The Indian blog Itch is shining light on a particularly merciless form of CD copy-protection, applied to Coldplay's
X Y album. Documented with close-up photos of a leaflet that comes with the disc, it is clear that the album
disallows any kind of ripping, even to "secure" WMA files. The CD cannot be burned or copied. The kicker? No
refunds or exchanges are permitted after the purchaser opens the package and discovers the bad news. There is also a
long list of CD players in which the disc might choke. Itch's amusing reaction: "This is India, Virgin. INDIA.
Piracy started here, dammit. You can't play Nazi with India." Then it refers readers to Exact Audio Copy which reportedly rips the Virgin disc effortlessly. Andy
Green typed a satisfying rant about this piece of DRM
foolishness.
It's easy to say that labels are learning the wrong lesson with each DRM debacle, but that
would be underestimating consumer complacency. The labels understand that consumers have accepted harsh rights
management on DVD movie discs, and that eventually those same consumers will be lulled to sleep with music discs. In
the broad marketplace, many (perhaps most) people don't know how to rip a CD. Sony's XCP scandal, which had nothing to
do with ripping, resulted in a relatively painless slap on the wrist. Analysts say that XCP was a stumbling point for
DRM, but it would take anti-DRM legislation to really slow down the movement.
But the absolute futility of
the DRM movement is painful to the music industry's best customers: individuals who do know how to rip CDs for
personal use; individuals who adore music and wish to carry it everywhere and play it for friends. These are the people
still willing to shovel out the bucks for music. A quick glance at BitTorrent.com reveals that Coldplay's album is in
full distribution and easily available. And this is through an outlet with
which the content industry is friendly, and which is supposed to be filtering its results. The irony is thick and
laughable. After all these years of harsh lessons, the labels have not learned a thing and there is more reason than
ever for empowered consumers to boycott their consumer-hostile solutions.
