the daily snivel

Copy protection and copyright issues are of great interest to me, particularly with regard to recorded music. I don't download pirated music as a general rule, since I believe in paying artists for their work and anyway I have a dial-up internet connection (hey, it's free) which makes downloading anything larger than an e-mail message a painful ordeal.

That said, I insist on being able to retain adequate control over the music I buy, and I'm extremely irritated by copy-protection schemes that prevent me from enjoying my music to its fullest. If I can't transfer songs to my iPod or make a mixed CD for a friend, then there's no point in spending money on the music in the first place since all I can do is play it on a CD player I'm never home to enjoy. I've purchased two or three CDs in my time that prevented me from putting the audio I bought onto my hard drive and thus my iPod.

Such schemes are thus ridiculously short-sighted for those seeking to protect their content -- it infuriates and alienates the average consumer, while doing little to thwart those with the technological capacity -- and profit motive -- to rip and copy CDs in huge numbers. I love buying music on-line at the iTunes music store (on those rare occasions I'm somewhere with high-speed internet and a CD burner) for the reason that I can buy the songs I want one-by-one, and do a relatively large number of things with them. This includes making as many mixed CDs as I like and authorizing them to be played on up to 5 computers, plus (of course) my iPod.

As such, I'm much less inclined to buy entire CDs these days, particularly in light of dumb-assed moves like this:

Coldplay's new CD comes with an insert that discloses all the rules enforced by the DRM they included on the disc. Of course, these rules are only visible after you've paid for the CD and brought it home, and as the disc's rules say, "Except for manufacturing problems, we do not accept product exchange, return or refund," so if you don't like the rules, that's tough.

What are the other rules? Here are some gems: "This CD can't be burnt onto a CD or hard disc, nor can it be converted to an MP3" and "This CD may not play in DVD players, car stereos, portable players, game players, all PCs and Macintosh PCs." Best of all, the insert explains that this is all "in order for you to enjoy a high quality music experience." Now, that's quality.

This seems to be confined to the Indian release of X&Y on Virgin Records, but I can't think of a more infuriating and frustrating music experience. I wouldn't buy a Coldplay CD in any case, but many people would, and if such a popular group can be locked onto a CD like this in one market, it's only a matter of time before my favourite artist is no longer playable in most of the ways in which I like to enjoy my music. With the prevalence of Sony's recent rootkit sneakiness (that involved Sony label CDs installing stealth anti-piracy software on one's PC)

The issue of how free music fans are to make fair use of the music they have purchased is heating up in Canada, where the status of our copyright law as it applies to music sharing is in fluctuation. In the Parkdale-High Park riding of Toronto, Liberal MP Same Bulte is being funded heavily by the Candian Recording Industry Association, indicating their hope that her victory in the upcoming election will reward attempts to reform Canadian copyright laws:

Sam Bulte, the Canadian Liberal Party MP for Parkdale/High Park is having her election campaign bankrolled by the Canadian entertainment cartel. Bulte previously authored a one-sided report proposing crazy, US-style copyright laws for Canada, and now her pals from the Canadian Recording Industry Association are throwing her a $250/plate fundraiser -- just the kind of high-ticket event that the poor artists Bulte claims to represent can't afford to attend. Instead, expect this dinner to be stacked with industry fat-cats.

Bulte fired off an angry letter to the Toronto Star in 2004 when columnist Michael Geist outed her for leading the effort to rewrite Canadian copyright laws after collecting big donations from the entertainment industry. Here she is again, though: hoovering up giant corporate bucks while campaigning to deliver just the kind of copyright laws that will make crooks out of ordinary Canadians and line the pockets of massive, US-owned entertainment companies.

...

Within the boundaries of the Election Act, MPs are of course free to fundraise any way they like and individual Canadians are free to contribute to those same MPs. However, with the public's cynicism about elected officials at an all-time high and Canadians increasingly frustrated by a copyright policy process that is seemingly solely about satisfying rights holder demands, is it possible to send a worse signal about the impartiality of the copyright reform process?

Bulte's NDP opponent is Peggy Nash, the Tory candidate is Jurij Klufas.

I have friends living in that riding, and I'm glad to report that they aren't likely to vote for Bulte.

In the meantime, I guess it's also important to not "vote" for Coldplay. Let the labels get the message.