[Free-sklyarov-uk] WATCHDOG etc - Long message

[Darren Grant]

Some of my rambling thoughts on the CD issue, kind of turned into an =
article
as I was writing it. Sorry it's a long but it might be useful.

First up I have a selection of equipment that I can show with a bad CD
including a Sony playstation 2, Apple Mac Desktop, Windows 2000 laptop,
Philips Cdi player, and 2 DVD players that I could demonstrate to a =
watchdog
researcher. One of my DVD players is a cheap and basic Warfdale =A3150 =
job
from Tesco and the other top of the range NAD system costing =A31000 so =
it
would be a good example that this problem affects both cheap and
top-of-the-range equipment. It's a shame that I don't have a SONY or =
Toshiba
DVD player as they are the most popular but someone on the list must.

I was thinking of hunting down a corrupt NI cd but I think that as BMG =
have
already said they will replace CD's it is probably not the best example =
now.
People will think the issue is resolved because they have offered
replacements but miss the point that they have not conceded. What I =
really
need is to find a title from a publisher that hasn't made such a =
statement.

--

I have been giving some thought to the idea of copy protection.

It would appear that copying music has always been a problem for =
publishers
since home recording equipment first became available but there has =
always
been something that makes it less than ideal for most people. For =
example if
someone taped a CD, Record or tape for a friend the resulting copy is =
always
inferior and usually ends up with either an inappropriate break in the =
music
or a long stretch of blank tape. When copied from CD the advantages of
quality and convenience that CD's offer are effectively lost. Tapes =
wear out
quickly especially when used in a car so often people will buy their =
own
copy if they like the music.

The problem for the Music industry is that there are now so many easy =
and
high quality methods of copying music available. So many people now own
computers with CD writers that enable perfect copies of CD's to be made =
for
50p a go that everyone is doing it. Very few people are trying to =
exploit
this for their own financial gain rather they are running off copies of
their music for friends and family. Everyone likes to get something for =
free
and music is no exception. The justification for copying is usually =
things
like..

"It's just one copy for my brother, it won't hurt"
"They make plenty of money they won't miss 1 CD"
"CD's are expensive the publishers make gross amounts of money"
"I wouldn't buy the CD anyway"

It is important to ignore the fact that the publishers and artists =
sometimes
make gross amounts of money on popular music as that is an argument =
that is
all too easy to get into when discussing the issue of the publishers =
poor
attempts to protect CD's. Publishers do have the right to expect to get =
paid
for material they publish.

The problem is that publishers are going about this all the wrong way
preventing legitimate use of music. The so called copy protection =
schemes
prevent CD's from playing in computers, DVD players and even some =
dedicated
CD players. They prevent people from using digital portable music =
devices
including those made by the very same companies that publish music.

The publishers are effectively trying to close the stable door after =
the
horse has bolted as the old expression goes. CD's unlike DVD's and =
other new
systems were never designed to be protected from copying. There are =
many
examples in history of trying to stop something that is already common =
after
the event, it never works.

Either side of the argument, consumers expecting fair use or publishers
expecting to get their royalties can not be achieved without a looser =
using
existing technology. It is not acceptable for the publishers just to =
impose
prohibition and not care about the legitimate uses for the products =
they
sell. It is also not good enough that consumers just say we want things =
to
stay as they are thank you and don't try and change it.

A vast majority of consumers have no concern or loyalty toward the
publishers as the reasons given for copying indicate consumers don't =
have a
problem with copying and even see the publishers as profiteers. So this =
is
not just going to go away! So if the protection schemes are ill =
conceived
what can be done? As consumers we can't just stand by and do nothing

The publishers need to take a close look at how they deal with =
consumers, a
consumer will always ask "what is in it for me?". Publishers and =
musicians
are victims of their own success. The lavish lifestyles of top artists =
and
the percentage taken by publishes widely known to be higher than that =
of the
artist gives publishers a bit of an image problem. This needs to be =
worked
on, investment in improving consumers perception is of great importance =
if
cooperation expected.

Publishers need to take some risks and offer incentives for consumers =
to
upgrade to a new system that has protection technology that consumers =
can
live with. Video and DVD is a good example. The increased quality and
features offered by DVD have made it the fastest selling consumer
electronics device in the world and yet has introduced security =
measures.
Yes it is widely known that DVD security is not watertight but a =
majority of
consumers are not able to make high quality copies of DVD's. Nobody who =
owns
a DVD player bothers to copy films to video because they lose =
everything
that makes DVD's great. This is the way to introduce copy protection a =
new
system that offers something extra to the consumer not just taking =
things
away.

Darren Grant