Updated: 1:10 p.m. ET Nov. 16, 2005

BARCELONA - Music company Sony BMG, yielding to consumer concern, said on Wednesday it was recalling music CDs containing copy-protection software that acts like virus software and hides deep inside a computer.

 

Sony BMG has used the XCP copy-protection software on 49 titles from artists such as Celine Dion and Sarah McLachlan and produced an estimated 4.7 million music CDs. Around 2.1 million units have been sold on to consumers.

 

The software, developed by British software makers First4Internet, installs itself on a personal computer used to play the CD in order to guard against copying, but it leaves the back door open for malicious hackers.

 

“We share the concerns of consumers regarding discs with XCP content-protected software, and, for this reason, we are instituting a consumer exchange program and removing all unsold CDs with this software from retail outlets,” Sony BMG said in an statement.

 

Sony BMG announced in a separate statement it would distribute a program to remove the software from a PC where it jeopardizes security.

 

“We deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause our customers. Details of this (recall) program will be announced shortly,” Sony BMG said.

 

Sony said will soon issue more details about the swap program. Consumers can identify their copy-protected CDs by a Web address on the back of the CD containing the letters XCP.

 

Of the 49 titles, 24 were new major releases. The remaining albums were reissues and other material from the catalogue.

 

Sony reiterated that the copy-protection software installs itself only on personal computers and not on ordinary CD and DVD players. Market research group NPD Group found in a recent survey that around 36 percent of consumers listen to their CDs on a personal computer.

 

Patch problems

Problems with the copy-protection software became acute last week, when the first computer viruses emerged that took advantage of security holes left by the program.

 

Responding to public outcry over the software, Sony BMG, the music venture of Japanese electronics conglomerate Sony Corp. and Germany’s Bertelsmann AG had said on Friday it would temporarily suspend the manufacture of music CDs containing XCP technology.

 

Sony BMG CDs with XCP software

— Trey Anastasio, Shine (Columbia)

— Celine Dion, On ne Change Pas (Epic)

— Neil Diamond, 12 Songs (Columbia)

— Our Lady Peace, Healthy in Paranoid Times (Columbia)

— Chris Botti, To Love Again (Columbia)

— Van Zant, Get Right with the Man (Columbia)

— Switchfoot, Nothing is Sound (Columbia)

— The Coral, The Invisible Invasion (Columbia)

— Acceptance, Phantoms (Columbia)

— Susie Suh, Susie Suh (Epic)

— Amerie, Touch (Columbia)

— Life of Agony, Broken Valley (Epic)

— Horace Silver Quintet, Silver's Blue (Epic Legacy)

— Gerry Mulligan, Jeru (Columbia Legacy)

— Dexter Gordon, Manhattan Symphonie (Columbia Legacy)

— The Bad Plus, Suspicious Activity (Columbia)

— The Dead 60s, The Dead 60s (Epic)

— Dion, The Essential Dion (Columbia Legacy)

— Natasha Bedingfield, Unwritten (Epic)

— Ricky Martin, Life (Columbia)

Source:Electronic Frontier Foundation

 

 

 

It then provided a patch to make the hidden program more visible. At the time it did not recall the CDs or offer a program to remove it from computers. Sony BMG’s patch and the removal software still left PCs vulnerable, according to software engineers.

 

The anti-virus team at Microsoft Corp. said on Tuesday it would independently add a detection and removal mechanism to rid a personal computer of the Sony’s DRM copy-protection software. It should have a deeper understanding of its own operating system, and how to remove software safely. (MSNBC is a Microsoft - NBC joint venture.)

 

The software installs itself only on PCs running Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

 

Sony BMG has positioned itself as a defender of artists’ rights. It had re-emphasized on Friday that copy-protection software is “an important tool to protect our intellectual property rights and those of our artists.”

 

Sony BMG last week was targeted in a class action lawsuit complaining that it had not disclosed the true nature of its copy-protection software.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10069563/

 

all I have to say is.......

 

:P

I think all copy-protected music is wrong,they dont sound as good as normal cds

as much music as this forum listens to.. I am surprised not many have responded to this.... this is a big situation here..... these copy-protected players alreadly alienate the iPod generation because you can't import or play them on iTunes.. they now cause security problems.. goes to show you that eventually.. the cd will die just a the 'tape' generation did.. and slowly as did the vinyl... thank goodness for the rebirth of dj's..... they keep that one alive.

Yea I'm surprised too,its a big issue

I try not to buy copy protected cds, I still do cause I don't have a choice a lot of the time, but it sucks.

^ Well, thank you for the article... It was news to me. These big music companies need to get it into their heads that taking extreme measures to stamp out piracy will cause even more problems and end up doing more harm than good. Why turn neutral CD buyers against you by doing copy-protection?

 

They need to stop being greedy - people who pirated stuff probably never would have bought the originals anyway... While not condoning it, the record labels would do better by accepting that piracy does good by introducing more people to an artiste's work, and is good for promoting music as a whole. It's free marketing... people who probably would never have heard of an artiste otherwise might even feel compelled to buy the original after hearing the music...

*bumps*

Well, it was going to happen sooner or later. I don't see the point to these security features on CDs. I have a CD that i can't play it on Windows Media Player, or any other player as a matter of fact. It opens up with it's own player, which sucks because I can't rip the tracks to put it on my iriver. Since it's not in there, I don't listen to it. It's a shame really because I really like most of the songs.

you seem to be missing the point that they put a TROJAN VIRUS on your computers!

 

This is lawsuit-worthy.