Has anyone found a way to get music into the iTunes library on an iPhone without going through a computer?
To ameliorate the upcoming "don't steal music" and "use a computer you idiot" arguments, let me explain first why I ask:
The scenario is this. I sing barbershop music, along with 30,000 other male BHS members worldwide and I don't know how many females in Harmony Inc and Sweet Ad's. Thousands of chapters use a program called groupanizer, which is a web-based tool that, among many other functions, lets you store learning tracks online. Learning tracks are versions of songs recorded with voice parts separated out. We pay the creators of the track for their use within our chapter. Groupanizer lets us store them on a website where only authenticated users, ie legally entitled (as per the terms of our purchase of the tracks) chapter members can download them. Typically we end up with 12 tracks per song plus a .pdf of (similarly purchased and licensed for use within the chapter) sheet music.
So lots of us use computers, which is fine. Lots of us use iTunes to sync to our iDevices, which is fine also.
Some of our members, especially the seniors, only own an iDevice. They do not have a computer at all. Or, they travel many months of the year (snowbirds) and only take their iPad or iPhone with them, not their desktop computer which stays home. Or they travel on business under the same conditions, their work laptop is not their iTunes computer (by policy), that one is sitting at home being used by the family. So, new tracks are released by the chapter, and they want to download them as start working with them so that they have learned them when they return. Only, they can't, not with standard tools that I've been able to figure out.
So, I've given them a half-baked workaround of downloading an app that has a browser inside it to go to the site and pull the song down and store it locally. But now it's in a separate archive from all their other music, and requires them to learn and use a new app. Furthermore, most of us use other apps on the iDevice besides the standard one once the track is on there, to slow down tracks, cut out loop sections, change key, control balance, etc etc. These track manipulation apps all pull tracks from the iTunes library on the device, not the third party app that was used to download the song directly. So, with standard tools they can listen to the song, but not save it. With third party tools they can download it, but not manipulate it.
With PDF's it's easy, just hit "open in iBooks" and you're set, it's on the phone.
Why oh Why does Apple make this so hard with music?
We aren't thieves, this content is not and will never be offered on iTunes or any competitor of theirs, we aren't trying to cheat anyone.
Please somebody tell me I'm wrong, and there is a way to get music from a website into an iTunes library on an iDevice without a computer... without Jailbreaking.
To ameliorate the upcoming "don't steal music" and "use a computer you idiot" arguments, let me explain first why I ask:
The scenario is this. I sing barbershop music, along with 30,000 other male BHS members worldwide and I don't know how many females in Harmony Inc and Sweet Ad's. Thousands of chapters use a program called groupanizer, which is a web-based tool that, among many other functions, lets you store learning tracks online. Learning tracks are versions of songs recorded with voice parts separated out. We pay the creators of the track for their use within our chapter. Groupanizer lets us store them on a website where only authenticated users, ie legally entitled (as per the terms of our purchase of the tracks) chapter members can download them. Typically we end up with 12 tracks per song plus a .pdf of (similarly purchased and licensed for use within the chapter) sheet music.
So lots of us use computers, which is fine. Lots of us use iTunes to sync to our iDevices, which is fine also.
Some of our members, especially the seniors, only own an iDevice. They do not have a computer at all. Or, they travel many months of the year (snowbirds) and only take their iPad or iPhone with them, not their desktop computer which stays home. Or they travel on business under the same conditions, their work laptop is not their iTunes computer (by policy), that one is sitting at home being used by the family. So, new tracks are released by the chapter, and they want to download them as start working with them so that they have learned them when they return. Only, they can't, not with standard tools that I've been able to figure out.
So, I've given them a half-baked workaround of downloading an app that has a browser inside it to go to the site and pull the song down and store it locally. But now it's in a separate archive from all their other music, and requires them to learn and use a new app. Furthermore, most of us use other apps on the iDevice besides the standard one once the track is on there, to slow down tracks, cut out loop sections, change key, control balance, etc etc. These track manipulation apps all pull tracks from the iTunes library on the device, not the third party app that was used to download the song directly. So, with standard tools they can listen to the song, but not save it. With third party tools they can download it, but not manipulate it.
With PDF's it's easy, just hit "open in iBooks" and you're set, it's on the phone.
Why oh Why does Apple make this so hard with music?
We aren't thieves, this content is not and will never be offered on iTunes or any competitor of theirs, we aren't trying to cheat anyone.
Please somebody tell me I'm wrong, and there is a way to get music from a website into an iTunes library on an iDevice without a computer... without Jailbreaking.