Coldplay’s New CD Full of DRM Crappiness

Boing Boing: Coldplay’s new CD has rules: No MP3s, no DVD players, no car stereos

Don’t bother buying Coldplay’s new CD, unless you only want to listen to music on that chic retro Discman in your closet.

Two interesting and important quotes:

  • “Windows OS also uses the latest files. This CD does not support Macintosh PC software” – translation: we can’t compromise your Mac with our DRM software, so I hope you’re not a mac user. Even if you are….
  • “Except for manufacturing problems, we do not accept product exchange, return or refund.”

Fan-tastic. I don’t remember the last time I bought a CD. I’ve purchased a few songs from the iTunes music store. Ever since iTunes 6 came out and I can’t unlock my music, I haven’t bought any of those either. I don’t need their new crappy locked-down music.

At least this album is available on iTunes, from which you can burn a normal CD that will play in your car

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2 thoughts on “Coldplay’s New CD Full of DRM Crappiness”

  1. rich

    Why would Coldplay want to stop you from playing their CD with your car stereo?

  2. brock Post author

    rich: It’s not that Coldplay doesn’t want you to play the CD with a car stereo. It’s that the publisher doesn’t want you to make MP3s from your CD. Therefore, it’s locked up so as not to play on a PC cd player without special software (included on the CD). Some car CD players are actually little computers, and have computer-type disc drives that they use to do things like read ahead for skip-protection.

    This is a side-effect of the ‘copy protection’ on the disc.

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