EDIT: somone has already replied above.
Nope, you can't converted protected files like this.
Nope, you can't converted protected files like this.
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European Countries Up Pressure On iTunes, FairPlay
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Here is my two cents.
The only reason that Apple managed to make the iTunes Music store successful was because of their DRM. That got them to the table.
Apple took a gamble and it paid off. If they were to strip away the DRM today, there is nothing preventing a third party to step in with a new DRM and then the music industry can strong arm Apple to pay to use it. Even worst, what if each record label imposed their own DRM on Apple.
Please everyone look at the big picture. Apple is doing the right thing and since Apple makes more money from the US iTunes Music store, they can sit back in continue operating the way they are.
The only way I can see Apple dropping DRM from the iTunes store is that all of their current partners sign a one sided contract in Apple's favor which prevents them from forcing another DRM on Apple or pulling their content from the iTunes Music Store. Now what are the chances of that happening?
It's not as cut and dry as that. Businesses should have rights too or else I would be lobying for free products from every business out there because that's what I want. Are you saying that if you got enough citizens to lobby for that the government should step in and make it so?
P-Worm
If you don't like it then don't buy from iTMS, you have a choice. Apple is not limiting your choice about where to buy music, there is nothing wrong with what they're doing.
I don't buy music from iTMS, and I still don't think they should be forced to do business in a way that they don't want to as long as it's not unfairly restricting consumer choice. (which I think it is well established that there are many other ways you can buy music)
You forget this is NOT only aimed at Apple.
If these countries get their way, it will apply to ALL DRM formats.
If these countries get their way, it will apply to ALL DRM formats.
So if the majority of your fellow citizens decides to elect a leader that wishes to ban a certain people of a certain religion that would be ok? That'd be democracy right? Whatever the majority wants?
I think someone needs to look into just exactly why the founders of the US's greatest fear was a democracy. Democracy is majority rules. Chaos. Over here we're a rebublic, even though most citizens don't know it. Guaranteed rights no matter what the "majority" wants.
Yes, though the term they use is "Apple-authorized devices" rather than "iPod."
(Terms of Service > Usage Rules.)
I would fully support Apple making this extra clear to people who don't read agreements before accepting them. Apple could certainly phrase it in a non-scary way that touts iPods and iTunes as designed to work together. It need not be some off-putting red warning, but it could be less buried, for the sake of shoppers who don't already know about the tie between iTunes and iPods.
True--and that could be good for Apple, especially at the right time.
Possibly. I don't think my "freedom" is limited because I can still buy CDs and play them on a Zune or other MP3 player. I can play them on an iPod also. I just have to rip the songs from the CD a second time.
Not to change subjects, but I'm wondering if opening up the DRM (All of it, Apple, WMP, etc) would hurt the recording industry. Wouldn't there be even more opportunity to copy music illegally?? Would the recording industry have to work harder on copy protection?? (I honestly, don't know this aspect)
Yes, it's an inconvenience, but personally it's one I'm prepared to put up with. If you've a backlog of hundreds or thousands of purchases to get through using this method, than yes it's a real pain. But if you do it as you go along, it's not much of a hassle.
As part of the process, you also get an audio CD backup of all your purchased content... and come on now... blank CDs aren't exactly that expensive.
As much as I hate DRM... if it wasn't for DRM we wouldn't have iTMS in the first place... and I like iTMS.
SL
The citizens form the environment in which they want to live, yes. And the companies have to follow.
You're forgetting that if the government somehow forced all business to give up their work for free, they would never produce anything. And that's why that won't happen, because it's not in the interest of every citizen that thinks more than 1 week in advance.
Unless if you're talking about forced labour here, but that's a whole another level then...
Excuse me, but by following my steps, you are creating MP3 versions of the Protected AAC files, which you can drag or do whatever you need to do to get them on to your non-iPod.
We gain nothing.
But that's not the point. The point is that Apple has created a product that you can (1) buy, or (2) not buy. Simple as that. It's economics. All goods, even iTMS songs, have "utility", or usefulness, and we are willing to pay for them based on how much we value them.
If you have ever purchased a song from iTMS, and understood the conditions of purchase, then you have implicitly decided that it was worth 99c of your money to be able to play that song on your iPod (or burn to CD, or whatever). You made a decision to buy based on the value proposition offered by Apple.
You cannot demand that the terms of the sale be changed after-the-fact.
I would think that Fairplay already is popular enough for hackers to 'have a go' - and there isn't much of that going on at the moment.
Personally I'm thinking, having more Fairplay enable devices wouldn't change this current situation.
Personally I'm thinking, having more Fairplay enable devices wouldn't change this current situation.
