According to BoingBoing, the latest Coldplay CD comes with an insert—not visible until after you open the package—that explains that the CD might not play. The CD uses Digital Rights Management which is not compatible with some current-generation CD players found in cars, homes, and computers.
Oh, and if it doesn't work because of Digital Rights Management, they won't refund your money.
One of the reasons that CDs became popular in the first place is because of interoperability: CD player manufacturers and CD disk manufacturers and content providers all made equipment that interoperates. The CD is disaggregated from the player; it's supposed to work no matter which player you use. This latest misguided effort to impose Digital Rights Management strikes at that fundamental assumption, and will simply make people more leery of purchasing CDs.
Oh, and selling a product that you know won't work—calling something a CD that won't play in many current CD players—is almost certainly actionable. Based on Sony's recent experience with Digital Rights Management, I expect this Coldplay CD to turn out to be another expensive fiasco in terms of lost sales, losses in the courtroom, and permanent loss of customer goodwill.
Topics: · marketing · security
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