Worst marketing decision of the fall: Sony's Spyware CDs

This has been in a lot of publications and blogs lately, but I have to nominate Sony for one of the worst marketing decisions of the year. It's now been documented that Sony's copy-protected CDs secretly install spyware on user PCs -- spyware which will make their machine unbootable if removed the obvious way.

This was a bad decision on so many levels. First, it is a technology attack on the people paying money to Sony for its music products, i.e., Sony's customers. It does nothing to stop professional bootleggers, who will rip the CD bits from the traditional part of the CD. Secondly, it uses an inappropriate technology -- a rootkit -- that leaves the user's PC open to other attacks. And Thirdly, the spyware employed actually uses the user's internet connection to report back on his or her music listening habits.

Sony is now reaping bad PR and brand erosion from this poor marketing judgment. At the very least, I hope that the marketing manager who decided to employ that technology is now looking for a new job; it will take Sony Music months if not years to recover from this gaffe.

Technorati Tags: Marketing, Sony, CDs, DRM, Copy Protection