When DRM Sucks
A couple of weeks ago my younger brother asked me to buy some songs for him from the iTunes store. So I thought this would be no big deal. Normally I buy, download and burn the songs to a CD and also put them onto his iPod shuffle for him. Well, that wasn’t the case this time. I had some issues and thought I would share them.
The music was bought and I transferred it over to my PC because the iBook doesn’t have a CD buner. No big deal. I get the tracks into iTunes on the PC and put them into a playlist and click on burn, no luck. There is an error that it can’t find a burner. The drive was being recognized by Windows as well as Nero. I got to thinking about it and I decided to disconnect the hard drive that was also on the same cable as the CD/DVD burner. Ok, first of all. I know it’s probably not wise to do that but I needed to connect the drive to the computer and it worked, so shush! Anyways. After taking my computer case apart, unplugging the hard drive and getting it all put back together again I turn the PC on and I still get the same error in iTunes. The drive is still being recognized by Windows and Nero but not iTunes.
I then realize that Nero is not displaying the drive as a CD or DVD Burner. I don’t know what the deal with that was. I’m still having issues copying CDs or DVDs. I’m thinking that I’m either needing to re-flash the optical drive, re-install Windows or buy a new DVD burner. But anyways. That’s not why I am writing.
Once I finally got the music over onto the PC and found out that I was not going to be able to burn the music using iTunes, I needed to try and burn it using Nero or something else. Of course you can’t do that without removing the DRM from the music! So I found myFairTunes, a Windows only application. DRM Dumpster does the same thing for Mac users but you’ll need a CD-RW drive and disc. Also, the software is not free. I removed the DRM, converted the tracks to MP3 format in iTunes and tried to burn the music using Nero. Of course I thought the music had burned succesfully because it went through the entire process and said it was successful. However, looking at the CD after it came out of the drive you can tell that there was nothing on the disc. When you put it into a CD player it makes the blank disc noise and when you put it back into a computer it says it is blank.
My point to this entire entry is that DRM is only making it harder for people who actually purchase music. We all know that. However the music industry still does not understand that fact. Thankfully, iTunes is now offering DRM free music. Also, fortunately, there are amazing companies like Magnatune who are against DRM. Magnatune allows you share the music you purchase with 3 people and they also let you license the music for videos, podcasts and other productions under a Creative Commons license.
The issue I had isn’t the only reason DRM needs to be sent to the dumpster. People want to buy music players and put their music on it. When a player is tied to one music store and one DRM format, you can’t do it. Maybe one of these days this will be a thing of the past and our descendants will look at us like we were crazy for using DRM (along with many, many other things).
Tags: apple, creative commons, drm, ipod, itunes, magnatune, microsoft, shuffle, tech butter, zune
November 1st, 2007 at 9:00 pm
DRM is the entire reason why I have so far refused to use iTunes. I’m hoping DRM dies a swift death, though I somehow suspect that it will keep raising its head in even uglier forms
November 2nd, 2007 at 6:15 am
DRM is something that Apple had to concede to the major labels to get them on board in the first place. Thankfully (as you’ve noted above), iTunes now offer DRM-free songs, and I suspect that over time, most DRM will go away.
November 2nd, 2007 at 9:50 am
Erich – Most of us in the tech world are hoping it goes away because a lot of companies are doing away with it. EMI is now offering a majority (if not all) of their music DRM free.
Shawno – I didn’t point it out in the article but I don’t mind Apple’s FairPlay DRM. It’s actually the most lenient of all the DRM models out there. You can put the music onto any iPod. You can burn it to a CD and you can even have the music on 5 computers. However nice Apple’s FairPlay is, it is still a pain in the rear end when something doesn’t work right.
November 11th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
I’ve been downloading a lot of music on iTunes, the DRM-free iTunes Plus music, but when I tried to move it onto my Nokia N-Series phone, it didn’t seem to play, even though it should be able too as far as I can tell in the phone specs.. I agree it’s far too difficult, I buy more music on iTunes than on CD nowadays, yet I still don’t even have an iPod and have no other MP3 player.. Considering that we pay more for music tracks on iTunes in Australia based on AUD/USD comparison, it makes me very angry that I can’t even transfer music to the one device I have which can play this format. I might have to try converting it to MP3 in iTunes and see if that works, I guess the iTunes DRM headers of the files are tripping my phone, although from past experiences with converting files to MP3 in iTunes haven’t worked when I’ll tried to put the files on a CD and tried to play in my MP3 CD player in my car and Stereo/Hi-Fi. I wish Apple and the music industry would all stop being so damned greedy and controlling.
November 11th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
Luke – I have a feeling that it won’t work. When I tried to convert the music to MP3 format in iTunes so I could burn it to a CD it didn’t work in a CD burning application other than iTunes. I suspect that there is still something in the file that says “Hey, you can’t do that. I’m protected!” In my opinion even though it says it’s an MP3 it’s really not an MP3.
What I don’t understand is if the music industry is so worried about people sharing/stealing music then they should instead of requiring DRM restrictions place a simple watermark in the file. Then a month, two or three down the road start going to file sharing sites/services and download music. Look at the watermark and see who purchased the file and who is sharing it to the world.
I wish more organizations would take a look at what Magnatune is doing. They truly are not evil. When you buy an album from them you can download multiple formats (FLAC and even OGG!). When you buy a CD from them you can immediately download the music you just purchased. AND, AND, the best part! When you buy an album from Magnatune they allow you to share that album with 3 people. You pick the 3 people you want to send the album to. They get an email and your friend downloads it, free of charge. Magnatune gets it. Music industry does not!
Ok. I’ve rattled on enough in this comment. It’s more like a blog entry. I guess that’s a good thing about comments on a blog. The discussion doesn’t have to end after I post an entry.
November 11th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Luke – Oops. I guess I already covered Magnatune in my post! HAHA!
November 11th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
I will have to take a look at Magnatune I think..
I think there is a danger with watermarking files, ..example: say I share a song with you, that file has my watermark, then you upload it online, or install a peer-to-peer file sharing program and share that file or unknowingly allow the file to be shared.. Then when the record industry downloads the file, I’m taken to court because it’s my watermark, instantly I’m held accountable for your actions.
(
That scares me.
November 11th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Luke – I didn’t think about that but you are absolutely right. No watermarking then. No DRM of any kind. Nothing. Just clean MP3 files (or OGG, FLAC or WAV! LOL).
November 11th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Vote NO on DRM! lol
LOL @ .WAV
I’m sure the remaining dial-up users around the world are jumping up and down for that one.. hehehe Would probably take them 2 days to download 1 track, with 4 hour connections they’d not even manage one song I’m guessing.. hehehe
November 11th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
You know, one easy way to beat ALL DRM is to make an “analog” copy of a song using software and/or hardware on the computer. Since you made the copy with your own software, there won’t be any DRM. I know that can be problematic and less than convenient. But it is an option.
November 11th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
Shawno – Yeah. I forget about the analog hole all the time. But it’s an option. Not a very convenient one but yeah, it’s there.
November 11th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
Shawno – Yeah. That WordPress would be really cool. I wonder if we could get the Gmail guys to integrate that. Oh, wait. I’m on my blog now.
November 11th, 2007 at 11:59 pm
Andy, you can’t just reply to an e-mail comment through your blog. I mean, yeah I’m subscribed, and got the reply. But that kinda tricky behavior will break Internets 4ever!