So, about the time the christmas started flaoting around, a bunch of people in my family recieved MP3 players for christmas. After all the huffing and puffing about there being little solution for the ongoing war against piracy, it struck me funny that the MP3 player is still a sought after accessory. All the big companies have been fighting this 'illegal' format, going so far as to change the law to make backing up music in this format technically illegal.
So, I was amused to find that two of the MP3 players that two of my second cousins recieved only could play WMA files. Windows Media Associated files are Microsoft codes MP3 files that are 'protected'. Allow me to explain. If you ever used the burning system in Windows Media Player 9 or above, you would be given to the option, after ripping hte song, to make it protected. This is to insure that after you created your MP3s, made you disc, that no one could come along, take your disc, and make a copy of that song, sonce at the time you were able to rip music you own from cds, as long as you had taken the trouble to go out and buy the cd in question.
Simple, right?
Now, using smart tech, MP3 players are starting to come with protected playing measures. The MP3 players in question were not top of the line by any means, but before music could be put onto the player, the files had to be converted from MP3 to WMA. Certain songs at this point would fail to load, saying that they couldn't be ripped into WMA format. Interesting.
Now, not all songs were doing this, but it gives a user a good indication of where the anti-piracy movement is going. I also started to notice when I was downloading the greatest hits of the week that in my Ares program, there is a new category for music: Protected or Unprotected. It is interesting to note that while there are not many protected files, the implications are huge. A system is being put into place where the illegality of music can swing into play. Apple also proved to be a follower of the trend by not allowing certain songs to be played on the iPod, apparently ones that aren't available through it's iTunes service. The newest iPod takes these measures in consideration before allowing you to put music onto the device.
Everyone knew that if companies were going to take a stand on this so-called 'piracy', that it would be a slow and steady fight. At the moment, it is still find to use protected MP3, but not allowed to duplicate them. The next obvious step would be to force music rippers to convert automatically to protected files, with the WMA standard. In regards, I purchased a Sony ATrac 3 player that does not require this at all. If the trend continues to move towards this kind of mp3 blocking, I'll be glad I did. While the WMA assoc. file system is relatively new, if implemented right, could prove to be successful.
Back in 2000, Bill Gates was quoted in his concern about the mp3 issue, as well as the music industry and others. THe estimated loss to music artists every year is in the double digit millions. But really, is that piracy's fault? I have no problem buying a album that I like and that provides me with entertainment, but why are we expected to buy every single song that gets cuaght in our mind? The mp3 revolution was by far one of the best in my generation, free music, therefore free entertainment. I understand that the artists have to make money, but on the flip, maybe this will encourage them to put a lot of effort into their music to allow a whole album to be well made, instead of that one annoying, stuck in your head like a tv jingle hit single.