Kings of Leon CD - Watch Out iPod Owners

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Beene

Babyface
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
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3
Location
Richmond, VA
I was at Tower Records today at lunch. Why? Yo La Tengo has a new retrospective disc out that has a full disc worth of outtakes and rarities, that's why. But that's not what this is about. The Kings of Leon are opening for U2 the first leg of the Vertigo tour, and there's a strong possibility they might be the opening act when I see U2 in October. So I figured I might become aquainted with their stuff; after all, if U2 thinks they're good enough to open for them, they can't be all that bad.

So I get to Tower and find the new Kings of Leon disc in the listening section. I put on the headphones, started it up and read the critical blurb underneath the section showing their cd cover. Not bad. I picked up a copy in the rack next to the listening station, and there was this sticker on the front, saying that this disc had been manufactured to prevent illegal copying, please see the fine print on the back. I flipped over the cd, and there's this legalistic gobbledygook saying how you have to accept a license when putting it in a computer, and it will only convert the songs to WMA format for portable media devices, etc.

I put the disc back. I'm sorry, I completely understand the artists not wanting to lose money, but if I have to go through all those hoops, it's not worth it. I don't want WMA format songs; I have an iPod. If you have an iPod, you can't move the songs from the disc to your iPod. Not only that, but the discs won't work in some cd players. There are reports online that cheapy cd players will play the disc ok, but nicer, high-end players won't play it, as well as some car cd players. Also, there are flags that limit the number of times you can legally rip the disc. So, for example, if you get a new computer, it crashes, and you have to re-rip the disc, are you out of luck? This is after you've legally paid for the disc.

Do a Google for further information, since I can't post any links yet.

I don't like being dictated to on what format I can keep the songs. The licensing thing? I'm sure it's the wave of the future, but that doesn't mean I have to participate. What happens after you do sign the license, is there some Microsoft flag that is broadcast whenever the PC is online? This goes against my strong anti-authoritarian streak. I can't help it, that's just the way I am, another reason why I could never be in the military. (Oh, do 100 pushups? Because you said so? I don't think so.)

I know the legal ramifications of music sharing are a very gray area, depending on who you talk to. I like to support the artists that I like, whether by buying albums, seeing concerts, etc. But accepting a license? Still too big brother for me.

I bought the Yo La Tengo disc and the new Kathleen Edwards. As for the Kings of Leon? I'll probably try to download them off of bittorrent. On principle.
 
I agree with your feelings on the issue. It's crap.

But....I'd sign the license, rip the CD to wmas, burn the wmas to a CDR, then re-rip them in ITunes.
 
namkcuR said:
I agree with your feelings on the issue. It's crap.

But....I'd sign the license, rip the CD to wmas, burn the wmas to a CDR, then re-rip them in ITunes.

Why not just convert the wmas without burning them first? :scratch:?
 
DrTeeth said:


Why not just convert the wmas without burning them first? :scratch:?

Good point. I'd try it, and keep my fingers crossed that the original CD wasn't designed to make its ripped WMAs protected from conversion.
 
The same thing is on the new Kasabian CD.

If you have an audio CD recorder, you could just make a copy on that, and then burn the copy onto itunes.

And although most people don't have one, a mini-disc player comes in handy too.
 
That's not the only CD I've heard that attached to (I've never had it happen to me (yet), so I don't have any titles) -- apparently it's a new, emerging thing... I think it's crap...
 
Yes, that Copy Controlled Crap is crap. It's been going on in Europe for a bit longer. I try to ban those CDs. I inadvertedly bought a few of those. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below by OutKast plays well. Feast Of Wire by Calexico I cannot rip properly to my computer. And the best of by Supergrass (Is 10) wouldn't even play in the CD player in my last car. :madspit:
So no more Copy Controlled Crap for me. This includes all new releases by EMI (and sister labels like Capitol and Parlophone)

:rant:


BTW, why is this in Free Your Mind?
 
It was attached to Queen's Greatest Hits CD "We Will Rock You" --- the backlash on Amazon was enormous. This ENCOURAGES downloading music. I'd download the songs off of itunes for 9.99 instead of buying the album in this case, if i really feel like giving the band money.
 
learn2kneel said:
This ENCOURAGES downloading music. I'd download the songs off of itunes for 9.99 instead of buying the album in this case, if i really feel like giving the band money.

Encourages illegal downloading or legal downloading? I don't have any problem with you legally downloading the album (or just certain songs, if that is what you wish), but that you (or anyone) to find it acceptable to steal someone else's work because you don't like the format it is legally released on (or because you don't "feel" like giving the band money) is completely repugnant to me. I'm sure you wouldn't like it if your employer decide not to pay you because he or she did "feel" like it.

If you don't like the format, don't buy it in that format. And if that is the only way you can buy it, don't buy it at all, but don't steal the damned stuff.
 
This just seems like a desperate attempt to stop the inevitable. Digital music is, if not already the present, the future. They can't stop and all this stupid crap that they're trying to come up with are only pain in the ass speed bumps. :madspit:
 
The amusing thing is that anyone with excellent computer literacy can escape the copy protection measures with little effort. These are the same people who would then release the album on the P2P networks like Kazaa for everyone to download. To be honest, copy protection is a joke that only hurts the consumer.

Melon
 
Turn "Autoplay" off on your CD drive(this stops the anti-piracy software from installing on your computer)....put the CD in, and you should be able rip it straight into itunes. I did this with the Velvet Revolver CD, and it works fine. I believe it's the same copy-protection that appears on the Kings of Leon CD. Can anyone confirm this?
 
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