iTunes to drop DRM - bit-tech.net Forums

CardJoe · 7th Jan 2009, 09:00

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2009/01...-to-drop-drm/1

Apple has made a surprising announcement at this year's MacWorld - all songs available on iTunes are to be made DRM free as of this quarter.

kenco_uk · 7th Jan 2009, 09:03

Well. Blimey.

sub routine · 7th Jan 2009, 09:07

WTF you have got to be joking me. Apple is gonna charge 30cents to allow you to unlock a tune you`ve allready purchased at a presumably more expensive price than this new variable rate will offer ???

they also want me to download the new firm ware for my ipod touch at the price of 5$ man apple are turning more and more into microtwats everyday.

liratheal · 7th Jan 2009, 09:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Article

tracks without DRM can be burned to CD

But you can already burn them to CD?

Gareth Halfacree · 7th Jan 2009, 09:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by liratheal

But you can already burn them to CD?

Only a lower quality version - as I understand it, iTunes deliberately degrades the quality when you burn to a CD, and you can only do it a limited number of times.

You can, of course, burn to a CD and then rip back to the hard drive - bypassing the DRM - but the quality loss remains.

StephenK · 7th Jan 2009, 09:29

I reckon they think most people who have bought a lot of songs on itunes with DRM probably don't require non DRM versions. This is really a hook for those of us who havent got an ipod, or people like me who havent purchased a single song from itunes or an ipod due to their DRM policy.

n3mo · 7th Jan 2009, 09:39

Why would anyone want to burn an audioCD from mp3?
Personally, I'm not interested in online music stores until they sell loseless quality tracks. Plus, 95% of music in them is just mainstream sewage so they are usless anyway. And I hate iTunes. And I will never let Apple earn a cent on me. And the list goes on

Magnatune is good tho. They have ogg, wav and flac, lots of good music (not mainstream, thankfully), no DRM, no ads all over, just a clean, good, fast and stable service. Every time i visit them I spend way too much.

naokaji · 7th Jan 2009, 09:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by n3mo

Why would anyone want to burn an audioCD from mp3?

To have the music in the car as well as at home.

Does itunes even use mp3 anymore? haven't they moved on to better quality yet?

30 cent to unlock your allready purchased music? have they gone completly mad?

wuyanxu · 7th Jan 2009, 09:43

so does this mean music on the ipod/iphone will also be DRM free? can i now browse the iphone and play music off it like any other MP3 based music player?

mclean007 · 7th Jan 2009, 09:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by naokaji

Does itunes even use mp3 anymore? haven't they moved on to better quality yet?

30 cent to unlock your allready purchased music? have they gone completly mad?

iTunes has never used MP3 (or, more specifically, the iTunes music store has never used it and the default format for ripped music is not MP3; iTunes will rip or import MP3 and you can play it on an iPod). It uses the technically superior, but less widely supported, AAC format instead.

To take issue with your "better quality" comment, while newer standards such as AAC and OGG Vorbis can offer improved encoding efficiency (better quality at the same file size or equal quality in a smaller file size) than MP3, it is widely accepted among audiophiles that the best implementations of the MP3 standard (lame v3.98) with suitable settings (-v2 or better) can produce results which are almost always perceptually transparent (indistinguishable from the original in a blind test) to the vast majority of listeners even using very high quality hi-fi equipment. See http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lame for more info.

n3mo · 7th Jan 2009, 11:02

It is so annoying when people say that mp3 is as good as loseless. It can't, the psychoacoustic model used in mp3 hasn't changed since it was created in 1991. AAC and Ogg are better, but lossy will always be lossy. If your hearing is not damaged by using an iPod and you have some good equipment (I mean good, not just randomly bought "cool stuff") it's extremely easy to hear. I never made one mistake in blind tests with mp3. High-bitrate Ogg is much harder, in some cases it sounds as close to loseless as you can get, but in certain conditions it is still possible to spot.

steveo_mcg · 7th Jan 2009, 11:08

Yeah but then you probably bought the high tension tympanic membrane with gold oxygen free nerve uplink upgrade.

kenco_uk · 7th Jan 2009, 11:56

With wooden knobs on

punkdown · 7th Jan 2009, 12:45

you could always use requiem to decrypt the songs for free

n3mo · 7th Jan 2009, 13:05

Really good =/= expensive. Not all audio enthusiasts masturbate with 10000$/ft cables

liratheal · 7th Jan 2009, 14:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gareth Halfacree

Only a lower quality version - as I understand it, iTunes deliberately degrades the quality when you burn to a CD, and you can only do it a limited number of times.

You can, of course, burn to a CD and then rip back to the hard drive - bypassing the DRM - but the quality loss remains.

I wasn't aware there was a quality drop. Shows how often I burn CD's with iTunes!

