Escapologist Williams Ducks Cd Pirates
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday November 16, 2002
It's Robbie Williams versus the horde of thieving teen music pirates. On Monday, EMI Music will distribute the first of a new type of ``copy-controlled" music CD to Australian retailers.
Escapology, the new album by Williams, has been manufactured with technology that prevents it being digitally copied when its new owner takes the disc home.
More than seven million have been produced worldwide as record labels look for a frontline against a generation of music fans who have grown up with rampant ``ripping" and swapping of songs among friends. The Australian Record Industry Association claims the number of blank recordable CDs sold in Australia is double that of music CDs. Clear evidence, in their mind, of the level of illegal CD burning.
``It is like putting locks on your windows and doors. It will not stop the determined thief, but it will stop the opportunistic thieves," said Michael Speck, manager of ARIA's Music Industry Piracy Investigation arm. He says there has been a shift in music piracy in the past 18 months, away from industrial techniques to using PCs.
This week he obtained an injunction in the Federal Court stopping an Adelaide company, Little Ripper, from distributing coin-operated CD burners.
``Burning CDs for profit is an obvious infringement of copyright," Mr Speck said.
EMI said the Escapology CD should still be able to play on computers. But HMV Australia is ``preparing for a bunch of people bringing it back when they find it won't copy because they think it's faulty".
© 2002 Sydney Morning Herald
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