Disney record label Hollywood Records has unveiled a new CD format that it hopes will entice shoppers out of online music stores and back to the traditional bricks-and-mortar varieties.
CDVU plus, as it has branded the new disks, includes standard albums alongside extras such as might be found on a DVD. These include photos, videos, lyrics and similar digital media that can be accessed from a computer. Disney also says that it will replace standard CD packaging with recyclable materials.
Copy protection
Although neither Disney nor Hollywood Records has said anything about DRM, the new disks are sure to have copy protection of some sort if they're to avoid falling victim to the online music-sharing major record labels want to combat. The first CDVU plus album will be a 7 August release from a punk band called Jonas Brothers.
Quite why the marketing department behind CDVU plus thinks this offers anything of value in 2007 is a mystery. Enhanced CDs that provide precisely the same extra content have been available since the early 1990s and we all know how popular they were.
More of the same
Moreover, if a PC is needed to access Disney's extras, isn't it obvious that the same or better material can be found with a simple Google search of the band in question?
As a Hollywood Records' spokesman said , "We really believe if you're going to give consumers what they want, we should do it in a way they're used to." Exactly - we already have access to what we want.
