Sony Debacle Has “Set Back Audio CD Protection By Years” As Artists Begin To Consider The Damage

Brian Bergstein the technical writer for The Associated Press has published a good overview piece on the Sony rootkit copy protection debacle which led to the recall of 4.7 million infected copies of 50 popular CD’s  (click here for a complete list):

"…it’s worth wondering whether the costs of XCP and its aftermath might even exceed whatever piracy losses the company would have suffered without it."

"That’s not even accounting for the huge public relations backlash (and several lawsuits) that hit Sony BMG, the second-largest music label, half-owned by Sony Corp. and half by Bertelsmann AG."

"I think they’ve set back audio CD protection by years," said Richard M. Smith, an Internet privacy and security consultant. "Nobody will want to pull a `Sony’ now."

Seldom mentioned is the devastating effect that this scandal will have on the Sony artists whose CD’s are on the infected list.  Not only are their CD’s being pulled from the shelves during their release launch and the crucial holiday buying season; but one also has to wonder how quickly pressing plants backlogged with holiday order will be able to re-manufacture and re-ship 4.7 million CD’s.

One manager of an effected Sony artist stated privately that his act’s twenty-something year old fans were saying that they were unlikely to purchase any more Sony BMG CD’s because the couldn’t trust the company any more. There have also been rumblings that some artists are considering using the debacle to sue to get out of their contracts with Sony.