Foo Fighters - One by One

Hi Andy,

I'd be very interested to know how they compare. I think the album's great but my copy is decidedly "edgy". If you get round to it, please let me know your findings.

Cheers

Dave

Mine is another cat no. 07863 68008-2, I don't think it is copy protected.

Just bought this on vinyl, because many people are talking about it.

I think it's terrible. Just can't get into this one.

Jay - what's the cat number on the copy you bought over the other night?

This album rocks.

Andy - thanks for the useful info. Have been considering buying the vinyl - will await your conclusion re CD's, and if the non-copy protected CD sounds good will buy that.

Rico - SM/Mullet Audio

And the number is...

RCA 74321962692

Hmmmm the plot thickens! Well, it played ok on my sistem anyway!

Thanks, Jay!

Rico - SM/Mullet Audio

Just sent this email to BMG Music Canada:

Foo Fighters: "One by One" on CD

Dear Sirs,

I would like to purchase the above CD from my favourite online retailer, A&B Sound; they list catalogue number 7863680082 for this product. However, before I order I would like to make sure that this really is a CD, and not a music disc of some sort that is incorrectly labelled as a "CD" (my CD player only plays Red Book standard CDs properly).

This is not a wind-up, although I must admit to being slightly cynical about having to go through this trouble to avoid going through even more trouble (i.e. having item number 7863680082 shipped to Germany and having to ship it back to Canada to return it to the retailer).

I would be very grateful if you could reply concerning this matter.

Regards,
Thomas Kunzler
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I'll keep you posted.

Thomas

Guess what, I got no answer from BMG Music Canada. However, I did ask A&B Sound, who in turn asked BMG Music Canada and received a reply which they forwarded to me promptly:
_______________________
Hello,

This is the word from the label...

The cd should play on this customer's cd. We do not copy protect in Canada. He is probably referring to a lot of BMG product in Europe which has copy protection software on the cds (which don't play in computer cd drives) and therefore make it difficult to play on regular cd players.

Sincerely,
A&B Sound Online
Customer Service Representative
_______________________

A friend just bought Ben Harper's new CD here in Germany and had to return it because it wouldn't play properly on his CDX. I have the same CD on order in Canada and hence decided to pester A&B Sound again (who will hopefully pester the distributor, who will hopefully ... and so on):
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Dear A&B Sound,

I have pre-ordered the following title with you:

Artist/Title: BEN HARPER/DIAMONDS ON THE INSIDE
UPC: 724358250220
Format: CD
EMI Music, Catalog no: V282502

As with a previous purchase (Foo Fighters, "One by One"), I have heard from friends who have bought copy-protected versions of this title here in Europe that these versions do not play in the (rather expensive) CD player model we own.

Hence I must ask again whether the pressing of the Ben Harper title you are selling is copy-protected, because in that case it would be a fruitless exercise to send me this so-called CD.

You have been very helpful with regard to my previous enquiry (see below), thank you. However, it is rather unfortunate that an increasing number of customers around the world have to go through the trouble of either enquiring about or returning a purchase because of many record companies' unwillingness to adhere to the Red Book standard for the production of CDs. (Apart from that, any retailer selling these titles as "CDs" is probably also in breach of the law.)

May I suggest, when your new site goes up, including information as to whether titles are Red-Book-compliant (i.e. CDs) or copy-protected music discs.

Many thanks in advance,
Thomas Kunzler
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(The rest of my message was a duplicate of the first one I sent regarding the Foo Fighters CD.)

Thomas

Very prompt reply (and not what I wanted to hear):

Hello,

Yes, the domestic EMI product is now copy protected.

Sincerely,
A&B Sound Online
Customer Service Representative

Thomas