Genuine or fake CDs? There is any way of knowing?

[yonatan yitzhakov]

How can I be sure that the music CD I bought is genuine and not fake?
(Eg from EBAY or any other CDs store)
There are special signs that can not be fake?
Special stickers?
There is any way of knowing at all?
You just have to trust the merchant?

[Wiseau]

Flip it over, does it look like a cd - r? you'll be able to see a slightly different coloured section where it's been burned.
Look at the clear section near the centre, on the back you'll see manufactured by.... etc there will be a barcodeque marking on it plus a catalogue number etched into it. Or just take it to a record shop and compare it.

[TSH-Tim]

Your probably be able to tell by the sound that comes out..... people who copy CD's don't care how it sound and will use a MP3 rather than WAV file. Maybe check if its a WAV

[ken long]

If you can be bothered, and you have a genuine copy to compare, you could generate a checksum and compare it against the offical copy. Of course, this will only tell you that it is an exact copy of the original. It still won't tell you if it is official. Other things to check would be barcoding and packaging quality but good counterfeiters have got this down now anyway.

If in doubt, buy it from a legit source because remember, you aren't technically entitled to sell on your CDs anyway cause you don't own the intellectual property on them and the license you pay for on CDs does not cover resale.

So, easy answer: if the seller is selling it new MUCH cheaper than a legit version, it's because it's not legit. If he's selling used - well then he's not technically allowed though I don't know how far eBay care.

[Guest]

If he's selling used - well then he's not technically allowed though I don't know how far eBay care.

I think eBay probably care even less than most car boot sale organisers care. Generally speaking, different rules apply if you were to sell stuff second-hand in a trade environment as opposed to a retail environment, obviously. I think 'resale' in this context is a bit misleading, as resale generally implies selling a second-hand item through a retailer (e.g. Game allow you to 'trade in' your unwanted games & DVDs which they then 'resell' to the consumer) and not for individuals selling their unwanted stuff as a one-off. Very much depends how the seller on eBay set himself up as to whether he's breaking a rule or not. If he's making a living out of it, then probably there is some issue, but if he's trying to get rid of some stuff he no longer wants because he's clearing out his loft I don't think anyone cares that much.

Regarding the OP's original question... I wish I could say there are easy ways to tell a fake CD from a genuine one, but these days it's very easy to make CDs look professional. It'll either be glaringly obvious (e.g. a label stuck to the front instead of being etched or printed, and a coloured reverse where it's been recorded onto a CD-R as one poster says) or it will be a very good attempt at making a perfect copy in which case I'm doubtful it would be easy to tell without examining it thoroughly in comparison with a 'genuine' article. Barcodes & numbers may be one way of telling a real CD - but, then again, there's nothing to stop someone from duplicating this onto a fake.

[dmills]

Ken, pretty sure you are wrong about not being allowed to resell.

What you CANNOT do is keep a copy and sell the original (or sell copies), if you sell the original and thereby deprive yourself of access to its contents) there is no copying and therefore copyright law is not a factor.

There used to be a thing called a "second hand record shop", which made a high street business out of reselling an early form of recording on a disk. See also "second hand bookshop".

For there to be a restriction on the first sale doctrine there would have to be an explicit contractual arrangement which surely does not exist when I pop into my local CD shop (No meeting of minds). Some software licenses for example restrict resale rights, but I have never heard of a music CD with that sort of license.

Regards, Dan.

[James Perrett]

Every CD from a reputable record company will have a small number on it which starts with IFPI. This will tell you which factory made the CD. If there is no IFPI number on it, and the CD was made in the last 15 years, it is probably a fake. Older CD's don't have IFPI numbers.

James.

[Age Of Audio]

Are there still people who fake CDs and sell them on ebay?
mmm 2011

[Kekusis]

crazy how im reading this in 2024, and still cant and probably wont be able to figure out if my copy of Late Registration by Kanye West is real since there are just not many of those in Ukraine, which is where i am from.

[ef37a]

Err...CAN you burn MP3 to CD? I didn't think so.

Re reselling pukkah CDs? I would bet most of those in charity shops have been copied? Cassette ripping of vinyl was of course what all the major record companies got their underwear in a twist over saying that it would "destroy the industry" Didn't of course, if anything it was us lot with our digital home recording kit! Well, the likes of Oldfield mainly.

Dave.

[Wonks]

Err...CAN you burn MP3 to CD? I didn't think so.

You certainly can and I did. Of course you need a CD player that will play back MP3s but I used a portable one for providing pre-gig, interval and post-gig music. I could get a lot more music on a CD if I used MP3 format, so I never needed to take out a CD but just stopped and started it as necessary.

[ef37a]

Err...CAN you burn MP3 to CD? I didn't think so.

You certainly can and I did. Of course you need a CD player that will play back MP3s but I used a portable one for providing pre-gig, interval and post-gig music. I could get a lot more music on a CD if I used MP3 format, so I never needed to take out a CD but just stopped and started it as necessary.

Oh I see, playback is the issue. For my daughter's 40th my son made up about 4 hours of music on CD but backed up as MP3 on DVD and Mini Disc!

Dave.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Err...CAN you burn MP3 to CD? I didn't think so.

You certainly can and I did.

There are two options here, only one of which is a CD.