Not to change subjects, but I'm wondering if opening up the DRM (All of it, Apple, WMP, etc) would hurt the recording industry. Wouldn't there be even more opportunity to copy music illegally?? Would the recording industry have to work harder on copy protection?? (I honestly, don't know this aspect)
Where am I importing them from? From an iPod?
Even if that's possible, I don't have one. And I was asking about playing music purchase on iTMS on my no-name players, not the music I necessarily have on my (non-existant) ipod.
You know what, I stand corrected. I've stayed away from MP3 files for years.
But actually the whole burn to CD method works too.
Sorry everyone.
This is great. The public needs to be educated about DRM. Once they understand it they will demand that it goes away. Once again the Eu leads in consumer rights. Here in the US we are stuck with "corporate rights" predominating.
The trouble is that music is protected by copyright. The point of copyright is so that only the author can publish his work. By law the consumer has the right to do most anything with the work except publish it but DRM greatly restricts the consumer from exercising his rights under copyright
Apple could actually find that they sell more if the DRM was removed. They'd gain me as a customer if they would only (1) remove the DRM and (2) offer better quality than 128kbps. I want it to be as good as a real CD.
The trouble is that music is protected by copyright. The point of copyright is so that only the author can publish his work. By law the consumer has the right to do most anything with the work except publish it but DRM greatly restricts the consumer from exercising his rights under copyright
Apple could actually find that they sell more if the DRM was removed. They'd gain me as a customer if they would only (1) remove the DRM and (2) offer better quality than 128kbps. I want it to be as good as a real CD.
but you are just wrong...unless you have some itunes hack I have not heard about.
Movies!
Someone should put pressure on Apple to make movies and TV shows available on iTunes in Europe.
Someone should put pressure on Apple to make movies and TV shows available on iTunes in Europe.
In this case it would be that both cars meet certain design requirements (safety, chassis size, power, etc) that allow them to be road legal.
Fairplay is a closed format. It's the fairest of DRM schemes, but it currently does lock you into a single-supplier ecosystem that does not benefit consumers. Hence Europe, which is far more consumer friendly than corporate America (which is far more biased towards personal-responsibility and personal-choices-and-living-with-the-consequences), will try and open it up. This doesn't mean that they will force the system to be completely open.
The rumours about Apple opening it up to select MadeForIPod manufacturers are probably true because of this. Apple will pick select companies to provide 'competition' to their products. This should be enough to get Europe off their backs, and is no different from any licensed media format (e.g., CD, DVD, ...).
This does mean that Zune will also have to be opened up when they enter Europe. Bad luck Microsoft - entering the closed DRM ecosystem at the time when Apple is just about to open it up.
It would seem that the record companies have loosened up. Other companies are selling without DRM from what I read here. But Apple is most likely still bound to their contract and in the end, they don't make money off the store. They make money off the appleTV, off the iPods, etc. If DRM were declared to be illegal here in the US, you can be the first fatality would be the iTunes music store.
BOTTOM LINE - I'm starting to feel like an old man. I paid more for freakin' cassette tapes that had 8 songs on them and wore out in a month. Copies? Copies of tapes sucked. Hell, the tapes themselves sucked. CDs? We didn't have no CDs. A CD player was a grand for the longest time.
The only songs we could buy for 99cents was a 45 rpm disc made of vinyl. Yeah, those lasted a long time. Nobody replaced them when they wore out. Nobody complained about their rights when they got scratched.
We're talking 20+ years ago and the price of music is cheaper and more available today than it ever has been. DRM. SO freakin what? You want the alternative? No iTunes MS?
A. I wonder how many people whined about those DRM protected CDs that had the side effect of not being able to play on certain CD Players, i.e., car CD players, portal cd players were often affected
B. I wonder how many people in (A) think that Apple are in their rights to keep iTMS music tied to Apple devices only?!
( kind of two faced , if you ask me!)
In scenario (A) - the media player came first ( i.e., cd players, iPod )- and then the affected media ( i.e., crippled ( drm ) CDs and fairplay music ) came second...
B. I wonder how many people in (A) think that Apple are in their rights to keep iTMS music tied to Apple devices only?!
( kind of two faced , if you ask me!)
In scenario (A) - the media player came first ( i.e., cd players, iPod )- and then the affected media ( i.e., crippled ( drm ) CDs and fairplay music ) came second...
I've probably spent about $2,000 at the iTunes music store. So for me to switch to a Zune I'd either have to lose out on that music, buy it again, or find a way to break the DRM.
So my current barrier to buying a non-Apple player is at $2,000 and rising. That seems like "unfairly restricting consumer choice" to me.
Now, I don't care since I'm never going to buy a non-Apple player. But just because I don't care doesn't mean it's not a problem for someone else.