Sony Music, home to such artists as Beyonce Knowles and Bruce Springsteen, said Monday it plans to introduce new CD technology in Germany that prevents users from copying songs to file-sharing sites, but allows them to make copies for their personal use.
The record industry blames its recent sales slump on file-sharing services like Kazaa, which it says are havens for piracy. Last year, major labels issued “copy-protected” CDs that prevent them from being played on computers.
The copy-protected discs faced a backlash from customers and music fans, and several lawsuits emerged from some customers that complained these CDs caused their computers and other devices to malfunction.
But Sony thinks it has an appealing approach: Give customers added incentives to buy copy-protected CDs.
On Monday, Sony will release R&B group Naturally Seven’s new CD in Germany with a so-called “second session.” The disc can be played on almost any device conventionally, said Phil Wiser, Sony Music’s chief technology officer.
It also contains a compressed digital copy of the music that can be quickly copied onto any computer. From the computer, users can copy that music onto Sony portable digital music players.
The CDs also allow users to connect to websites with exclusive features such as bonus songs and concert tickets. The features are only available if you have the original CD.
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