“If you’re a customer of Apple’s iTunes digital music store, you will eventually reach that point of no return where you’re basically committed for life to Apple’s DRM scheme known as Fairplay [sic]. What this means is that you’ve contributed to ensuring Apple’s legacy because the only digital music players that will play the music you’ve purchased are the ones that include Apple’s Fairplay — a technology that Apple not only controls, but licenses to third parties on a very selective basis. Today, outside of Apple’s iPods and its Windows and Mac-compatible iTunes software, the recently announced iTunes-compatible Motorola Rokr phone is the only non-Apple product I know of that’s capable of playing iTunes store-bought songs,” David Berlind blogs for ZDNet.
“Whether your a high end audiophile like me, or just want to take your digital entertainment to go, the state of the state is producing an untenable situation for digital content buyers. In my case, DRM-wrapped digital content is entirely defeating the elegance of having the centralized whole-home entertainment system that I’m trying to put in. Instead of having a single digital content server to serve up all my music and movies, regardless of where I buy them from, I need special extenders like docks so that something Fairplay-compliant like an iPod can be connected to the whole system and “browsed” as a separate source of audio. Uh, that wasn’t the idea folks,” Berlind blogs.
Berlind continues blogging here.
Ensuring Apple’s legacy? Where do we sign up? Oops, we already did, .Mac membership give us an Apple account for purchasing iTMS content. Two quick points: Besides iPods and Macs and Windows PCs, iTunes Music Store customers can burn as many custom CDs as they wish, so nobody’s “committed for life to Apple’s DRM scheme known as FairPlay.” Secondly, “high-end audiophiles” generally don’t buy compressed 128kbps music files. They buy vinyl or CDs and use something like Apple Lossless for CD-quality audio in about half the storage space. You can thank the music labels, not Apple, for the existence of DRM, without which they’d never have signed onto the iTunes Music Store. Would it be nice to have DRM-free music sold online that nobody would download without first paying the artists (and the labels)? Sure. It it going to happen? No.
Related articles:
Apple’s vs. Microsoft’s music DRM: whose solution supports more users? – August 17, 2005
Apple’s roadkill whine in unison: ‘incompatibility is slowing growth of digital music’ – August 13, 2005
The New Zealand Herald serves up a steaming pile of iPod FUD – August 11, 2005
Apple’s iPod and iTunes competitors continue whining about FairPlay – February 07, 2005
The de facto standard for legal digital online music files: Apple’s protected MPEG-4 Audio (.m4p) – December 15, 2004
As long as iTMS is 128-bit AAC, that limits my buying to pop tunes and guilty-pleasure songs. For classical and jazz, going CD is a must. That hasn’t prevented me from buying about 70 or so songs from iTMS, but the CD still has a place in the market.
That being said, DRM wouldn’t be an issue if it weren’t for the greedy music companies. It’s not like Apple has a choice in offering non-DRM’d music. So rather than blame the vendors, why not direct the wrath at the music companies, who would like consumers to think that their hands are clean in this matter?
sigh. MDN, drop the “you can always rip iTMS songs to CD” argument. It’s a crap argument that will never fly long-term. Imagine if you bought a CD, but in order to play it the way you want to play it, you first had to transfer it to tape. Same thing here, only a little easier. In both cases, it blows for the consumer. The only reason you don’t profess to hate it is because you’re blinded by your Mac zealotry.
The author raises a serious issue, and it is one of the primary reasons why I have stopped buying music from iTMS. Truth is, we don’t know where DRM will be in 5 years. I don’t want to run the risk of having a bunch of songs I can’t play when I can spend a little more on a CD that has no DRM, and is of a much higher audio quality. (Audio quality is, incidentally, the other reason I stopped buying.)
Here’s the real issue…
“Apple’s Fairplay — a technology that Apple not only controls, but licenses to third parties on a very selective basis.”
Yes, DRM is not going away. Apple needs to license Fairplay to other companies in addition to Motorola.
And in the future, many CDs will become harder and harder to find. iTMS won’t have everything, so you may have to eventually buy from a competing music store. Yes, you can always burn to a CD and import, but that shouldn’t be necessary.
Apple can’t and shouldn’t force the consumer to have to purchase all Apple products just to get things to work
Apple needs to license Fairplay to other companies in addition to Motorola.
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No they dont but they’ve publicly said they WILL when those ‘other companies’ get any measurable marketshare
hairbo,
CD-R 100 pack = $29.99 (I’m sure there are better deals out there, too), so 29-cents and a couple of minutes to burn one is hardly an issue.
As stated, DRM is here to stay, get used to it. And Apple’s is the best for the consumer by far.
Eventually, it will all be FairPlay. The iPod numbers will dictate it.
It’s not a matter of devices, it’s a matter of file formats. As long as Apple or MS don’t open up their formats, your DRM-ed music will never be yours.
MDN’s a broken record, so I shall be, too:
Apple *offering* the “whole widget” experience: wonderful
Apple *requiring* the “whole widget” experience: anti-competitive and anti-consumer.
Agreed, high end audiophiles dont buy MPEG compressed audio. Most of them are still using reel-to-reel or some other non-ubiquitous technology. They dont even like CD’s.
This guy is just a whiner. Probably paid off by MS.
Dream Lover,
not the point. So not the point. I don’t care that I can do it. Of course i can do it, but I don’t *want* to do it, and more importantly, I don’t want to *have* to do it just to be able to play the music where and how I want to.
I don’t need to say much. ITMS provides us well enough music. ipod is the world number one digital music player. that’s all it says.
none of internet service privide ipod? its’ the same as ITMS, too. so it’s fair game.
