VELVET REVOLVER: First No. 1 Album In U.S. To Be Loaded With Anticopying Protections

June 18, 2004

VELVET REVOLVER's "Contraband" is the first No. 1 album in the United States to be loaded with anticopying protections, marking a clear step into the mainstream for the controversial technology, according to CNET News.

According to figures released by Nielsen SoundScan, VELVET REVOLVER's "Contraband" was the top-selling album in America last week, despite being prominently labeled on its cover as being "protected against unauthorized duplication."

As in earlier tests by BMG and SunnComm, the copy protection on the VELVET REVOLVER disc can be simply disabled by pushing the "Shift" key on a computer while the CD is loading, which blocks the SunnComm software from being installed. The companies say they have long been aware of the work-around but that they were not trying to create an unhackable protection.

According to SunnComm, few purchasers have complained about the anticopying tools, although angry postings on sites such as Amazon.com are common. The sticker on the front of the VELVET REVOLVER CD and a link inside the software that loads automatically on a computer, once a user has given permission, points to SunnComm's web site.

"We hear from less than half of one percent of people who have the VELVET REVOLVER disc," SunnComm CEO Peter Jacobs told CNET News. "Most of those questions are related to getting the songs onto an iPod." [Read more at CNET News]

The following are the first-week chart positions for "Contraband" around the world:

Canada: #1 (22,230 sold in week 1)
Australia: #2
Argentina: #2
Norway: #3
Sweden: #3
Spain: #6 int'l chart (22 overall)
Germany: #7
New Zealand: #8
Ireland: #8
Mexico: #8 (mix up retail chart)
Denmark: #9
Japan: #10 (6) second week in Top 10, Slither #7 (airplay)
UK: #11 (23,190 sold in week 1)
Italy: #17
Holland: #20
Switzerland: #22
France: #34 (#16 at Virgin, #18 at FNAC)
Belgium: #36

The second single off "Contraband", "Fall to Pieces", will go for radio adds in August.

(Thanks: Slash's World)

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