Several radio broadcasters that offer CD-quality music over the airwaves could actually be copied if certain precautions are not taken. This warning comes Friday by the record industry. Apparently without copy protections on CD-quality airwaves any music fan could copy it and then distribute on P2P networks.
Digital radio broadcasts that bring CD-quality sound to the airwaves could lead to unfettered song copying if protections are not put in place, a recording-industry trade group warned on Friday. Without copy protections, music fans could cherry-pick songs off the air and redistribute them over the Internet, further deepening the copyright woes of record labels, the Recording Industry Association of America said.
U.S. regulators at the Federal Communications Commission should ensure that the broadcast format limits such copying so radio stations don"t turn the airwaves into a giant file-sharing network, RIAA officials said. "A little bit of prudence right now goes a long way," RIAA CEO Mitch Bainwol said in a conference call. Digital radio promises to bring CD-quality sound to FM stations and FM-quality sound to the AM band, along with "metadata" like artist and song information. Broadcasters also can use the standard to broadcast several signals at once.