1998 Discover (Magazine) Technology Award Winner in "Sound"

[JHBrandt@aol.com]

I was chagrined to learn that Discover Magazine has given its 1998 Technology
Award, for the category of "Sound," to Joseph Winograd and Aris Technologies
for their "Musicode" system.

As I understand from the article (in the July 1998 issue), Musicode is a means
of placing a hidden digital message in an audio signal.  The apparent intent
is to "brand" a recording as copyrighted, so that future recording devices can
be designed to refuse to record such "branded" music.

Although the article wasn't really clear on this, Musicode seems to differ
from conventional steganography in that the "brand" can be detected even in
audio played back over a limited-bandwidth channel, such as FM radio.

The article claims that "Musicoded" audio is undetectable by the human ear.
I've heard that one before, so I'm skeptical: CBS had a similar system a few
years back which failed because audiophiles could hear the difference and
complained.  But even if Musicode is inaudible, the point is still that
Musicode is apparently intended to revoke or limit fair-use rights through
technological means.

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