You can playback mp3 files, converting them to standard analogue or digital audio, load them into a DAW and make up a CD master in the usual way, for pressing as a CD or burning as a CD-R.

The audio is obviously degraded by the lossy mp3 sources, but if the bit-rate was high enough few would notice.

So yes, Dave, you could make a standard (red-book) CD from mp3 sources. I wouldn't recommend it, but it can be done.

But what Wonks is talking about is creating a CD-ROM containing unconverted mp3 files. Most modern CD/DVD players/transports can recognise the CD-ROM format and handle mp3 files (as well as jpeg images and various other things).

Years back I created CD-ROMs containing hundreds of mp3 files for use in my cars, with each disc carrying several hours of music.... but that format is not a (red-book) CD. Tiz a different thing, even though it is used in a similar way.

[ef37a]

Err...CAN you burn MP3 to CD? I didn't think so.

You certainly can and I did.

There are two options here, only one of which is a CD.

You can playback mp3 files, converting them to standard analogue or digital audio, load them into a DAW and make up a CD master in the usual way, for pressing as a CD or burning as a CD-R.

The audio is obviously degraded by the lossy mp3 sources, but if the bit-rate was high enough few would notice.

So yes, Dave, you could make a standard (red-book) CD from mp3 sources. I wouldn't recommend it, but it can be done.

But what Wonks is talking about is creating a CD-ROM containing unconverted mp3 files. Most modern CD/DVD players/transports can recognise the CD-ROM format and handle mp3 files (as well as jpeg images and various other things).

Years back I created CD-ROMs containing hundreds of mp3 files for use in my cars, with each disc carrying several hours of music.... but that format is not a (red-book) CD. Tiz a different thing, even though it is used in a similar way.

Yes Hugh I was aware that I could convert (but not improve!) an MP3 file to 16 bit wav and burn that to CD with bogo standard burning gear like Nero.

Many moons ago I tried some CD RW discs but found they needed clean room conditions if you expected to erase and use them twice!

Dave.

[MarkOne]

On the subject of fake or not. We have a Tascam rack-mount CD/Tape combo in our church live rig, and it's so fussy! If it isn't a fully redbook compliant disk it just throws a DISK ERROR message on the display.

The times I've been handed a backing track by someone and asked to use it - only to find that it's burned on a PC and won't play are numerous.

[ef37a]

On the subject of fake or not. We have a Tascam rack-mount CD/Tape combo in our church live rig, and it's so fussy! If it isn't a fully redbook compliant disk it just throws a DISK ERROR message on the display.

The times I've been handed a backing track by someone and asked to use it - only to find that it's burned on a PC and won't play are numerous.

I have a very early Philips CD player and that is just the same, not done it for years but I think it was high speed copies it objected to. Must dig the player out and give it a blow. Not many years later el cheapo Blasters and music centres would play anything!

Dave.

[Hugh Robjohns]

It's often due to a weakened laser, a degraded sensor, or dust in the optics.

The signal extracted from the disc itself is analogue, of course — a continuously varying level of light. If that level is too low it gets buried in noise and the digital circuitry can't decode the data correctly, so refuses to play it.

[BigRedX]

Even if it's a CDR doesn't necessarily mean that it's a fake CD. Many short-run CD releases are done on CDR - IIRC the crossover point is somewhere around 300 units at which point 500 proper manufactured CDs becomes more cost effective. Probably half the CDs I've bought in the last 10 years have actually been CDRs simply because of the nature of the bands I listen too.

[sonics]

crazy how im reading this in 2024, and still cant and probably wont be able to figure out if my copy of Late Registration by Kanye West is real since there are just not many of those in Ukraine, which is where i am from.

It should have genuine barcodes near the centre of the disc I would think.
More details of releases can be found on Discogs.

[awjoe]

Every CD from a reputable record company will have a small number on it which starts with IFPI. This will tell you which factory made the CD. If there is no IFPI number on it, and the CD was made in the last 15 years, it is probably a fake. Older CD's don't have IFPI numbers.

James.

I checked this, and it's true. It's also stamped/printed on the clear plastic portion of the disk in the smallest font in the world, so it helps to have an elf or fairy with a magnifying glass to read it for you.

[HoneyButter]

So I’ve just unboxed a Taylor Swift 22 cd single I bought from a reseller a while back and there’s no IFPI number. Problem is, I can’t seem to find any images online which show the back of the disc so I’ve got no way of knowing if mine is fake. The CD was sealed when I received it but all my other TS CDs have the IFPI so I’m worried it’s fake. It does still have a code on it with her initials like the others do but what’s odd is that this cd has the time and date etched on in tiny writing. Half of me thinks it’s fake but given how every copy which sells online is sealed, I think I’d have to just stick with it even if it is.

[sonics]

It looks like some (all) of the promo releases are copied to CDr, so they won't have those numbers. It also makes them easy to fake. The US release would appear to be a CD. Which is yours, and have you checked on Discogs?

[HoneyButter]

Mine is definitely the official cd. It’s the numbered edition but Discogs only has photos of the sleeve, not the disc. If I could just see the back of the disc online somewhere, I’d feel more relaxed about it. I bought it sealed so I’ve no reason to think it’s fake other than it has no IFPI code whereas all my other singles from her do.