'Poison' CD to catch copyists By Garry Barker
The writing could be on the wall for computer buffs who copy music CDs for their friends.
Sony Music has planted a "poisoned pellet" of software in Celine Dion's latest CD, A New Day Has Come, that is capable of crashing, and in cases permanently freezing, the optical drives of personal computers into which the discs are inserted.
Michael Speck, of the Australian Record Industry Association, confirmed yesterday that the anti-piracy software trials were under way but said "spiked" CDs had not so far been distributed in Australia, but it was inevitable. The music companies were "simply protecting their property", he said.
Computer users disagree. They say they should be able to use their computers to play CDs for which they have paid, should be able to copy songs into MP3 portable music players and be free to make "personal" copies of CDs they have bought. Most of all, they say, the music companies should not get away with damaging expensive personal computers, which appears to have occurred in Britain.
Mr Speck said the big music companies were not concerned about individual copying, but with how to beat mass piracy.