Record companies bite hands that feed them

IF you're a record company and you're trying to install a DRM (Digital Rights Management) programme by stealth, you had better hope that a computer security expert doesn't buy one of your CDs and provoke a legal storm. This is what happened when Mark Russinovich, who works for a software company, bought a CD released on the Sony label last October.

When Russinovich tried to play his CD on his home computer, he noted something strange happened.

The CD had come pre-loaded with a programme called XCP that secretly installed and concealed itself on his computer. XCP was supposed to be a device that would prevent illegal copying of the CD and to that extent it did its job properly. However, once Russinovich had got to work on the codes used to install XCP, he found that the programme hid files from anti-virus software. Attempts to install it led to further problems.

Millions of CDs using the controversial programme are believed to have been sold before Russinovich publicised his findings on XCP. All the relevant CDs were sold in the north American market. Russinovich found that once he drew attention to the programme, other computer analysts found problems with XCP.

Once they were made aware that their code was cracked (so to speak), Sony immediately posted a software removal programme for XCP and issued a widescale recall of all their XCP-enabled CDs. This wasn't enough for most people who had inadvertently loaded XCP onto their computer and a class action lawsuit was going to be taken but a settlement was hammered out last month.

The settlement sees Sony offering any owner of a CD with the XCP programme a replacement disc free of anti-piracy software, $7.50 in cash and a free download of a Sony-BMG album from an online music service.

The case focused attention on the broader issue of the anti-piracy protection measures taken by corporations and the consumers' right to privacy. The idea behind XCP in the first place was a record company trying to beef up their Digital Rights Management (DRM) measures.

DRM now looks set to become a type of Napster issue for the music industry.

DRM is highly unpopular among consumers as it prevents a CD being played on more than a few platforms. You can play your DRM CD on your home stereo and (usually) on your computer, but it may not play on other devices (car stereos etc). DRM was brought in to counter the illegal copying of CDs but there is a perception out there that if you buy a CD you should be able to play it where and when you want to.

The record companies argue that illegal copying of CDs costs them a fortune each year and that DRM is an essential anti-piracy measure. All of which is fine, but the point remains that people are unclear about how DRM works and what it means for how and where they can play their CDs.

There are also various legal issues here: should the consumer be made aware that a CD is DRM-protected at the point of purchase? Despite the XCP scandal, there is no indication that the major labels have any plans to remove DRM protection from their product. But as it stands, there is no workable DRM scheme for CDs.

Experts in the area say the only solution for both corporations and consumers is to switch the focus of DRM entirely - as in, remove it completely from CDs and get the PC industry to include DRM technology in its products. Major legislation would be required to achieve this, but it would mean that DRM would not operate as a "lock" on your CD preventing you from playing it wherever you want, but that it would be loaded only where it is needed - on your computer.

Expect the music industry to drag its heels on this one and for consumers to be inconvenienced for some time yet.