OpenMG

[3] It is compliant with the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) version 1.0 industry group specification formed in February 1999.

OpenMG consists of a "check-in" and "check-out" system, whereby a music file can be transferred from a computer to up to three portable devices.

Side effects include user complaints of being locked out of their own original recordings, unable to transfer them to the computer.

With some Sony portable audio players it is not possible to directly drag and drop the desired tracks to the device's visible directory.

[6] A Wall Street Journal article that reviewed the Sony VAIO Music Clip player in 2000 noted that the OpenMG and MagicGate technologies "treats users like criminals".