Copy-Protected CDs Turning Music Fans Off

"It's backwards thinking. It's protectionism," said Terri McBride, president of Vancouver-based Nettwerk, whose roster includes the Be Good Tanyas. "The average consumer who's not tech-savvy is going to buy the CD, thinking that they can load it onto their iPod ... They're going to be royally pissed off."

It's becoming a regular occurrence in CD shops across the country: an irate customer comes in complaining the CD they bought won't play on their computer, and worse yet, they can't transfer the tunes to their iPod.

"Consumers are not liking it," says Leslie Purchase, assistant manager at CD Plus in the Halifax Shopping Center. "People are getting very frustrated by (copy-protected CDs)."

She's noticed an increase in customers who put CDs down after noticing the "copy-controlled" or "copy-protected" label.

More controversial is the ability to control which programs consumers can use to playback their music. With EMI and Sony BMG discs, for instance, the music is compatible only with Windows Media Player but not with iTunes (for PC users).