Copy-protected CDs - philosophical discussion


My previous copy-protection thread probably deserves a follow-up since the issue is just as troubling ethically/legally/philosophically as it is technically.

Record companies are selling CDs which do not play on a PC's CD player. However, the CDs are not identified as such and, according to at least one source, may have trouble playing on high-end systems and car CD players.

Here's the news story:
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6604222.html

Here's an unofficial list of copy-protected CDs, authored by a guy whose opinion on the matter should be quite obvious:
http://fatchucks.com/corruptcds/corrupt.html

Reserving the technical discussion and "can you actually hear it" discussions for my previous thread, what are your feelings on the softer side of this issue, especially given the vast amount of software that we collectively gave/received over the past couple of weeks?

Don't hold back, now!

FWIW, my take is that this is just another case of technology scaring the crap out of a lumbering entrenched industry with severely dated business models because the geeks are infinitely smarter and more creative than the suits can ever hope to be. Just like the lawsuit against Napster, it may succeed in its immediate goal (for a month or so), but misses the real point completely. Alienating customers who are not criminals is bad business. For many of us Audiogoners, I imagine the presence of "all but inaudible" distortion on a recording is reason enough to avoid it like the plague. The music business is not about “clicks and pops”; it's about music.
powerste
I think it's a load of crap that they encrpt the CD's. Once we buy it, we OWN it and should be able to do what we want with it.
Information has become and is going to become easier and easier and should be free-er and free-er. We can't put a price on EVERYTHING... they need to get more creative in ways to make money and this is not it.
...climbing down from her soapbox - aj
Angela, agree with you 100%. The music industry is trying to shoot itself in the foot with this one.....I don't burn cd's myself but feel I have a right to make my own copies if I had a player in the car....these encripted cds may not play in dvd, older cd and car players. Of course they will not be ripped either....But the cds should be plainly marked as I won't buy them....and I probably buy 100 cds a year...I'll start sticking with the smaller lables.I'll be complaining, though. Feedback is what they need and what they'll get. Cornfedboy..that's the way I feel before my first coffee,,,,I do not compute, where is my caffene....