I *HATE* that when I need to drive to Boston from DC, the shortest way is to drive through NYC. Can’t the government come up with a wormhole that transports me right from my driveway to Bean Town? I know I can drive through NYC. I just don’t WANT to.
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MW: last. Let’s hope FairPlay lasts longer than those other majigs.
Hammer is right. When CD’s first came out “audiphiles” complained that the CD format ruined fidelity.
In effect anyone that complains about loss of fidelity for compressed music is blowing smoke out of their a**, especially if they are comparing it to CD’s which are compressed, by definition.
PT, don’t be dumb. You know that’s different.
Does buying a CD mean I’m tied to CD players for the rest of my life?
What the hell is wrong with these bedwetters? I mean, come on….
We bought vinyl, 8 track, cassettes, CDs, all without the cries of doom about format longevity. Every format will eventually be replaced by something newer and shinier. The record companies will be able to sell their re-packaged products all over again.
These idiots have nothing to do but complain?? Their point/argument sure is stupid.
Just shut up and enjoy the music!
How can the hypocritical writers here at MDN continue spewing the same crap over and over again?
Ripping iTMS tracks to CD and then back to a digital format again is NOT a solution.
Why should someone have to further degrade the quality of purchased music to play it on another digital music player if they choose one day to not use the iPod?
How could you defend this?
Say what we all know, unless Apple licenses FairPlay out your only choice to move music to another player is to further cripple it’s quality.
So yea, that is just a bit “locked in”.
Let’s not forget… people can always use the method of buying music in a store (I think they’re called CD’s, but it’s been awhile since I’ve bought one) and rip it onto a computer for personal use. Of course, the labels are trying to make that as impractical as they can, so this might not be a solution at all in a year or two. The way I see it, there aren’t a lot of industries that face the challenges that the recording industry does, and there aren’t too many customer service models that are set so squarely on being as limiting and just plain mean to their customers as the record labels.
What a mess…
good job- theres no degrading if you know what youre doing… the purchased music is already compressed… you obviously dont know much about what your talking about.
theres plenty of ways to get around drm, and wma… do some reserach..
AC,
Well, if that CD only worked in one brand of CD player, DVD player, and computer, then yes, you kind of are tied into that one brand for life. You shouldn’t be forced into converting it to an arguably inferior format just to be able to continue listenting to it in other branded products.
Please, the comment about having to buy apple products for the whole solution is a load of steaming crap. I have friends and relatives who do not own an iPod, and use dells and hps. They buy songs from the iTMS, and they have no apple products (hardware) at all. Apple offers the best solution for digital downloads, hands down, and you don’t even need ANY Apple hardware to do it.
Don’t give me any crap about iTMS being tied to apple (hardware) products, and not being open. iTMS is the ONLY cross platform (ok, dual platform, mac and windows) in existance. Windows users account for the vast majority of iPod and iTMS sales. This isn’t an Apple or mac thing. Consumer electronics is a different beast. The BUYING public has voted with their cold hard cash in support of what they want, and what fits their needs and use. Restrictions and all. And have you looked at the variable rights in the rent/buy scams? What a joke something different for every song. Apple certainly got the iTMS right, keeping it simple, and making it fun. The minor DRM restrictions is the only problem. and you can blame the record labels for that.
On that subject Hairbo, they are digital files, data, just like your MS Word docs and etc. If you are worried about losing them at some future point, shouldn’t you give your tunes the same consideration as your data and burn an audio CD as backup? Thats only safe and reasonable for ANYTHING stored on your computer.
I know I could have been prepared for the HD crashing by backing up, but I didn’t want to
darknite,
But can those friends play those songs on non-Apple software without stripping off the DRM? And the buying public does not determine what’s best. Nor does it determine what people want. The only thing it determines is what people are willing to spend their money on. If you want proof, look at Windows. Would you argue that the buying public knowingly purchased the better OS?
hairbo, and everyone
It’s just the nature of technology these days, it seems. Things are bound to change, and when that time comes, then we make the jump from one format to another; at least we will have enjoyed a good run up to that time.
Besides physical CDs, I have bought several thousand dollars worth of music on iTMS over the last couple of years, where I enjoy 1) the ease of buying, 2) the iPod experience, 3) the price, and 4) the ease of storage and backup, among other reasons. I know that one day, FairPlay will be gone, and I’ll have to make the jump and invest whatever time it takes me to do so –although this may be painless too given future apps/utilities/hardware.
Perhaps one day, JPEG will be gone too. But does that mean I should stop taking pix with my digital camera now and switch back to film?
When should I take all our archived AppleWorks and PageMaker book layouts off those floppies and transfer them into Pages and InDesign on CD; how long do I have left, and when will I have to do it again? [Pages is still a joke BTW]
I just make the most of the present formats, technology, and DRM. When the time comes to move on, I have faith that I’ll be able to migrate to the next best thing. I don’t like either DRM or the abandonment of hardware and software any more than the next guy, but it seems inescapable.
sincerely-
If you buy or rent from any of the legal download sites you have to use DRM not just iTunes. iTunes has the least intrusive DRM of any out there as well.
I swopped my hard disk for a bigger one and suddenly the 200 tracks I’d bought from ITMS wouldn’t play. I’d unwittingly “de-authorised” myself. Apple’s attitude: tough shit. I converted the tracks to drm free using jHymn. That’s it. No more ITMS for me.
DRM will bite you. Be warned
I don’t care that I can do it. Of course i can do it, but I don’t *want* to do it, and more importantly, I don’t want to *have* to do it just to be able to play the music where and how I want to.
Aww, poor baby, does your mommy still wipe your butt?
Anyone who doesn’t backup their purchased music onto CDs is not playing with a full deck. DRM means nothing, grow up.
P.S. Ever heard of WireTap? Don’t even have to burn CDs to lose the DRM.