CD pirates add blow-torches to arsenal

A US record company is battling pirates by issuing reviewers with portable CD players that are glued shut so that the disc cannot be removed.

Epic Records is sealing CD players and gluing headphones onto them to stop digital copies being made from promotional albums.

Many in the record industry believe that the leak in security comes from journalists handing music to pirates, or simply leaving pre-release CDs on their desks.

A spokeswoman for Epic told New Scientist: "Obviously we have a problem with piracy and this is one of the ways we're trying to address it. We're trying lots of things."

The albums involved are Riot Act by Pearl Jam and Scarlet's Walk by Tori Amos.

Some music companies are considering alternative methods to lure listeners away from downloading pirated songs.

Universal is to issue users with a unique code with each CD copy of Bon Jovi's new album, Bounce.

The number will provide access to a website with information on priority booking for concerts, as well as previously unreleased tracks.