cd recording and copy protection

profhig · Joined: Sep 06, 2003 Posts: 239 Location: Tamworth, UK

My son has just made a cd of his rapping attempts and has, apparently managed to get some interest in people wishing to purchase them. He wants to copy them for sale and has asked me how he can do this and include some anti-piracy on the cd's. I am 'googling' for help, but only seem to get results telling me how to bypass copy protection! Does anybody have any clues? Thanks in advance.

12quidkidinnit · Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:10 pm Post subject:

With burnt CDs I doubt that it's possible. It's similar to the situation with DVDs. If the discs are burnt you're unlikely to be able to put any effective form of copy protection on them. Music CDs and commercial DVDs which are sold in the shops etc are replicated rather than duplicated, and for this they are pressed (sort of like the old vinyl records) and it may be possible to have copy protection included. For a large enough production run it might be worth having them done commercially rather than burning them on a computer, but there are still ways round any copy protection for those who are determined or knowledgeable enough.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_disc_manufacturing

profhig · Joined: Sep 06, 2003 Posts: 239 Location: Tamworth, UK

Thanks for the reply, 12quidkidinnit. I did find some software that claimed to be able to do this. Most were multi-bucks and one free program when installed was in German. So that put paid to that! The consensus, from various sites dedicated to this kind of issue was that if Sony, Disney etc can’t effectively stop illegal copying, what chance a home set-up? One intriguing answer I found was to physically mark the end of the disc. Apparently, a player will ignore this, but copying software will read the mark and assume the disc is damaged will not copy. Sounds logical, but if it was this simple, surely the ‘Big Guys’ would have sussed this and done similar on their commercial discs? Or maybe I am on to something? Sony, Disney, etc don’t try this. I’ll sue the pants off you for stealing my (well, ok, somebody else’s!!!!!) idea. My advice to him was to just put a printed copyright warning somewhere on the label to at least give him some avenue of legal recourse if warranted. Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

silmaril8n · Joined: Jan 29, 2004 Posts: 1743 Location: Phoenix, AZ

You may want to encourage him to avoid copy protection as it's getting quite a bad rap these days. If I was just getting started then I would do everything in my power to encourage people to share my music with everyone. The more ears the better, right?

Werebo · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 9:15 pm Post subject:

Although audio CD copying software might block copying with protection, audio programs like 'Audacity' can record from the 'Line In' or Windows audio mixer.

Ain't not no way round it, I don't think. If nasty peoples want to rip it, they will Sad

User: inactive Posts:

A bit of copy protection History:

Eons ago, software companies were writing programs for the little Commodore 64 computer. To stop kids from copying their programs they went to all sorts of extremes to stop the copying.

They wrote data in half tracks and out beyond the normal Last-Track used by Commodore. Some even poked a hole in the disk at a point, to make normal copiers detect an error and stop the reading process.

Then along came "Fast Hack'em" and all bets were off!

It was a "Bit Copier" and copied ones and zero's and didn't care if the data was on a half track or not. The software was data-seeking and would find it no matter where it was on a disk.

Times have changed but copy protection isn't any better now than it was then. A dedicated hacker will always find a way.

I'd encourage you to take the advise of "silmaril8n" and welcome the circulation of your CD's.

Good Luck,
The Shadow Cool

profhig · Joined: Sep 06, 2003 Posts: 239 Location: Tamworth, UK

Well, thanks to all you who replied. I did tell him he was probably wasting his time (well mine, really) but he asked me to look, and apart from 'googling' I figured this would be the best place to ask. That's the thing with kids, you advise them from your years of experience and the knowledge gleaned therefrom and they do it or want it done their way anyhow! (I know I did!) I have now managed, after showing him the advise here to convince him it isn't really practical, and as silmaril8n advised, supported by Shadow maybe not desirable. Thanks again.

zlim · Joined: Mar 11, 2005 Posts: 2747

Just tell him that companies with lots of big bucks have researched this and can't find a way to do it. They keep trying and failing.
I don't remember the company, but within hours or a few days someone discovered that if you used a black marker at the edge of the disk, the copy protection was broken. So much for spending $$$$ on research and development.

I'm trying to find an archived news article about the black marker.
One of Sony's protection schemes was broken in 10 minutes.

This one is about cellophane tape used to break Sony's copy protection
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=174400748

User: inactive Posts:

Copy protection on any disk is like unto a 98 cent padlock. It's only useful to keep the honest person honest. The dishonest person will find some way to get past it.

