To the Point

The Future of Copy-Protect Music

Digital technology allows computer users to make and distribute exact copies of the music they get on CDs. While music producers have attacked the practice as "piracy," consumers insist it's "fair use." In an attempt to stop it, the industry has developed a hidden electronic lock that prevents CD owners from producing an exact digital copy and burning it onto another CD or uploading it onto the Internet. Has a new generation of listeners been spoiled by technology? Should the industry establish subscription services and other new models for compensating artists? We talk with industry insiders, civil libertarians and cultural critics about the recording industry's assault on the digital reproduction of music. Newsmaker: Campaign Contributions and Enron-Andersen Inquiry Senate and House committees have both rushed to investigate the collapse of Enron and the involvement of Andersen, its big-five accounting firm. But today's Los Angeles Times reports that the companies' campaign donations to committee members could complicate the investigation. Mark Fineman wrote the story. Reporter's Notebook: Saudis Might Oust US One of Osama bin Laden's principal goals is to get the US military out of Saudi Arabia, which guards the holy places of Mecca and Medina. Today's Washington Post reports that the Saudis are "increasingly uncomfortable" with America's military presence. Robert Kaiser, who co-authored the story, attributes the discomfort to a divergence of strategic views.