[ILikeMusic]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070605/...VNn7iV2GvMWM0F

Regardless of what you might think of the practice it's pretty sneaky to do this and not inform the buyer...

 

[wgr73]

Nice find. That is kind of stupid though...like they said, if your music (laptop, ipod) is stolen, you could be in for a major lawsuit against you! And some lady had the NERVE to say "It's a brilliant compromise". Lol, I don't think so.

 

[YamiTenshi]

Another reason to buy Red Book.

 

[matt8268]

Wow, good to know. That changes the game for me.

 

[Aevum]

it was all a sceme, the idea is that you get DRM free downloads, but at 30 cents more, most people with normal un amped ipods and normal ibuds wont notice the differance between 128 and 192kbit, and since they manage everything with itunes, they wont notice the differance between DRM and Non DRM music, all they will see is that they pay 30 cents more for nothing they can notice, so then EMI and Apple can go back to the public and say theres no demand for DRM free music, EMI can keep forcing their limitations on costumers, and apple can keep making sure that whoever has an ipod today has to have an ipod tommorow to keep his music,

the fingerprinting of the files is just a backup step to make sure the "DRM Free" tracks are controlled and tracked.

 

[Ahobaka]

That's cute. Good going.

Personally however, I'm not going to purchase any album/song online unless it's completely free of tracking and DRM software aswell as the buyer being able to choose what format/quality they want their songs/albums in with flexible prices for each step up/down in quality. A digital release should never be the same price as hard copy album, specially since they skip all the logistics etc.

Allofmp3 did the right thing when it came to that department, DRM free and varying prices and formats, but on the other hand they didn't pay any artists as far as I know, hence being more or less "pay for pirated music".

I wish other companies, and online stores would go in the same direction when it came to the many variations you could get your music in.

 

[zip22]

I really do not understand the outcry (and there are other threads discussing it).

Aevum, its 128kbps vs 256kbps, but you still have a point. I don't agree with it, but its an interesting contention. The intunes store was brought to its knees when they first opened up and I know plenty of people who are against DRM that were waiting for something like this. I do not think they will play it as you suggest.

Ahobaka, skip the logistics? you don't think any work goes into delivering itunes content? lets talk about servers, software, bandwidth, etc. there is plenty that goes into a digital release.

 

[Aevum]

the whole issue is that most people wont notice the quality increse, a pair of ibuds combined with the built in dac and amp dont have the quality to make that distiction,

as for the DRM, most people dont share their music and have 1 or 2 ipods at home with 1-2 computers with itunes, so they dont knock in to the DRM restrictions,

now, EMI wants to keep using DRM becuase it allows them to control music distribution, and apple wants people to buy protected tracks off itunes becuase they only function on a Ipod, and when that ipod runs out of steam, you either buy another ipod, or all your bought music goes down the drain, well, unless you start burning all your 128kbit music to CD and rerip them in EAC, which most people wont bother to,

 

[zip22]

as soon as you have 2 computers you run into the DRM issue. with itunes plus, you would not need to authorize the second computer to play the music. not a large issue, but its just the tip of the iceberg. i think there are plenty of power users who really wanted the convenience of itunes without all the DRM issues.

EMI does not want to use DRM. they are the ones pushing, not apple. they are releasing their content without DRM in more outlets than just itunes. this is not apple's grand lock-in plan.

 

[scompton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zip22 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I really do not understand the outcry (and there are other threads discussing it).

I also don't understand the outcry. If you're not planning on sharing the music, what's the problem. Just because it's DRM free doesn't mean you can share it. It just means you can play them on a Zune or other player that can play non-DRM AAC.

 

[kikkomang]

I think the DRM free music is a great step in the right direction. So what if it embeds the aac file with your User tags. At least I can put that file on other players instead of just one.

 

[ILikeMusic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scompton /img/forum/go_quote.gif I also don't understand the outcry. If you're not planning on sharing the music, what's the problem. Just because it's DRM free doesn't mean you can share it. It just means you can play them on a Zune or other player that can play non-DRM AAC.

I hope that you have perfect control of your files. As was already mentioned, you may not plan on sharing anything but if you lose your laptop, or someone just grabs some files off of your computer without your knowledge, etc., you could end up with your files on a peer share system somewhere and have files tagged with your name and email address all over the world in a few days. And then maybe the RIAA decides to threaten you with a lawsuit (remember they don't need any proof of ill intention on your part in order to sue and and extort you for a settlement, in fact that's their favorite game.)

Then just keep your files safe you say? Any IT pro will tell you that is much easier said than done. And you might not even be aware of the exposure if you don't even know your files are tagged, and we wouldn't know if someone hadn't blown the whistle on Apple. If none of this bothers you, fine, but surely you can understand why it just might bother some others.

And as I said in the OP, even if you agree with the tactic what would be the excuse for not (at the very least) informing the buyer that personal info is being embedded in purchased tracks? It's no wonder that consumers are getting tired of this crap.

 

[zip22]

if someone steals your car, you report it. if someone steals your laptop, report it. you aren't responsible for the actions of the criminal who stole your car, the RIAA won't have grounds to sue you for your stolen laptop.

don't even know your files are tagged? the info shows up if you right click and "get info" (just like it does on the fairplay versions). also, have you read through the EULA? i am willing to bet it is in there.

 

[MiG(TM)]

Just rip out the info.

Could probably create a program to do it in no time, surely it can't be that hard ? it will probably be either hidden in the ID3 tag or at the End of the MP3 file after the closing data.

Really, apparently this is in the DRM'd music as well, so who cares.

 

[wgr73]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILikeMusic /img/forum/go_quote.gif I hope that you have perfect control of your files. As was already mentioned, you may not plan on sharing anything but if you lose your laptop, or someone just grabs some files off of your computer without your knowledge, etc., you could end up with your files on a peer share system somewhere and have files tagged with your name and email address all over the world in a few days. And then maybe the RIAA decides to threaten you with a lawsuit (remember they don't need any proof of ill intention on your part in order to sue and and extort you for a settlement, in fact that's their favorite game.) Then just keep your files safe you say? Any IT pro will tell you that is much easier said than done. And you might not even be aware of the exposure if you don't even know your files are tagged, and we wouldn't know if someone hadn't blown the whistle on Apple. If none of this bothers you, fine, but surely you can understand why it just might bother some others. And as I said in the OP, even if you agree with the tactic what would be the excuse for not (at the very least) informing the buyer that personal info is being embedded in purchased tracks? It's no wonder that consumers are getting tired of this crap.

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