Coldplay DRM means no play on many devices

Posted on 6 Jan 2006 at 12:07

Fans of UK global superstars Coldplay have begun complaining that the band's latest CD, X&Y, is 'virtually unplayable', reports consumeraffairs.com.

The EMI disc has a copy protection system that might even make Sony blush. The list of incompatible devices is bewildering.

Some CD players that have the capability of burning into an MP3 (such as portable players or car stereos);
Some CD players that possess CD-R/RW functions (such as portable players or car stereos);
Some car stereos with satellite guidance system;
Some CD players or car stereos with hard disk recording capacity;
Some CD-R/RW recorders used for music
Some portable CD players;
Some DVD players;
Some CD/LD convertible players;
Some game Players.

While there is no guarantee that they will work in a Windows machine, Capitol states categorically that they will not play in a Mac and that the tracks cannot be ripped to MP3 or any other digital format. This somewhat contradicts Richard Cottrell, the head of EMI's content-protection division, who said in November of last year that the discs would be compatible with iTunes so that the tracks could be ripped and transferred to an iPod.

The licence agreement then goes on to state that discs will not be exchanged, returned or refunded unless there is a manufacturing defect. And none of this information is displayed on the outside of the CD packaging, which states only that the disc is copy protected.

However the report has been questioned by Coldplay fans (see: comments on p2pnet.net/story/7506) who have had no problems playing and ripping the CD. Mac users' experiences are similarly varied, although this may be because some have the DRM-disabled version and others the DRM-free release. Others still may be using the incredibly sophisticated technnique of holding down the Shift key to prevent the software starting automatically.

EMI is using DRM technology is supplied by Macrovision, one of the companies embarrassed by the Sony deb?e. What is not known yet is whether the DRM represents a security threat on PCs, since the licence agreement threatens legal action against anyone who reverse engineers the code.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), fresh from its successful legal campaign against Sony's DRM policies, is calling on EMI to allow security researchers to test their discs.

'Music fans deserve to know whether EMI's copy-protected CDs are exposing their computers to security risks,' said Fred von Lohmann, the EFF's senior staff attorney. 'When it comes to computer security, it pays to have as many independent experts kick the tires as possible, and that can only happen if EMI assures those experts that they won't be sued for their trouble.'

EMI has been asked to comment.

Author: Simon Aughton