Record industry sees fortune to be made

Press, 15 January 1982, Page 13

Record industry sees fortune to be made

By

BRUCE SANDHAM,

Features International

bottom out of the record market." Which is why the industry is sponsoring an international competition for gadgets to wreck the taping of records. But the treasure hunt will certainly not be easy. For the past 15 years, the best brains in electronics have been searching for a practical "spoiler” device — apparently without success. "But we still believe, based on the best technical advice, that some form of spoiler is practical. We are certain that it won't be too long before such a device is on the market,” says a member of the B.P.L.’s technical committee.

The idea of a spoiler first came to public attention through the Beatles. It was one of the main projects sponsored by their Apple Corporation, set up in the 1960 s to “stimulate worthwhile ideas.”

They employed an inventor named Alex Mardas and together filed a patent on a

device which would impose an ultrasonic signal on every Apple disc.

This would be too highpitched to be heard on normal replay, but would react with magnetic tape so that anybody trying to copy an Apple record would have their rape ruined by a piercing whistle. However, the plan was abandoned, although adaptations of this theory have surfaced several times since.

Other attempts to produce a spoiler have centred on the use of a magnet fixed into the record, usually underneath the label. This, it is claimed, confuses tape-re-corders. But this scheme, too, has been found to have its disadvantages — the interference on tape record-

ings can easily be filtered out.

Another difficulty is that other whistles employed by some systems are sb highpitched they cannot be incorporated into the cutting of a master disc. Broadcasters have complained that whistles or rumbles built into records would prevent them making recorded programmes. Despite such problems, the supporters of the spoiler are undeterred, and now the Recording Industry Association of America has asked universities and institutions specialising in electronics to build an anti-copy device. Also, a research project by the Wolfson Institute for Noise and Vibration Control at Britain's Southampton University has concluded: "It

should be possible to introduce a tone on to tape or cassette, though the process might slightly impair the product." A North London company. Design Electronics, believes it is close to winning the race to find a spoiler, and has produced a device which is now undergoing six months of trials.

Its managing director, Gerry Bron; says: “We have succeeded in putting a spoiler signal on to records produced by our own label, Bronze. Now we are testing to ensure that the device is compatible with other manufacturers’ equipment.” He says that the cost is likely to add about $lOOO to the total production bill for each record — a sum which would quickly be recouped if it did stop home-taping. One thing is certain: if someone does produce a spoiler which works, he will earn more gratitude — and probably more money — than the Beatles and the Bee Gees combined.