Nora Jones new CD -- Copy Protection -- YIKES

So what happens if you want to rip it to iTunes because that IS your music system? I haven't tried it yet on my Mac, but I don't want to stick this album in the CD drive on my iBook and have it crash.

Anyway, the large record companies don't care about sonics. it's all about the money. What, you think they are in the music business because they like music?

I'm very curious how this will work out because on one hand you have a
portion of the hardware industry including computer companies and
presumably consumers using hard drive-based systems for audio
playback while on the other hand you have record labels saying that's
never going to happen under our watch. If consumers continue to
demand it, and why won't they, the industry will have to provide a
solution. iTunes and other similar applications are a reality. People
storing music on their computers is a reality. It's a high-tech media
world with computers everywhere doing everything. There are high-end
DACs being released to meet this need. There appears to be a collision
course between millions of consumers and the music industry unless a
solution is found in the near future.

I emailed Blue Note and asked them if they have given any thought to
this issue. I doubt I'll hear a response, or at least it will be canned, but I
think they should be aware that honest, reasoned music lovers are
concerned about this. All of that music is stored on my computer but I
have it there because I bought the CD.

Good question Brian. I do. It has more variety than her previous effort. It
does some different things, like there is one song with a Hammond
organ and there is more creative guitar work. It's more country-ish; even
has a bluegrass duet with Dolly Parton. Norah seems comfortable and in
control of things. I get the sense that she said, well now I'm a huge
success and can do pretty much what I want, and that's what she did.
She sounds unique IMO. And I like it. I like the style of the music. I
listened to it the first time on headphones and it sounded great.

Someone in a review at Amazon.com of the new album said the SACD was being released at the same time. Don't know if this is correct, but you might check into it.

What does that mean -- "meant to be played on..."? It's a CD and
anything that can play a CD should be able to play it. Just my opinion. I
guess they'll have to start labeling packaging stating that "this CD will
only play on components of our choosing."

I just read somewhere that HMV will order you a Japanese copy-
protection free version for $50. My question is, what is the point of
using copy protection in some countries and not others? Any savvy
pirateer will simply obtain the copy protection free version. I just don't
get it. Why do they punish the consumer?

Whether they give a rat's &%$$ or not we should at least speak up. I don't mean we should rant and be rude about, but email them and inform them of how we listen to our music these days. Without customer feedback how are they to know what's really going on.

I received the same response. I still would like to know how these companies plan to deal with hard drive-based systems which I'm sure will gain market share over time.

Prpixel, There was an article in the New York Times Magazine a few weeks ago about copyright issues. The concern is that in fact you don't have full rights to the music; you actually lease the music to be used as they tell you can use it. The article went deeper than this but the point was that copyright law is going too far and is actually stifling creativity and new thinking. Copyrights and patents now last so long that an idea, a song, whatever may not enter the public domain for 100s of years.

Witness the discussion in this thread that exemplifies the problem. Technology has moved forward and we can now store all of our music on hard drives with instant access to hundreds of albums and playlists. However, the record labels are preventing this from occurring on new releases through the use of copy protection. They own the copyright to the music and they can tell you what you can and can't do with that music when you buy the CD.

I'm not sure what you can claim in small claims court. There is no legal guarantee that says you have the right to rip a CD to your computer or to play it in the CD drive of your computer. As I understand it the definition of fair use has changed over time so you may not be able to rely on that. the best we can do is speak up and make ourselves heard. As more and more people use their computer as their media system what can the labels do???

One thing I forgot to add was that the retail on the new Norah Jones
album and the new Keb Mo album I purchased at the same time at B&N
was $19! "On sale" for $16. Weren't they supposed to be
lowering the price of CDs? Most new DVDs cost $10.