Contrary to widely held industry beliefs, US consumers are not completely antagonistic toward the concept of copy-restricted music CDs - provided these CDs come with incentives such as a reduced price, a market research firm said. Its just a matter of the proper bait and consumers are convinced to accept a restriction they were believed to strongly oppose: According to a new report released by Parks Associates 60 percent of surveyed people said they would prefer "copy-once CDs" over CDs without copy protection - provided, the copy-once CDs come with a $5 discount.

"The music industry proceeded with the idea of copy-protected CDs very cautiously last year, releasing only 10 million in the US," said Harry Wang, research analyst at the market research firm. "They were slow to deploy out of the concern that consumers would reject such a product. But our research indicates that it might be time for the industry to promote copy-protected CDs more aggressively, provided they can find the right price points, or other incentives that will attract consumers."

The report concludes that a long-term success of any digital rights management depends on a solution that balances content owner's interest to protect copyrights and consumer's need to enjoy music in the ways that they want. The copy-restricted CD would be such a move, according to Parks Associates. "Our findings might indicate the start of a transition for consumers to embrace the concept of copy-restriction in music consumption," Wang said.