American Green Inc (ERBB)

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Posted on Sat, Jun. 11, 2005

Sony Entertainment
Some CDs, such as Amerie’s “Touch,” are equipped with anti-burning programs.

Just what is music worth these days?

By Rafer Guzman

Newsday

When you buy something, you own it, right? It’s a concept that’s been with us for a while. Whether it’s your car, your couch or your computer; if you paid for it, the thing belongs to you and you can do with it as you please.

Except, that is, for music.

In the past several years, music has become one of the only commodities that doesn’t really belong to you even after you pay for it. Thanks to technology, albums and songs are being sold with so many restrictions and regulations that the buyer has become more like a borrower. This doesn’t apply only to those ephemeral-(lasting a very short time), not-quite-physical downloads you pay for via the Internet. It applies to tangible, hold-in-your-hand CDs as well.

Consider the new Yahoo! Music Unlimited service. On the one hand, it’s a welcome addition to the Internet music market. You can play unlimited songs for as little as $4.99 per month, substantially cheaper than many other services. You can transfer your songs to a portable device. And you can buy a “permanent” download of a song for 79 cents.

But do you really own those downloads? As with most Internet music services, Yahoo! puts restrictions on what you can do with them. If you want to burn them to a CD – to play in your car, say, or to make a mix for a friend – you can do so only a limited number of times.

Many CDs are protected in similar ways. Load the new Amerie disc, for instance, into your PC, and it automatically starts a program that prevents you from copying it. If you’re a creative type, like a DJ who wants to mix the tracks with others, you can’t.

To be sure, the estimated $4.2 billion lost each year to piracy is no small sum. Record labels and artists deserve to be paid for the music they create. But piracy isn’t the only reason CD sales have been suffering lately. By imposing rules and regulations on listeners, the music industry is

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/living/11872377.htm

RoxinCa, Thanks for sharing this. Nice find! But you will not find it on SunnComm list of CDs! Peter did state not all labels have their CDs listed.


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