Why are Sony acting so stupid?

Recently (Q4 2005) Sony have been forced to recall a series of CDs that installed rootkit ("invisible" to the consumer) software onto their customers PCs that prevented the customers from making copies of their music. As we re-state repeatedly on dukebox.com - you have the right to make copies of music you have purchased for your own use. On to CDs. Offa CDs. Onto vinyl if you so choose. You don't have the right to give those copies to your mates, or sell them at a car boot sale, but you have the right to make copies for your own convenience. Sony's software took that right away. Without asking.

Not only that (which is bad enough, lets face it) Sony's software trick prevented consumers from copying music onto other MP3 players, like the Apple iPods. We're not finished yet: Even more stupidly, it appears that Sony BMG used a company to make the rootkit software, and that this company stole a sizeable portion of the code that they used to make the anti-copy software! Who did they steal it from? Hackers!!! Incredible.

Let's hope whomever pulled the trigger on the overall decision, and some of their minions, have had their heads handed to them on a platter. What an idiotic move. Why would a company do something so stupid?

The reason why Sony have started treating customers like criminals - stupid criminals at that - is tied into why they're so late to come out with a seriously good jukebox:

Electrical devices, like the Walkman and the PSP only make up a portion of the Sony Empire. Another huge portion is made up of music recording and distribution. Sony, like all the other big music labels and distributors took a "wait and see" attitude to the Internet, primarily because digital media, such as MP3s, is so easy to copy and sell as-new.

No-one wanted to be the first company to shoot themselves in the foot by giving the pirates a ready supply of seed-media from which they could make their clones. So they all sat on their hands.

Many companies have launched versions of DRM (read more about DRM in general here) but Sony's has been the most evil so far. They have since retreated from this stance and offered replacement CDs without the rootkit software to their customers.