Quote:

Originally Posted by naokaji

30 cent to unlock your allready purchased music? have they gone completly mad?

I expect it's because they are 'performing' a service to you by enabling you to use the media in a different way - not entirely different, of course, but still different.

Aren't they also introducing a lower price tier?

As for quality - I'd like everything in FLAC, but since iTunes/iPods don't support that, well. Mp3 is my choice for media format, as it's more than likely to be supported by everything and everything else. Things like AAC and OGG are not always supported.

Sathy · 7th Jan 2009, 15:58

Never bought anything on iTunes so far. Why? DRM.
Maybe now I might....if it weren't for the fact that they don't really offer anything that would be of interest or unnattainable the traditional way...and...

Old users needing to pay to convert your already purchased songs with DRM to ones without DRM is a sad sad move, as I see it as ripping off (pun) already paying customers. Way to show your appreciation Apple.

Getting rid of DRM is a good move, but this is hardly doing it well an respectfully. I guess they like peeing in their own pool no matter what.

-EVRE- · 7th Jan 2009, 17:20

I've been saying it for years... anyone who continues to buy Apple are nuts..

way too expensive PC's, Laptops, music players.... etc
charge for every nitpicking software upgrade

yada yada.. its too bad linux hasn't really taken off, but a windows based PC is still way superior to a mac in usability.

I have a small Itunes collection... I started using the service to be a legit music purchaser... then I learned my lesson with the Ipod, the downgrade in music quality for CD burns. I REFUSED to pay $100 for a Ipod cable for my pickup's (great) stereo...

There is no way I will pay .30 to free my music from their grips.. I'll find other *less legal* ways to do it..

I hope Apple dies...

naokaji · 7th Jan 2009, 17:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by -EVRE-

There is no way I will pay .30 to free my music from their grips.. I'll find other *less legal* ways to do it..

Hmm, just an idea, but what if you would stream it to another pc via lan and then rip the stream? it might just be crazy enough to work, technically you woudnt even be doing anything illegal as you bought the music and woudnt be sharing it with anyone else.

RickDawson · 7th Jan 2009, 19:23

i've been getting my tracks from specialist sites, as the major sites dont have what I want.
i may look at itunes, but i still reckon it wont have what i want.
I'll stick with the sites I always use:
audiojelly.com
djdownload.com
trackitdown.net
beatport.com

7th Jan 2009, 09:00	#1
CardJoe Player Character bit-tech Staff Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 7,940	iTunes to drop DRM http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2009/01...-to-drop-drm/1 Apple has made a surprising announcement at this year's MacWorld - all songs available on iTunes are to be made DRM free as of this quarter. __________________ this is joe's non-bit-tech blog

7th Jan 2009, 09:03	#2
kenco_uk glourious bacon? Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Bourne, Lincolnshire, UK Posts: 6,292	Well. Blimey. __________________ MSI X58M - i7 920 4Ghz - 6GB Corsair - GTX260 648/2520 ::: Vote for bit-tech T - theevilelephant - "it sounded like bouncing around on a pogo stick, screaming in chinese while occasionally throwing a cat at a door."

7th Jan 2009, 09:29	#6
StephenK Nanomodder Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 224	I reckon they think most people who have bought a lot of songs on itunes with DRM probably don't require non DRM versions. This is really a hook for those of us who havent got an ipod, or people like me who havent purchased a single song from itunes or an ipod due to their DRM policy. __________________ Intel e6600 @ 2.4ghz \| 4gb Corsair Twin2X 6400C4 DDR2 \| Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro + Silver 5 \| Gainward 7950GT 256MB \| iiyama ProLite E2200WS \| Black Coolermaster Mystique 631 \| Corsair HX620 PSU \| Asus P5B Deluxe \| 1tb SpinPoint F1 Desktop + 320gb Samsung T166 \| X-Fi Xtreme Gamer \| Creative Inspire T6100 \| Samsung DVD±RW SH-S183A \| LG DVD ROM \| Logitech Mx5000 \|

7th Jan 2009, 09:43	#9
wuyanxu quad fuelled, GTX200 powered Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: in a room near Soton Uni. UK Posts: 3,938	so does this mean music on the ipod/iphone will also be DRM free? can i now browse the iphone and play music off it like any other MP3 based music player? __________________ Death to consolification !!!Core i7 860 @ 4Ghz Cooled by Corsair H50 // Asus P7P55D Deluxe // 8GB of Corsair Dominators @ 1528Mhz 8-8-8-24 // BFG gtx260+ OC2 MaxCore 216SP 896MB // Samsung 64GB SSD // WD Raptor 74GB + Black 1TB + Green 1TB // Corsair Hx620w // Antec p182 // Samsung 24" T240

7th Jan 2009, 11:08	#12
steveo_mcg What owl? Join Date: May 2005 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 3,975	Yeah but then you probably bought the high tension tympanic membrane with gold oxygen free nerve uplink upgrade. __________________ No boom today, boom tomorrow... there's always a boom tomorrow.

