Music that is Legally Mine!

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

I get very hacked off when music that I download comes with all sorts of restrictions embedded that makes it difficult to use as I wish.

If I buy a CD over a shop counter, for example, I can copy the content to any device I have so that I can listen to my purchase where and when it suits me. So I don't take kindly to being restricted to things like "You may copy this track to a maximum of three ....." or, even worse, when one can't use the track anywhere else at all.

I know that there is a 'workaround' where you copy the track out to a CD then rip it back and - Hey Presto - the DRM is all gone! But I recently had a track where, for reasons that I still can't fathom, this wouldn't work and the PC refused to write it out. So, in frustration I did a search on the net and found this:-

http://tunebite.com/en/remove_drm/index.html

Works a treat. Just thought I would share.

PS. Sorry about the rant.

[Steve Grisetti]

Without meaning to start a whole discussion of digital rights management, John, just because you purchase a song from iTunes -- or a CD from Walmart for that matter -- that doesn't make the music yours. No more than buying a DVD of "Star Wars" gives you the right burn off copies for all of your friends. Even when we buy photos or backgrounds for use as DVD menu templates here on this site, we're very careful to honor the original artist's rights and use the piece only according to the rights we've purchased.

The other side of that is that iTunes and the like (who, to be fair, are struggling to keep the music affordable without demanding too many rights concessions by the artists) are a bit manic, in my opinion, when it comes to digital rights management. As you may or may not know, Amazon.com now sells music downloads for 99 cents that have very little copy protection on them.

Meanwhile, Apple keeps tightening down their rights management software so that, almost monthly, iTunes gets more restrictive. And some of it is downright annoying.

Fortunately, there's an amazing program called PlayFair, which breaks Apple's DRM. You can find it here:
http://hymn-project.org

You'll need to keep downloading the latest version every time you update iTunes though. Apple keeps putting tougher DRM software on iTunes but, usually within a day, these guys have cracked it with their latest version.

But, even though I find the software very helpful for cracking music so I can use it in my videos, I do urge everyone to continue to honor artist's digital rights and not deprive them of their earned income, when applicable.

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Sorry Steve. I think that you got the wrong end of the stick.

If I purchase a music CD for my own use I am not prevented from using that CD it in any legitimate manner that I choose.

So why is it that downloaded music that I purchase for my own use should be limited via DRM?

I can see no reason for any imposition of limitations on my legal right to use something that I have paid for.

Just my twopennyworth.

[Steve Grisetti]

Yep. I agree.

Which is why I use PlayFair when necessary.

[Chris B]

John,

Your location says you're in the UK and over here the copyright law states that you are NOT allowed to copy the CD you bought. There is a concept of fair use in UK Law but it does not extend to copying for personal use.

It is an offence to perform any of the following acts without the consent of the owner:
Copy the work.
Rent, lend or issue copies of the work to the public.
Perform, broadcast or show the work in public.
Adapt the work.
http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyr ... yright_law

Of course - this renders every MP3 player illegal if you copy your own CDs onto it..... Another fine example of the law keeping up with the times.

Chris

[Steve Grisetti]

Not to mention violations that include:

A DJ playing CDs at a wedding reception
A cover band playing popular hits in a bar
Making a mix CD for a friend

Again, I want to be fair to the artists, but I've got to assume there's at least a bit of gray area here...

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Thanks for the clarification - (my) ignorance of the law is no excuse. In the light of what you have told me I cannot encourage others to break the law, even if it is an ass.

So I withdraw my suggestion to use tunebite to enable you to remove DRM so that you can play the music that you have paid for on devices that you own. You can find more information here:

http://tunebite.com/en/remove_drm/index.html

[Steve Grisetti]

The older I get, the more I appreciate good irony, John.

[Gerry]

I understand what everyone's saying. I've internalized it. I don't agree with it, but I understand it.

But using the logic, if I buy a newspaper, are we saying the Chicago Tribune or the New York Times still owns that newspaper? I'm not free to photocopy an article and bring it to work with me to read there? And when the guy on NPR says, "According to a New York Times article..." he's then violating copyright laws because he's sharing the news with someone who hasn't paid for it?

