Warner Music Group Stuck In the Stone Age

You would think that with the advent of the EMI/Apple deal to remove Digital Rights Management protection, that other labels would soon see the light and follow suit.

That’s not the case with Warner Music Group. In fact, they just ordered online retailer AnywhereCD to stop selling unprotected MP3 versions of its music, saying the start-up had violated their agreement by selling Warner’s music without copy protection software, according to CNET News.

Warner Music Chief Executive Edgar Bronfman gives the money quote: “There is no reason to conclude that music is the one content category that should not or cannot be protected, simply because there is an unprotected legacy product available in the physical world.”

In other words, it doesn’t matter that you’ve been able to buy a CD or record and listen to it on any stereo system you wanted in the past 50 years. You shouldn’t be allowed to do that anymore, now that record labels are taking all the money they used to spend on CD manufacturing and distribution, and instead are pocketing it as pure profit. If you do, you’re a thief.

Warner wants unprotected albums off Web site [CNET News]

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