Apple drops anti-copying measures in iTunes

[msbae]

http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/...ple.php?page=1

DRM goes the way of the technological dinosaur. Goodbye and Good riddance.

- msbae

[billcosby]

Wow!
For reals? This sets a precedent...

[J. Allen]

msbae wrote:

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http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/...ple.php?page=1

DRM goes the way of the technological dinosaur. Goodbye and Good riddance.

- msbae

That is awesome news!


J.

[Newspaper Taxi]

What about all of the songs that I purchased that already have iTunes' DRM-hexes on them? Will there be some kind of system update to purify them them or am I out of luck? I've never been terribly clear on how this copy protection stuff works.

[Arrqh]

There is, but you have to pay $0.30 per track... and you have to convert your entire library, you can't pick certain songs. Though I'd imagine if you have lots of songs from iTMS then DRM isn't a big priority for you anyway

Anyway, I'm very surprised that Apple did this and they get a big thumbs up from me for it! I'm not thrilled about the introduction of the tiered pricing scheme though, largely because I'm afraid it'll ripple down into the other online music stores.

[Chess Piece Face]

A few things about this (which is great news, I agree)...Apple never wanted
drm in the first place. It's just that now they have finally gotten the 4 big music cartels to agree to take it off (as well as hundreds of indies).

And there was always a simple way to take it off.

Step 1 - Buy album on iTunes.
Step 2 - Back it up to CD.
Step 3 - Delete album from computer.
Step 4 - Import album from your physical CD backup into the computer - it is now DRM free and can be played as many times in as many places as you want.

Yes it is an extra step but you should be backing up your cd's anyway.

Bottom line - GREAT NEWS!

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Arrghman wrote:

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There is, but you have to pay $0.30 per track... and you have to convert your entire library, you can't pick certain songs. Though I'd imagine if you have lots of songs from iTMS then DRM isn't a big priority for you anyway

As I've only purchased 8 albums from the iTunes Store, I opted for the upgrade at about £2 per album. The upgrade increases the bit rate from 128 to 256kbps so I don't feel cheated.

[Lindley]

Arrghman wrote:

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Anyway, I'm very surprised that Apple did this and they get a big thumbs up from me for it! I'm not thrilled about the introduction of the tiered pricing scheme though, largely because I'm afraid it'll ripple down into the other online music stores.

As I understand it, tiered pricing was the trade-off demanded by the music companies for dropping the DRM. The recession combined with reduced music sales in general was apparently enough to convince them to finally make that swap at least.

[msbae]

I've never purchased anything from iTunes, and I don't plan to, either. There isn't much point in doing so when you own hundreds of CD's...

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

I use Amazon MP3. Glad to see iTunes has finally caught up! :thumbsup:

[Arrqh]

Lindley wrote:

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As I understand it, tiered pricing was the trade-off demanded by the music companies for dropping the DRM. The recession combined with reduced music sales in general was apparently enough to convince them to finally make that swap at least.

Then why has Amazon had DRM-free tracks for so long?

[Lindley]

Well, at least one article I read interpreted the music companies' intransigence on that point as an attempt to let other outlets catch up with and provide competition to iTunes.

Also note that Amazon already uses the variable-pricing scheme which iTunes will now employ.

[Chess Piece Face]

Arrghman wrote:

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Then why has Amazon had DRM-free tracks for so long?

The music companies didn't want Apple (or anyone probably) to hold all the cards. They didn't want to be dictated to, they were used to doing the dictating. So they let other outlets have it but not iTunes because Apple would not agree to their tiered price structure. I guess something changed that now.

And Apple has had DRM free music from EMI for a while now.

[CuttingEdge100]

Anyone read about the ACTA treaty?

[msbae]

CuttingEdge100 wrote:

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Anyone read about the ACTA treaty?

I just browsed at the Wiki article on that treaty. Of all the major countries that are taking part in the negotiations, China isn't among them. I wonder why...