Earlier efforts at secure music formats had been foiled by hackers, and Microsoft said it expected Windows Media would suffer the same fate. Still, the tool allows what record companies most fear - free copies of songs and albums to be slung around the Internet. That may only add to the trepidation at big labels. The impact of this is they will be more hesitant. Not so, says Microsoft, which asserts that record companies it has signed up expected a pesky hack attack.
Someone has to consciously break the law to do it.
There was sharp disagreement Wednesday about how the small 80K utility works. That's the hardware equivalent of putting a tape recorder next to your PC speakers and making a cassette copy of the song in a degraded, analog format. But Angelo Sotira, who first reported existence of the tool on his music Web site Dimension Music, says the tool does actually remove the file's encryption, allowing the hacker to produce an all-digital copy. Sotira believes U.S. restrictions on encryption use prevent the design of any hacker-proof security for downloadable music. No matter, says music executive Jay Samit, who heads EMI's new media efforts.