The Dynamic Duo

Just a quick note for music buying mac owners in Japan. You may have noticed a lot of CDs with a “copy control CD” (in katakana) mark on them lately. These are especially common on releases from avex. I think putting technology on CDs to prevent people from recording it to their listening device of choice is a really bad move, and generally I avoid buying CDs with this mark on it. (I also avoid CDs from avex, but that is because they generally suck)

Anyway, to get to the point, I bought UltraGirl an avex CD with this mark on it. It says very explicitly on the label that you cannot play the CD on a Mac. I’m hear to tell you that that is untrue. I put it in, iTunes recognized it, and I immediately began ripping songs off into my library. Copy control CDs will play just fine on Mac OS X. This is a pleasant surprize, but I also don’t much enjoy being lied to (hence my hatred of the current administration) which is what this appears to be. Not only is it a lie, it seems like a pretty stupid lie business wise. Even if I didn’t think this kind of technology was draconian, I may have avoided buying this CD for fear of not being able to use it. Luckily I bought the CD for UltraGirl, and pass the information on to you.

UPDATE: The Hedwig Tribute Album CD featuring Japanese artists like Bonnie Pink is as you might guess, is very nice … for usage as a coaster. It is one of the worst pieces of garbage I think I have ever bought and ranks with the worst of the review copies I used to receive. You have been warned, go ahead, click on the link and buy, I dare ya!