Friday 1 October 2004

Sony continues their about face

Not content to admit that MP3 will always win over their ATRAC format, today Sony announced plans to dump the Copy Controlled disc from their recorded music division.

The idea of issuing DRM-infected discs always seemed at odds with the mother company, as Sony Electronics was one of the pioneers of the CD format back in the 80s. Ironically, as they didn't adhere to their own developed red book audio CD standard, the copy controlled discs issued by Sony Music couldn't bear the "CD Audio" logo.

Sony admits the change of heart is due to the public being educated enough to know that copying music is now wrong. Could be more to do with people not buying these discs as they were problematic and held no assurances that they'd work, unlike discs that adhered to the red book audio standard. Now that they've dumped the DRM-discs, Sony can assure fans and customers that the CDs they buy will work the way that mothership Sony and Philips had originally intended.

In other news, I've noticed a few BMG titles in the UK now sitting on shelves without copy control on them, where once there was. May the new JV of Sony BMG Music have some impact on this? Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, it's a great day for music fans, especially with the imminent release of the new Duran Duran set "Astronaut" on Sony Music.

-- Link: The Register
-- Link: National Post

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