Sorry, iPod: Sony Goes WMA for CD DRM


Sony BMG is going all out to stop audio CD piracy - and that means excluding the iPod, Presence PC reports, as noted by MacBidouille.

The whole concept is wrapped up in a blanket called 'Sterile Burning' which, in practice, would stop users copying the CD that has this DRM lock on it. The system, One Disc DRM, permits users to extract tracks from CD, but only in .wma (Windows Media Audio) format. And, once you've extracted the tracks, with this 'one rip only' policy, Presence PC conjectures that, theoretically, you won't be able to copy them from the CD again.

But wait - there's more.

The .wma tracks are also DRM-encoded. Which means they don't play on iPod and they'll also be in this lossy compressed state. That might be acceptable to some people, but not to anyone who's serious about audio fidelity.

Moreover, if burned to CD, the .wma tracks will not be readable in a normal home stereo hi-fi system (presumably, this also means more recent home CD players and DVD players which read .wma).

Sony has reportedly piloted this DRM with 10 albums, or in around 1 million CDs, but with no publicity, and certainly no fanfare.

Analysis: Well...that's one way of reducing your album sales. Even the less radical versions of copy protection can be troublesome in car CD players. Of course, there will be hacks, but the clear aim here is to prevent the casual consumer from simply ripping and burning CDs at will, for self or for friends.

And it may just work.