iTunes music still shackled to DRM in Canada and elsewhere?
When Apple annouced that iTunes users now had its consent to free their iTunes-purchased music from the hellish enslavement of DRM, people across the world rejoiced. That is until they tried to remove the DRM themselves. Users in Canada (amongst other nations) are reporting that iTunes is refusing to allow them to convert their protected files into .DRM-free MP3 files for use on devices that don’t bear the Apple logo. Was Apple only intending for this service to come to the US due to legal issues? Hopefully it’s just a matter of time before those regions currently without the option to unchain their libraries but until we get official word from Apple, we have to fear the worst. If you’re living outside the US, hit us up in the comments and let us know if you’re experiencing any de-DRMing difficulties.
that is why you download illigally. no drm on that music.
At least to buy a better Morrissey album!
I’m not happy about this at all especially since I already purchased a lot of music from iTunes in the first place so it should have be mine to use on any device that I wish. Now iTunes website says, “You don’t have to buy the song or album again. Just pay the 30¢ per song upgrade price. (Music video upgrades are 60¢ and entire albums can be upgraded for 30 percent of the album price.”
That is a bunch of garbage. I don’t feel like taking the time to burn the songs onto cd’s then rip them again to have the drm-free version just to avoid paying this extra fee.
This is why I don’t buy Apple products. I’m no Microsoft fan boy, but apple is off my list.
@ RMC
Yeah its the pits being shackled by the restrictions of DRM, much better then being shackled by the restrictions of prison. Good call genius.
Transcoding is bad.
@AJC, like he’ll ever end up in prison for downloading.
I wonder how it is in Scandinavia, since Apple has been threatened with legal action because of the DRM here.
Prison is for distributing pirated music/movies and other copyrighted materials. If downloading free music is a crime, then the majority of American digital music owners are criminals, and we’re all waiting on Big Brother to herd us into the holding pens.
… still waiting.
And to think my sister just bought a Nano!
Just checking: Did you first update the DRM-protected song to iTunes Plus (paying an addition US $.30)? Then try to convert to MP3? Sorry if that is a dumb question but my understanding is that you can’t convert to MP3 until you’ve paid the additional amount for tracks you previously purchased that were DRM protected.
As the commenter above states, the tracks need to be upgraded to itunes plus tracks before being able to convert it to mp3. Cmon BG! This is the second Apple story you’ve screwed up today with the first being that apple.com leaked the 17″ MacBook Pro redesign.
I live in Canada, and I’m upgrading right now. it costs us 40 cents per song here, and 80 centes per music video, but my 40ish songs I have are downloading as I type this.
This article is all wrong. You need to go into the iTunes Store, and pay to upgrade your music to the 256kbps DRM-free ‘iTunes Plus’ format.
You can’t simply convert the DRM’d tracks into MP3s (in the US or anywhere else in the world). Apple never said you could!
So if I buy a song now it will be DRM free, but I also have the choice of “upgrading” to a Pro service and making my old music DRM free for a small price per song?
That’s right, RMC. If you want to “free” your music, better look for a decent proxy or open Wi-Fi.
This is why I have never purchased anything from the ITMS. With Apple you always trade ease for freedom. I’m sure it’s great for some but not for me.
And reason #2394 why drm is ridiculous.
Not working here, just tried. Same error.
i didn’t say i download illegal music…i said i download illegally…learn to read and interpret
I have a g1 and I absolutely love the amazon mp3 store, its great, I can buy it from my phone and then burn cds then put it on my gf zune and what ever else. I just think that music that you pay should be urs to do what u wish, I mean with the apple drm crap, its like your renting the music or leasing while u use an apple product but say u break your ipod and decide to but a zune instead, well that thousand dollars you spent on music is totally lost on a new player and it really makes no incentive for buying from itunes when u could buy the actual cd or buy from amazon.
@justinhub2003: I agree with your stance on having to rebuy DRM’d stuff with new players. However, the point of DRM free music is not to rip artists off by dumping your DRM free music on everyone’s player that asks for it. There’s gotta be a happy medium somewhere so that artists can still make a living and consumers can be happy. Personally iTunes has the best selection and I listen to it from my iPhone or iPod, so it doesn’t really affect me. I’m stoked for the OTA downloads though!
@ justinhub2003
That’s not exactly true. As I said earlier, you have to burn the music to a cd then re-import it as an mp3 eliminating the drm problem. It is definitely time consuming and a pain in the ass and that is the problem I have with apple and iTunes.
All the announcement really said was that by April 09 all music sold through iTMS would be “iTunes Plus” which is DRM Free, and 256kps AAC. same deal as when EMI songs moved to Plus last year, you have the choice to upgrade for a cost. I doubt apple would be removing DRM for free on previously purchased items… personally i dont have a problem with DRM, but then i use and iPhone, so it all works for me… it will be good to use songs in other software with out transcoding them. I will be upgrading the 480 odd songs i have available tonight.
Michael, your post missed the point COMPLETELY. It is not for the end user to “Remove the DRM themselves”.
You are not free to convert all your protected content to MP3 format – that was never an option. Your DRM’d content is STILL copy protected, however you have the ‘privilege’ of REPURCHASING said content in a DRM free AAC version – at a discounted price if you buy ALL of the available DRM free versions of the tracks you already purchased (it’s all or nothing for the special discount). Once those tracks have been downloaded in the unprotected format you can convert them to another format.
I can confirm that you can in fact convert unprotect AAC files purchased from the Canadian iTunes store to MP3 – but why would you? Never mind.