Click on the iTunes music store and punch in “Beatles” under artist search. More than 50 albums will pop up, including Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Play the Beatles, but none are the real deal. Fans wishing to download the actual Fab Four in MP3 format have to search peer-to-peer sites like Limewire for unlicensed songs they can listen to free.
But that may be about to change. While details remain to be worked out, Fortune has learned that iTunes is close to a deal to bring the Beatles catalog online. Apple Computer (Charts) is said to be angling to become the exclusive online music store for the Beatles for a limited window of time. Other music stores, such as Microsoft’s (Charts) MSN and Rhapsody, have courted the Beatles over the years to no avail, but it appears Apple is close to getting first dibs on the band’s hits.
I do care for The Beatles, but I don’t care for DRM.
Let me buy the MP3, or I’ll stick to CDs.
In the meantime, I’ll go indie from emusic.com.
IMHO iPods are close to Zune’s “I shoot my own foot” proprietariness.
Nuff said…
Fans wishing to download the actual Fab Four in MP3 format…
Is “fans” buying the CDs and ripping them to MP3 a non-starter?
Is that too “old school”?
Are the CDs selling for prohibitive prices…?
Cripes!
Roll over Beethoven, rockin on iTunes!
Long time computer and audio geek, recently purchased an 80GB iPod .
1. The DRM is *not* onerous at all. Will play on multiple computers, burn to CD’s (which you can duplicate and re-rip to mp3), and all your apple iPod devices. Yes, I understand that the direct iTune files will only play on apple devices. Note that I own over 7000 cd’s (and still counting), but Apple’s DRM is a reasonable and fair tradeoff.
2. Mike: about buying the CD’s and ripping them being “old school”, don’t get luddite on us. Electronic delivery of digital information is better in so many ways than travelling to the store, and buying plastic to get the bytes. And it has shown that it can give more $ back to the artists rather than the corps between them and us.
3. Personally, I think the DRM debate is silly. I have friends that use all kinds of devices and software with DRM (VCR’s, DVDs, Windows XP, iPods, etc.) and as I’m their “geek” consultant, I have rarely had to deal with any problems with it, unless they want to do something with it ILLEGAL, IMMORAL, UNETHICAL, or clearly against FAIR USE. The only situation I can remember was when a DVD was scratched and became unplayable. Moral: I told them to call the video company, they did, and got a replacement (without having to send the bad one in).
The DRM may not be onerous, but why bother with it in the first place? Why not support independent artists who offer their music in a format that allows you to play it on whatever device you own without having to jump through hoops? Why support the music monopoly?
Finally Apple’s iTunes is going to sell Apple Records songs!!!
Apple Records
(After a few lawsuits to and fro)
🙂
Actually most DVD’s (very lax) DRM is against Fair Use.
In fact so is ANY DRM – because if I can use it for Fair Use I’ll need access to it that DRM is precisely designed not to give.
I don’t know what planet you are on – but VCRs have no inbuilt DRM – they do read a restricted tape format – Macrovision (though it’s not digital, therefore its ARM!) but don’t infect all your tapes with it.
also an iPod has no DRM in it in the same way – it doesn’t restrict the songs, they are in whatever format you can play. The DRM is from iTunes and the Fairplay DRM format that they use.
In short Lou – the reason you haven’t had any problems is that you haven’t really had much experience with DRM…
Gregory – C’mon, who’s kidding who. Let’s forget the BS, and terminology and be ethical about it. True fair use of intellectual property means that you should be able to make all the copies you want, use it on any device you want, but it can and should only be used in one device at any one time. (I believe this was the Borland “treat it like a physical book” license on their software).
The problem is, people can, will, and do abuse this, on a massive scale, especially in the “digital” arena, when it becomes EASY and inexpensive. Note that I wrote a program in the 1980’s that was pirated extensively in a particular industry… We then came out with a copy protected version (serial port dongle required), and per company sales doubled.
So, thanks for questioning my experience with DRM, because if I don’t agree with you, of course, I have no experience. So step up to the plate, and tell us of the vast negative experiences you have had with DRM.
As to your other points, I was wrong with terminology, but I think you were being petty: Yes, Macrovision was not DIGITAL RM, but it was RM, and in the spirit of the conversation. And in #1, I was talking about iTunes and iPod, not just the iPod as an MP3 player. I do agree that “Fair Use” should allow backing up for archival and related purposes, and that is why I support Apple’s type DRM.
Oh man, the biggest pile of crap ever on DRM. What are you guys??? Slashdot posters?
To get your fair use in windows using ANY audio DRM scheme do the following.
