Industry Minister Jim Prentice introduced new copyright legislation that is meant to deal with "iPod Nation". There's a component of this new legislation that really has me concerned. It's has to do with the ripping of store-bought CDs to MP3.
I'm a ripping machine. For the past five years I've been digitizing music from legally purchased store-bought CDs. I personally place the CD in my drive and rip each track to MP3 as per my preferred specifications using a piece of software called Audiograbber. I even have a script that automatically updates this web page with the names and tracks from every disc I rip. If you want to read more about this passion of mine, check out my MP3 collection category.
This new legislation being introduced by our Conservative government will make it illegal to copy a compact disc or DVD to a personal digital device such as an iPod - even if a consumer has already paid for the CD or DVD – if it involves breaking a so-called digital lock to make the copy. People caught hacking digital locks would face penalties of up to $20,000.
$20,000 because you took the new Foo Fighters CD you bought at HMV and ripped it to MP3 for use on your iPod. That's some scary shit.
