Weird sound in middle of song purchased from iTunes

[wordmunger]

I bought a Mozart piano concerto from iTunes a long time ago, and lately I've noticed something weird every time I play it. At first I thought some program running in the background was just alerting me to something (like an iCal event or some sort of error), but now I've figured out the sound is actually embedded in the audio file itself.

I think I've successfully put the sound into a quicktime file to remove DRM so you can hear it.

Sample sound.

It's just a 9-second clip and the sound is right in the middle.

Any one ever have this happen before? It's very strange!

[and let me know if you can play the movie]

 

[Mernak]

It is still DRMed, try burning it to a cd, then reimporting it, then shortening it to 9 seconds.

 

[pianoman]

i suggest e-mailing Apple. every time i've had a problem with a downloaded song, they've re-authorized the download for free.

 

[wordmunger]

Okay, I think I've fixed the file so you can listen to it.

I've never had any sort of problem with a download so this is a first to me. I still think it's quite strange... the song is perfect otherwise.

 

[gloss]

Whoa. That's freaky.

It almost blends, though.

Out of curiousity, have you crossreferenced with the original recording to check?

 

[Nermal]

That's an interesting sound, but it doesn't appear to be the usual "click", "pop" or "buzz" that you'd get from a damaged download. I encourage other people to listen to it, it's not what you expect!

 

[bartelby]

That is odd.

Like a lightweight orchestral stab.

At least it's short... and in key.

 

[wordmunger]

Okay, here's the update. I sent an email to iTunes and got a totally bizarre response.

Here's my email:

I purchased a song from iTunes a long time ago, but never realized there was a problem until now. It's a Mozart piano concerto performed by Mario-Ratko Delorko & Vestisches Chamberorchestra.

There's an odd sound in the middle of the final movement -- it sounds something like a Mac alert sound, which is why I hadn't noticed it before.

However, I can no longer find the song on iTunes, so I'm not sure if there's any way to fix it. Any suggestions?

Here's the first reply:

Dear David,

Thank you for purchasing from the iTunes Store. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I am unable to add the Mozart piano concerto back to your account.

The iTunes Store is not responsible for the loss of purchases and encourages customers to back up their hard disks regularly. If an item needs to be replaced, you can restore your purchases from the backup and avoid the need to purchase replacement copies of titles from your collection.

Additionally, please make back up copies of your new purchases on a regular basis. These articles explain the backup process:

How to back up your media in iTunes
http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n302392

Use a Smart Playlist to make regular backups of your music in iTunes
http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n93474

iTunes: How to backup and restore playlists
http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n93763

To learn more about purchasing on the iTunes Store, choose "iTunes Help" from the pull-down Help menu in iTunes. Click "Purchasing music, video, and more" on the right.

The iTunes Store Terms of Sale is available for your review at:
http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/sales.html

I hope that you continue to enjoy using the iTunes Store and have a
> wonderful day!

Sincerely,

Ruthie

Here's my response to her:

Hi Ruthie,

I don't think this is about backing my music up. The original file
has an odd artifact to it. I never changed the original file.

You can see what I'm talking about in the attached file. It's some
kind of weird chirping/error message.

Dave

And here's the most recent reply

Dear David,

Your request for a refund for "Mozart piano concerto" was carefully considered; however, according to the iTunes Store Terms of Sale, all purchases made on the iTunes Store are ineligible for refund. This policy matches Apple's refund policies and provides protection for copyrighted materials.

You can review the iTunes Store Terms of Sale for more information:
http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/sales.html

Thank you for contacting the iTunes Store. We appreciate you and your business. Have a wonderful day.

Sincerely,


Diane

So, basically, they're either totally blowing me off, or completely misunderstanding the problem. Not that I especially care about the sound, or the 99 cents, but I think they should be a little more concerned about the quality of their offerings than this.