Soundrecorder will work, but I like Audacity for a freeish tool. Make sure you can hear what it is you want to fair use copy coming from the speakers. Open Audacity (or soundrecorder even), and press record. Done, that is it. once your song is over, hit file-save as MP3. Seems rather easier than what iPod users have to do.
The DRM in place on every last thing I have seen accomplishes one of two things. In the case of Apple DRM, it is designed to vendor lock you into iPod crappola. (Or break windows media player in the case of quick time). The other thing it accomplishes is it prevents you from automatically mass copy and duplicate other peoples work. Both of those cases, it works pretty good. If you buy songs from iTunes, you have near total vendor lockin, without a lot of work. In the case of everything else, it does a pretty good job of preventing mass widescale duplication. If you want to store it as a MP3, there is nothing in place (on windows at least) to prevent that. What you can’t do is copy it faster than you can listen to it.
I don’t see the problem, and the apple vendor lock in is more problimatic to me than anything I have seen on windows… Well except of sony copy protect schemes anyhow…
And the mp3’s I make from xm stream are better than you get from iTunes store anyhow. Still not as good as those ripped from a CD. The only difference really is, I am not an apple fanboie.
Come on, am i the only one that still wants to enjoy the beatles from his vinyl?
Anyway, what’s this with no online stores being able to get a deal on selling the beatles, allofmp3 has had it for ages!
GregA: I’m with you. Audacity is great and free. I stumbled onto that shareware a year ago and have used it ever since. Simple, and it works. What was DRM again?
What is all this bullshit about a license? For a song? Seriously? Screw the law. If the law is stupid, break it. After all, laws are only suggestions anyway, right?
So I have to treat music like software? Why? If I buy… I don’t know… Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk on CD, why can’t I rip it to MP3 to upload to my MP3 player for when I go out jogging? (I know, I can… but I’m talking about fair use and licensing here). If I have one backup of my CD on my PC and want to burn a mix CD to play in my car, do I have to remove the backup from the PC after making the mix CD?
This is all so damn stupid. Just buy CDs and rip them if you like. Defeat DRM if you know how, and teach those who don’t. Always download music if it is available. Don’t worry about corporate profits. Corporations don’t make music nor do they help create good music. Always buy concert tickets and relish live music. When I go see bands I like, I plan to take a few extra bucks with me to buy at least two CDs right from the band. That’s how I know I’m doing my part to support the artist. I don’t care if the record executive has a new Lexus or not.
#12
I agree! But my point is, that is where the law AND the software is(windows is anyhow, I am uncertain about osx the osx people seem to complain about DRM waaaaay more than the winxp people).
What seems to be prohibited by the software and law is wholesale music stealing. Peer to Peer networks dedicated to breaking music copyright, software designed to automate breaking music copyright. Last I checked I was still free to rip and burn. What people seem to complain about, is that they used to be able to wholesale break copyright, and now the software and law minimally prevent them from doing that. But by all means, rip and burn at 1x speeds to your hearts content. BTW, if you get winamp, and buy it, you can rip mp3’s at 48x speeds. If you want to risk the lawsuit, feel free to use a peering service for breaking copyright.
All the musicians I know (but for the OSX + protools is the ONLY! way to record music crowd) seem to think we are in a sort of golden age of recording. The latter, seem obsesed that people would make a choice different then them. (even though cubase is demonstrably better than protools, the problem seems to be that steinberg had the temerity to make it work on both windows and osx, those fools dont they know windows is not worthy?)
Even here, even though the IRiver mp3 players are better in every measureable way than iPods, the apple fanbois are all like, GAAAAA iTunes + iPod is the ONE TRUE RELIGION!!!
But please dont mistake me, I have no problem with apple, Im sure they make fine products. It is the sanctamonious iPod users who claim superiority despite their substandard sample rate. Me I will continue to lay down $500 bucks for a new computer every year, maybe a new video card if some really snazzy game comes out, and listen to my xm radio, and pay 15 bucks a month, and other than the occasional smack down, such as this one.
And OMG Lexus is teh suck. Real rich people drive Mercedes.
And as far as I can tell the only music artists who are suffering (any more than musicians tend too) are the ones who can’t perform or play their instruments. It seems to be a golden age for the gig with a couple of hundred people at it, there seems to be a lot of those shows. Sure people don’t fill the sports arena anymore, but other than a very brief period in the late 60’s, and early 70’s were any of those shows really worth going to? I mean, I feel no urge at all to see the Rolling Stones or U2 at this point. None.
#10
“allofmp3 has had it for ages!”
AFAIK allofmp3.com isn’t exactly legit and it’s just a matter of time before they are gone.