How to Copy

When the increasing popularity of iPods combine with the music industries obsession with preventing file-sharing, the result is unhappy customers. The Sony BMG and EMI record labels are releasing their new CDs with DRM protection, preventing fans from, not only sharing their music over the internet, but from copying their music to their iPods to listen to on the go. One person I know personally has switched from having never downloaded an "illegal" song in his life to listening almost exclusively to "illegal" music for this very reason.

The muscians are fighting back though. The Dave Matthews Band, Foo Fighters, and the christian band Switchfoot, have all posted instructions for beating the copy protection on their websites. I'm curious if such will be enough to keep fans listening. Most of the people willing to go through the steps (and sometimes expense) required to copy the copy protected discs into an iPod campatible format already know how to do it, and I'm sure most other simply will decide to not spend money on a CD that they will have to conduct a "work around" on just to listen to it on their music player.

Regardless of the file-sharing controversary, the record companies need to adapt to their consumers. If they don't, file-sharing will be the least of their concerns.