When I started Jr. High school, we got lockers with the cheap little three number combination locks on them. I could open any one of them in less than 30 seconds. Not saying much for security.

Copy protection on CD's is equally bogus.

When a black marker or piece of tape can break the copy protection on a CD, it's pretty weak!

"Forgetaboutit" !

Shadow Cool

profhig · Joined: Sep 06, 2003 Posts: 239 Location: Tamworth, UK

Well, to be honest and on a lighter note, I think there should be playing protection on rap! I'm old-ish and just can't see the attraction to this talking/shouting over 'music'. But then, I suppose my mom and dad thought the same about Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin etc. Times change, parents don't!!!!

Werebo

zlim · Joined: Mar 11, 2005 Posts: 2747

I have a CD shredder.

Werebo

CD shredders are good, but there's nothing left for the kids to play and get confused with, when it doesn't work Wink

profhig · Joined: Sep 06, 2003 Posts: 239 Location: Tamworth, UK

Baby_Tux · Joined: Mar 06, 2007 Posts: 1242

Reminds me of a line from CHEECH & CHONG (old enough to remember them?) "HEY, MAN, YOU'LL SCRATCH MY RECORD, MAN!"

profhig · Joined: Sep 06, 2003 Posts: 239 Location: Tamworth, UK

zlim · Joined: Mar 11, 2005 Posts: 2747

Well I spent an hour last night and about two hours today recording LPs to CDs so yes, I'm that old!

Werebo

Cheech and Chong??? Hehehehehe.... I've jst finished ripping some Sandy Nelson vinyls!

Sabbath and Zeppelin are still good though Wink

profhig · Joined: Sep 06, 2003 Posts: 239 Location: Tamworth, UK

Well, it seems we are all that old! Perhaps the wiser and happier for it.
zlim, I have hundreds of LP's I want to digitise and put on cd's. (All good '60's and '70's gear) One day I'll get around to it! When I have a year or two to dedicate to it!
Werebo, Sabbath and Zeppelin still good? They are the best! Ozzy was born about 3 miles from my old house. I never met him, but had a ‘close encounter’, one might say. I used to drink, in the ‘70’s in The Norton Arms, Tyburn Road Birmingham. An old guy, Steve Austin (no, not the six million dollar man!) used to come and sit with us young kids, as I was back then. Very intelligent, well educated man who used long words we struggled to understand! Anyhow, he came in one lunchtime and began telling us about a ‘hippie’ who had come into the Forget-Me-Not ex-serviceman’s club, a short walk up Tyburn Road. He said he had long hair, sunglasses, and kept them on indoors which to him was odd, and was regaled with necklaces and other sundry trinkets. Well, though this guy was in his 60’s back then, he did not judge by appearance, nor condemn because your opinion and choice of dress differed from his. (Part of the reason I enjoyed my time spent drinking with him). He told me how he enjoyed a pint or two with his new friend, and at the end of the session (our British pubs closed at 2:30 back then) the ‘hippie’ offered him a lift home. Accepting the offer, he told me he expected to walk to the car park to find an old beat up VW beetle or similar, painted orange or pink or some other outrageous colour only to find his ‘taxi’ was in fact a gold Rolls Royce! Questioning him further, and my suspicions aroused, it transpired the ‘hippie’ was in fact our one and only Ozzy! Can you imagine how pissed I was that he had exchanged beers with him, had a lift home from him, had no idea who he was! And I wasn’t there! When I explained, he dismissed it with a wave of his hand and a comment (can’t remember exactly, but went like this) ‘well, I don’t know. He seemed to be a nice fellow, I enjoyed his company and how he chooses to dress isn’t really my business, though a haircut and shirt and tie might do him some good.’
God bless you, Steve Austin. A man and a gentleman in the truest sense.

seaeagle

A very nice profhig. It just goes to show why we should never judge a book by it's cover. I used to work at a Telco with a man who had a few years earlier worked in a top-quality musical instrument store. One day a very scruffy man in his 30's walked in and started looking around, picking up some instruments and playing around with them. None of the other staff were eager to serve him, and the manager was going to ask him to leave the store. But my colleague just walked up to him and treated him like any other respected customer. After half an hour or so of discussion, the scruffy man then pulled out a gold Amex card and bought more than $20,000 worth of gear. He was actually one of Australia's top musicians (I can't recall who though), and being scruffy was just part of his image.

By the way, I think Ozzy is probably a lot smarter than his public persona indicates.