First BMG CMT disc released

With Warner and Emi lurking in the wings, BMG brags its Arista Records is "the company's first label in the U.S." to release a commercial CD using copy management technology.

Read that fast and it looks like 'first label in the US'.

At $14, "Anthony Hamilton's passionate, soulful performances" on Comin' From Where I'm From will be "will be appropriately labeled to inform consumers of the technology and the range of uses that can be made of the product," says the label - one of the Big Five.

"Until now BMG's U.S. labels have used copy management technology only on promotional CDs as part of their overall approach to protecting copyrighted content," it says in a puff release.

And lest we forget, "The consumer experience is BMG's top priority," says Thomas Hesse, BMG's 'chief strategic officer'. "Consumers who purchase this CD will have broad flexibility, including the ability to listen to it on a whole range of devices and players, and the ability to burn copies for their personal use.

"At the same time, this CD will not be able to be mass copied ... it is now possible to offer consumers the level of flexibility to which they have become accustomed while beginning to better protect our artists' rights."

Not only but also, "the disc will also feature SunnComm's PromoPlay Technology that allows consumers to share the music with a friend by providing the recipient with a link to the music, which can be downloaded and listened to for 10 days".