What is XCP?

XCP stands for eXtended Copy Protection.

XCP is a set of technologies designed to reduce the copying and distribution of audio CD content.

XCP was developed by First 4 Internet (F4i) and is utilized by Sony BMG and other music distributors.

XCP Versions

XCP1

XCP1 is utilized for pre-release CD's sent to radio stations and internal employees.

XCP1 Red

XCP1 Red prevents playback of an audio CD in personal computers. An XCP1 Red CD can only be played on a standard Red Book device, such as a regular CD player.

XCP1 With Digital Watermarking

XCP1 with Digital Watermarking enables record labels to insert almost undetectable signals into CD audio. When a CD protected with digital watermarking is released to the public, the record company is able to determine which copy of the CD was duplicated.

XCP2

XCP2 is designed for the protection of mass-market pressed CD's.

XCP2 allows each CD to be copied up to three times.

Circumventing XCP2

XCP is not actually able to write to the CD. Therefore, it must store the count of how many times a CD has been copied on the PC which does the copying.

Because of this, XCP2 is simple to circumvent by copying the CD on a different PC.

XCP2 also allows a CD to be "ripped" (copied to your hard drive) up to three times with compatible applications such as Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, and MusicMatch.

CD's which you burn from Windows Media Player of another PC application are not protected by XCP2. This makes XCP2 protection trivial to remove.

XCP2 is designed to prevent "casual piracy", and is not designed to protect audio CD's against determined attackers.