MP3's. How do we make sure they're not copied!

[MARKEG]

I need to know this.

If you have an MP3 and you want to make sure it's not copied. How do you do this????

I know it's possible to put some type of encription on it so no-one can copy it, I actually have heard it's really expensive. But I need to know how exactly to do this and how it's done. And what technologies are available so we can do this???

Does anyone know a way to do this????

Help!

[Ritzi Lee]

I know an encryption code what will take ages (even for the fastest systems) to break. But until now it was only applied for banking systems, emails, government communication systems...

I wonder if it can be applied for mp3.
It's called the RSA-Cryptosystem.

[Ritzi Lee]

By the way, mp3 codes are from a mathematical nature.
So it makes sense that there is a possibility to embed the RSA-system into the mp3 code.

[RDR]

the problem is this.

Encrypt the MP3. o.k thats possible.

only you know the key. but this means only you can listne to it. so this is impractical if you are selling it.

you could make it so that only a certain player will play it, but you'd have to write the code for this into the MP3 file.

if you give the mp3 a key that you then supply the user with, the moment they use the key they can copy it and its game over.

i gnarly problem indeed.

[jonnyspeed]

DRM. and its complete bollocks and doesn't apply natively to MP3 you have to get it applied via the software you download it via onto the device they are playing it through. But ultimately if it can be played through a speaker it can be copied at high quality with no loss.

You would be a complete monkey to go down the DRM route - just sign-up for a service like Bleep.com and go for volume sales of good music not being a twat and trying to lock down using DRM.

[jonnyspeed]

if you want to encrypt it so nobody can copy it or play it except you and authorised recipients you need PGP but this doesn't stop the recipient re-distribution without PGP protection

[Barely Human]

DRM. and its complete bollocks and doesn't apply natively to MP3 you have to get it applied via the software you download it via onto the device they are playing it through. But ultimately if it can be played through a speaker it can be copied at high quality with no loss.
.

Bang on. You cant protect music from being copied, since if you can play it, you can record it. Even if you put the best encryption on it, some cunt will pay the 6.99 for the track, record it via a cable into wavelab, and then distribute it for free on the net.

[jonnyspeed]

You could do what Mosquito/Cristian Vogel does and put your back catalogue on bleep.com. Sure Emma at Mosquito will tell you whether its good for them.
Stay Up Forever have bits and bobs on trackitdown.net, why don't you drop them a line. or just test it on a few releaes - does it make you more money? if yes then its a winner

[AcidTrash]

Theres no point at all. If you can hear it, you can record it. Theres no way to beat the determined pirate.

[Willy_Wonka]

In short you can't...

You have to accept that your music will be copied and that some people will never pay for music. This is the way it has always been and it is the way it will remain...

The advent of P2P and audio compression like mp3 simply makes the process more visible, allowing major record companies to complain that they're profits are being cut into by theft - this is true, but it's always been true. Remember they used to whinge about home taping.

For small labels I think you have to build communities, like this and engender a culture of getting people to buying into and supporting their scene.

[Mirsha]

The provision of mp3's online is the way to go forward, since to people there is a big difference between shelling out 6 quid for a vinyl with one track on it you like and three you don't and shelling out a quid for a single track you think is quality. By giving people the chance to choose a single track for a single micro-payment it actually increases the amount people are wiling to pay as it's a much more insignifcant amount.

[Komplex]

I reckon they'll slowly crack down on peer to peer filesharing once the big companies get deeper into mp3 distribution.

as for not being able to copy, that wont happen (reasons already stated)

what you can do is pump out good tracks so that people will be forced to buy them because of their awesome power

[Mirsha]

They can't crack down on peer to peer file sharing. The services that provide p2p are protected from any legal action by the Betamax court ruling so all they can do is chase down individual sharers, which is in many ways futile as more people just rise up to take their place.

[jonnyspeed]

'cracking down' on free file sharing isn't about reducing the people on P2P. The combination of subscriptions, low cost per unit, ubiquity of mp3 players, quality music, 'added value' such as fan communities... but ultimately increased risk of personal prosecution will persuade more people to use legal services. which is a good thing.

[TechMouse]

If you have an MP3 and you want to make sure it's not copied. How do you do this????

You can't.

You can put the most incredible copy protection in the world on it, but if they can play it on their PC then they can record a digital copy of it at the back of their soundcard.

Much like the minute you release a record on vinyl, anyone can make a digital copy of it.

For every person trying to create copy protection stuff, there are 10 geeks out there trying to break it. And, as I said above, it's fundamentally useless anyway.

[MARKEG]

i realise that you can record it back in through a sound card but i just want to know if there's a way to make sure you can't copy an mp3 inside the computer.

encryption for sure, but what program does this??? it's not really an issue for me that someone will eventually crack the encryption, but i'd just like to know what that encrytion could be and how ot go about it.

[TechMouse]

i realise that you can record it back in through a sound card but i just want to know if there's a way to make sure you can't copy an mp3 inside the computer.

encryption for sure, but what program does this??? it's not really an issue for me that someone will eventually crack the encryption, but i'd just like to know what that encrytion could be and how ot go about it.

Should cover all bases...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management

[g]

i realise that you can record it back in through a sound card but i just want to know if there's a way to make sure you can't copy an mp3 inside the computer.

encryption for sure, but what program does this??? it's not really an issue for me that someone will eventually crack the encryption, but i'd just like to know what that encrytion could be and how ot go about it.

go see the iTunes Music Store and how they handle it. there's likely something out there for the layman, but i dunno what it is. probably in that wiki link.

however like it was said, this is a battle already lost before it's begun. if you can get someone to pay for the mp3 in the first place, consider yourself successful. EVERYTHING can be copied. remember when they wanted to do away with cassette tapes......?

[tocsin]

And DRM isn't free either. So, you're basically paying extra to prevent digital copying which, if one person breaks and throws a copy of the track on Soulseek, it won't take long before the scenario you were trying to avoid occurs anyways. It's also not like there's a truly scientific means within our grasp to find out exactly how many people didn't pirate a track, and bought it instead, because of the DRM protection. I think the Truelove website has the right idea and I hope it is proving beneficial for the artists/labels involved. Digital piracy, for the people who will actually perform the tracks, I'm willing to bet is more of a convenience thing. It's not like 100% of the people who download songs are doing so simply because they have a fundamental opposition to buying music. Not that you won't have such people. But, if the records are being sold anyways, and enough people are buying the mp3s at $1 who used to download them through a P2P network, it seems like a good thing. It may have motivated
some people to take some files out of their shares as well. I know I took down a lot of out of print music I was sharing on soulseek once I saw some webpages for the labels were planning on re-issuing the tracks for sale as a direct MP3 download. I don't even have an Acid directory in my share anymore because of that.