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A Big Thank You...

Thank you Sony / BMG for protecting hard working artists from their fans. Had you not laden all of your recent releases with ridiculous piracy counter-measures, who knows how many legitimate music buyers would have been able to simply do whatever they want with your artist's CDs. It's a good thing that we have companies like Sony / BMG protecting artists from wanton consumers like me, who would otherwise be "ripping" and "burning" all over the place with no constraints and might even be able to put music on some kind of portable device! I feel uneasy just thinking about it!

But seriously, I am quickly becoming fed up with having to get my Mac-owning housemates to rip CDs for me - CDs I've legitimately purchased - because they have been specifically designed to be un-rippable. This is the fourth or fifth time this has happened in the last 3 months and I find it enraging that companies like Sony / BMG feel that they are somehow entitled to control how I will play their CDs. Sure, there are legitimate piracy concerns, but here's a pop quiz for you: How many times have these counter-measures actually been successful in stopping the flow of a new release onto the pirate web? Here's a hint: the answer is "zero". Perhaps instead of punshing fans for buying the music, they should be researching a better way of appeasing those who feel that they're overcharging for releases. The first place to look might be alternative distribution means (and I mean DRM free); but no, somehow I feel that unless it becomes unprofitable, record companies would prefer to keep things the way they are.

In other news: I'm very excited about my new Butterfly Effect coaster, the latest in my growing collection of table decorations.

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Tags: Music, Piracy, DRM, Rant