Voice Overs Mixed in on CDs to Combat Music Piracy

“WARNING: All songs on this promo CD are voice-over protected to avoid any piracy and illegal file uploading on the internet before the release date”

In efforts to curb piracy, music labels are now using voice over to thwart would-be pirates from leaking music on the internet before the CDs hit the store shelves.

While the voice overs are quite effective, they also happen to be potentially deterring music reviewers from thoroughly enjoying an artist’s work thereby giving the recording artist a lower rating than they would have had they not been distracted by voice overs meant to crack down on illegal file distribution and file sharing.

Is this just another last-ditch effort from the entertainment industry to prevent piracy that will end up going nowhere other than the blogosphere fast?

To some, it’s the difference between what the Mona Lisa looks like in its present state and then what the painting would look like if a toddler smeared chocolate all over the painting, thus diminishing the value and artistic beauty.

TorrentFreak reported the following:

For example, take the review of Steve Lukather’s latest album on Komodo Rock, which was published earlier this week. Lukather is the guitarist from the well known band Toto, and his new album is set for release on February 22nd. The reviewer rated the album 2.2 out of 10, but not because it was a bad album. On the contrary: “What I’ve heard of this album is actually pretty damn good, very emotional, very mood driven, and had the potential to be a truly great album”, he writes. So why the negative rating? The reviewer on Komodo Rock explains: “Well there’s no chocolate here, but what we have instead is a disembodied voice telling me what I already know, and destroying all the hard work Steve Lukather has put into this album. I’m all for protecting the rights of artists and labels, but this is not the way to do it, this is not a solution, this is a request to reviewers to ignore what their ears tell them and imagine what this album sounds like.” We asked the reviewer about the prevalence of the voice-overs, and he told TorrentFreak: “The first track on the album is clear of all voice overs, so the first time this appears is at the 1:16 of track 2. It then repeats again at the 3 minute mark, and then one last time at 4:48. This track is 5:53 in length. This then continues throughout the album in this way, apart from track 8 which again is clear of all voice overs.”

Source: TorrentFreak
Image: istockphoto.com/DSGpro