so all of this is really kinda futile. At least that is how it seems to me, I might be missing something.
Re:Summary not correct (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm sure someone will hack some CD firmware eventually, but until then, just put bogus information into the computer. As I write this GWBush@whitehouse.gov is gettings tons of crap because that's the address I give to all these people who ask for personal information. I also live at
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW #101,
Washington, DC 20500.
Phone number? 202-456-1414.
Re:A little off (Score:4, Interesting)
How will the record company offering a downloadable proprietary encoding of the music help someone listen to it in their car?
I remember reading about this when they were planning it. I'm glad to see people aren't putting up with it.
People who listen to Charley Pride are people like my mom... people who aren't exactly in the know.
I'm sure they were counting on getting this 'technology' rolling at the expense of these people.
COSUMER MY ARSE! (Score:2, Interesting)
Well there you have the *real* crux of the problem. When see your involvement in this world, and the art you appreciate, as a function of being a consumer then they have you. When you stop to realize, that you are allowing your community, your government to enforce/condone and prosecute based on these kinds of fascist-business laws (intellectual property laws in general) you are in for a very serious uphill battle.
These publishing houses, *MUST* be made accountable to the public they wish to serve. They must not collude (RIAA) to abridge the rights of citizens.
If you think that your 'voting with your dollars' will make change - forget it. This is the way the USA presently works, and it really only works if you have *LOTS AND LOTS* of dollars. Otherwise you have no rights - your rights only exist in relation to your function in the economy.
Thats just plain wrong. The USA is a Plutocracy, and crap like this (extortion of people in the marketplace) is allowed to persist - you can forget about any 'human rights' and Really start considering yourself a consumer instead of a citizen
Whats my point? Please dont call yourself a "consumer", and dont call me a "consumer" when you do so you give up your power in the struggle, you accept the pretence (above) as being the frame of debate (the 'playing field' or 'perspective') to those who will justify this type of corporate action in the name of 'free markets' (etc), and you re-enforce the myriad of propaganda-enforced memes and words used in your culture. The last 15 years the USA has been bombarded with images/language and crap that tells its citizens they are 'consumers' their involvment in the world around them is embodied in the way they shop - this is a terribly impotent position. When faced with the power struggle that is described in this article, the corporate interests will *always* be served when you accept the master|corporation|king|church - slave|consumer|fife|congregation relationship.
If you think it dosnt matter; your wrong, go read some Chomsky [zmag.org].
Re:the sneaks! (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:So? (Score:2, Interesting)
A couple years ago, I bought a used Who CD. I should expect to play it and listen to the music, right? Well, it turns out that there were some scratches, and while most of the tracks were playable, one was not.
The reason that the "standard" CDs have error correction is so that it can tolerate a few minor scratches and still play. Without it, I might not have been able to play any of the songs... And this is the problem - these copy protection nuts want to render this feature useless.
Another interesting possibility is that if the error correction data is reduced, minor scratches or other wear and tear will increase the number of sales to people replacing CDs. I'm sure the recording industry enjoyed the vinyl era where they could depend on albums wearing out, and getting repeat sales due to the limited lifetime "feature". This trick with CDs may be a step back to the "good old days".
file swapping (Score:3, Interesting)
The issues (Score:4, Interesting)
The fact that you have been able to use CDs in this way up until now creates the expectation that this particular new CD (from the same manufacturer) can also be used in this way. The labeling does not do anything to correct the impression.
So the CD violates the "implied warranty of servicibility and fitness" - for the purpose SHE intended when she bought it - and is thus a defective product. Because this was done deliberately, the company has DELIBERATELY shipped a defective product. There's lots of nice stuff in consumer law and case-law about that. B-)
Further, if they put the CD logo on the case (I don't know if they did) it is being advertised as conforming to the Red Book standard - which it obviously does not if the error correction code is not correct. That would be false advertising as well.
Could get VERY interesting.
(IANAL)
Don't Listen to Corp Music (Score:4, Interesting)
Let me get this straight:
Now lately, they've added a new twist: They collect information on you when you try to play your CD.
And then you claim to be deceived.
If it's just now that you think you are being deceived, and that the only issue to you is that your CD has some sort of odd protection on it, I'd think that you were more deeply deceived than you think.
Listen to free music. Go to MP3.com, or one of the other various music sites, and download good music. It'll take some sifting, but you'll find it; it's all there.
Learn about propaganda. Learn how it touches your mind. Then steer the hell clear of it! Otherwise, expect more messes like the one you find yourself in.
Re:That will be short-lived (Score:2, Interesting)
DIVX failed (fortunately) because it asked too much of consumers without providing any real benefit over DVD. If Microsoft has an interest in seeing this work, they'll bundle it with some "convenience feature" to make people think they're getting something and then use WindowsXX and the HomeStation [slashdot.org] to ensure people buy it. With Microsoft's assurance that people will buy it, what record company wouldn't jump on the bandwagon?
P.S. - I particularly like this quote from SunnComm's CEO:
I almost died laughing, until I realized your average K-Mart shopper would believe that BS...
Re:let's join the underground (Score:2, Interesting)
Or what about the *Beatles* from 1966 on they basically only sold records. Their popularity became a hindrance to their artistic expression on stage, and so they redirected their efforts to the studio and made some of the best god damn music of the twentieth century.
There's nothing wrong with being a primarily live act, of course, but I'm just seeing a lot of "real artists do it MY way" in this thread that is bothering me a lot.