What it sounds like is that when I pay $14 for a CD, that must just be a RENTAL fee, or what am I buying? The right to listen?

Also, I have a bunch of CDs that I don't like. Maybe I should write to the artists and have them come and remove their CDs from my house, and pay me back my rental fee.

Don't mean to rant, but I write advertising for a living. I write one ad, I get paid once to write that one ad. I don't get paid every time it runs. I don't get paid every time someone reads it. I don't get paid again if the client decides to use the words in a brochure.

Why should this be any different?

[Steve Grisetti]

Where it gets really creepy is in the computer world.

Did you know that, legally, only Microsoft can sell its operating system?

That means, if you sell or even give away an old computer, you are legally required to remove all software (including the operating system!) so that the new owner can must re-negotiate with the creators of the software and owners of the digital rights!

Fortunately, nobody is doing much to enforce this one either but -- just as the Walt Disney Company can demand people remove paintings of their characters from the walls of daycare centers (and they have) -- Microsoft could revoke ownership of Windows from anyone who didn't initially acquire the license from them.

This stuff gives me a headache.

[Chuck Engels]

This is only a product of our rapidly changing technology and the inability to figure this stuff out before the next big thing comes along.

When music was produced and purchased on Vinyl this was not a problem. Consumers did not have machines at home that would produce copies of records, and reel to reel tape players were for the rich audiophile.
8 Tracks were hot for awhile but not many people had or could afford 8 Track recorders, no worries there.
When cassettes came along it took too long to make copies and no one bothered because the quality really wasn't all that great, no worries still.

Today is a whole different game, high quality copies of music, tv and movies can be made in a matter of minutes.
The real fight is with the pirates, not the public. Pirated music and movies is a huge problem that is causing companies to lose millions of dollars every year.

If anyone wrote something that should pay you $1 every time it was purchased, I'm sure you would be interested in how many were given away or how many free copies were made

I do personally think that if you buy music, or you record it off of the internet, radio, or television, you should be able to use it, not sell it.
Using the music in a for profit video production is a whole other topic that has no solution either at the moment.

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Sorry I started all of this.

My rant has opened up a hornets' nest of issues when all I was trying to do, for those of us that use our music purchases for licit purposes , was to highlight a product that helped.

Maybe next time I'll just keep my head down.

[Chuck Engels]

This comes up a couple times a year John, just mention the topic and you get everyone posting their thoughts and complaints.
I kind of think this is a good thread, thanks for starting it. It isn't going to change anything but it is nice knowing we all pretty much think alike.

[Checkmate]

John, thank you for the link - an interesting program! It doesn't interfere with the original track in any way. It appears to play it, like other players do, and captures the streaming audio to a new file.

My audio software (GoldWave) can do this if I play the track through Windows Media Player. And I believe Audacity can too, although I've not used it.

The advantage of Tunebite is that you can batch process and leave it to get on with it. Is this any different to recording a TV program to watch at your leisure?

[Chris B]

Is this any different to recording a TV program to watch at your leisure?

I think officially yes. There is specific provision in UK law to allow timeshifting (i.e. using a video recorder). Now - I wonder if you could argue that you were timeshifting a time limited track to play later... (Perhaps not.)

Actually - the whole DRM thing is a real pity. What has happened is the industry has used it to restrict rights we would have ordinarily had rather than using it to provide exciting new models of distribution.

Imagine (for example) a perfect DRM without the analogue hole. Now imagine that I as a record company can distribute songs to people which can be played for 5 times (say) or for a period of 5 days since first play . You could send out music for free to mailing list - or allow downloads from web sites. Targeted marketing "if you liked this then you might also like these". Any music a particular user didn't like would just expire but customers would be exposed to more music that they were more likely to buy. A win/win situation.

However - I don't see this happening in my lifetime. Rights that we used to enjoy are more lilkley to be eroded as record companied cling to outdated business models.