7th Jan 2009, 09:07	#3
sub routine Archie Gemel Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 149	WTF you have got to be joking me. Apple is gonna charge 30cents to allow you to unlock a tune you`ve allready purchased at a presumably more expensive price than this new variable rate will offer ??? they also want me to download the new firm ware for my ipod touch at the price of 5$ man apple are turning more and more into microtwats everyday.

7th Jan 2009, 09:39	#7
n3mo Multimodder Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 184	Why would anyone want to burn an audioCD from mp3? Personally, I'm not interested in online music stores until they sell loseless quality tracks. Plus, 95% of music in them is just mainstream sewage so they are usless anyway. And I hate iTunes. And I will never let Apple earn a cent on me. And the list goes on Magnatune is good tho. They have ogg, wav and flac, lots of good music (not mainstream, thankfully), no DRM, no ads all over, just a clean, good, fast and stable service. Every time i visit them I spend way too much.

7th Jan 2009, 11:02	#11
n3mo Multimodder Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 184	It is so annoying when people say that mp3 is as good as loseless. It can't, the psychoacoustic model used in mp3 hasn't changed since it was created in 1991. AAC and Ogg are better, but lossy will always be lossy. If your hearing is not damaged by using an iPod and you have some good equipment (I mean good, not just randomly bought "cool stuff") it's extremely easy to hear. I never made one mistake in blind tests with mp3. High-bitrate Ogg is much harder, in some cases it sounds as close to loseless as you can get, but in certain conditions it is still possible to spot.

7th Jan 2009, 11:56	#13
kenco_uk glourious bacon? Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Bourne, Lincolnshire, UK Posts: 6,292	With wooden knobs on __________________ MSI X58M - i7 920 4Ghz - 6GB Corsair - GTX260 648/2520 ::: Vote for bit-tech T - theevilelephant - "it sounded like bouncing around on a pogo stick, screaming in chinese while occasionally throwing a cat at a door."

7th Jan 2009, 12:45	#14
punkdown What's a Dremel? Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 4	you could always use requiem to decrypt the songs for free

7th Jan 2009, 13:05	#15
n3mo Multimodder Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 184	Really good =/= expensive. Not all audio enthusiasts masturbate with 10000$/ft cables

7th Jan 2009, 15:58	#17
Sathy Multimodder Join Date: May 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 163	Never bought anything on iTunes so far. Why? DRM. Maybe now I might....if it weren't for the fact that they don't really offer anything that would be of interest or unnattainable the traditional way...and... Old users needing to pay to convert your already purchased songs with DRM to ones without DRM is a sad sad move, as I see it as ripping off (pun) already paying customers. Way to show your appreciation Apple. Getting rid of DRM is a good move, but this is hardly doing it well an respectfully. I guess they like peeing in their own pool no matter what. __________________ Using: Core 2 Q6600 \| 2GB Corsair XMS \| GeForce 8800 GTS 512\| Antec Phantom 500

7th Jan 2009, 17:20	#18
-EVRE- Supermodder Join Date: May 2004 Location: Idaho U.S.A Posts: 343	I've been saying it for years... anyone who continues to buy Apple are nuts.. way too expensive PC's, Laptops, music players.... etc charge for every nitpicking software upgrade yada yada.. its too bad linux hasn't really taken off, but a windows based PC is still way superior to a mac in usability. I have a small Itunes collection... I started using the service to be a legit music purchaser... then I learned my lesson with the Ipod, the downgrade in music quality for CD burns. I REFUSED to pay $100 for a Ipod cable for my pickup's (great) stereo... There is no way I will pay .30 to free my music from their grips.. I'll find other less legal ways to do it.. I hope Apple dies... __________________ (Phenom II 940)(Foxcon A7DA)(8gb OCZ DDR2 800 )(8800gt aka hair dryer)(Big yellow case, CPU, GPU)(Enermax Liberty 500w)(lite-on DVD-RW w/LightScribe)(Seagate 300gb sata)(Seagate 320gb x2)(WD 200gb)(Dell 3007WFP 30"LCD, 19" Samsung, Acer 1280x720 projector)

7th Jan 2009, 19:23	#20
RickDawson I'm supposed to put words here ? Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Stockport, UK Posts: 419	i've been getting my tracks from specialist sites, as the major sites dont have what I want. i may look at itunes, but i still reckon it wont have what i want. I'll stick with the sites I always use: audiojelly.com djdownload.com trackitdown.net beatport.com __________________ Rick Dawson www.RichardDawson.co.uk - My Blog uk.YouTube.com/user/DJRickDawson - My YouTube Mixes