[tnmike1]

Just upgraded my Itunes and Lo and Behold we now have a DRM-free Itunes Plus site with the offer to upgrade our entire library with higher-grade audio??

Anyone researching this new stuff?? Didn't have time right now to noodle thru it all but will later tonite. Meanwhile, looks like it may be a worthwhile improvement over the "old" Itunes

 

[RubenNYC]

The only thing I've read so far is that all DRM-free tracks purchased are tagged with the name of the purchaser. That way, if these "DRM-free" tracks end up on some random music pirate's collection, they can trace it back to the original buyer.

 

[pentachris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RubenNYC /img/forum/go_quote.gif The only thing I've read so far is that all DRM-free tracks purchased are tagged with the name of the purchaser.

Name and email address.

 

[deskim]

Also, right now they only have a very limited selection of DRM-Free tracks. Also if I remember correctly they are supposed to be higher bit-rate too.

 

[shigzeo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RubenNYC /img/forum/go_quote.gif The only thing I've read so far is that all DRM-free tracks purchased are tagged with the name of the purchaser. That way, if these "DRM-free" tracks end up on some random music pirate's collection, they can trace it back to the original buyer.

i can only see a plus from this actually. they are drm free but tagged for the user. if the user is a pirate, the user will have to defeat the tagging. if not, there is no reason to even be uptight about the tagging

 

[RubenNYC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif i can only see a plus from this actually. they are drm free but tagged for the user. if the user is a pirate, the user will have to defeat the tagging. if not, there is no reason to even be uptight about the tagging

One thought occurred to me, though: This could put the less informed at risk. I can imagine Joe Teen jumping on the DRM-free bandwagon to build up his music collection, then one day decide it's time to get a new pc. Joe Teen is no techno-geek and knows nothing about how to wipe his data off the hard drive before shipping his old gear to the highest ebay bidder. Now, Jay Pirate, who legitimately bought Joe's used pc has a bunch of "DRM-free" tracks, literally with Joe's name on them, to "share" any way he pleases.

As with everything else, education is the key.

 

[oicdn]

See this thread:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=243118

Talked about quite a bit...

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by deskim /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... Also if I remember correctly they are supposed to be higher bit-rate too.

256 AAC

 

[jasoncpe]

I still think it is pretty useless in that you can't download lossless, yet you are paying so much and still have to burn your own. Plus, only a small portion is available with the higher bit rate.

Once you can download lossless DRM for a price below or at CD level (they can make it a little higher if you just buy individual songs), then they'll have me. I think we'll get there some day. Otherwise, just patiently waiting for someone else (maybe Amazon) to do it.

 

[tk3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasoncpe /img/forum/go_quote.gif I still think it is pretty useless in that you can't download lossless, yet you are paying so much and still have to burn your own. Plus, only a small portion is available with the higher bit rate. Once you can download lossless DRM for a price below or at CD level (they can make it a little higher if you just buy individual songs), then they'll have me. I think we'll get there some day. Otherwise, just patiently waiting for someone else (maybe Amazon) to do it.

Agree, I've never used a online buying store like this either, and doubt I ever will until you can get lossless without some hidden "benefits".
Although it's probably not profitable for Apple to sell lossless files considering file size/price ratio, and besides that, the average Joe doesn't care that he's getting 128, 256 or "lossless".

 

[GAD]

I've seen a lot of teens use iTunes, and very few of them care about buying entire CDs. All the teens (and more than a few adults), only care about the one song they heard on the radio. For them, and I would guess most users of iTunes, buying 1 song is cheaper than buying the whole CD, so this makes the most sense for Apple.

GAD