Do you own songs bought online? Well, sort of

[Martrae]

Saturday May 13, 9:49 AM EDT
By Duncan Martell

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Like millions around the world, you have an iPod, the market-leading digital music player made by Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) and have spent perhaps a few hundred dollars buying songs from the company's iTunes music store.

But do you really own the tunes? Whether you do, however, depends on how you define ownership.

"Owning implies control and if you bought the tracks on iTunes you don't have complete control," said Rob Enderle, president of market researcher the Enderle Group.

Those songs you bought online from Apple play just fine, of course, so long you do so on the company's iTunes digital jukebox software, on an iPod, burn a CD (you can only burn the same "playlist," or collection of songs, seven times), or stream them wirelessly to your stereo using another Apple gizmo.

But Apple's FairPlay digital rights management, or DRM, software prevents you from listening to those purchased songs on a music player from Dell Inc., Creative, Sony, or others. The same thing goes for songs you've imported to your computer from CDs you already own.

The DRM software is Apple's way of preventing piracy and is a large part of the reason why the recording industry has so warmly embraced the iTunes Music Store.

"A lot of people would argue it's the closest thing you're going to get other than buying a CD," said analyst Mike McGuire of market research firm Gartner of the restrictions Apple and others place on music bought online.

To be sure, Apple rivals have their own DRM technology to protect against piracy, such as Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp., but none have been as successful so far as Apple. The Cupertino, California-based company has a 70-percent market share in the United States for digital music players, and higher than that for music purchased online.

Beyond just having songs you bought from iTunes "trapped" on the iPod and in iTunes, it's also not a snap to move songs from an iPod - whether you bought them or initially pulled them off a CD - back up to a computer. While it's possible to do so, Apple doesn't make it easy, right off the bat, because it's trying to discourage piracy.

"They do it to lock you in," Enderle said, noting an example of if you spent $500 on buying songs from iTunes. "You now have a $500 switching cost to pull out of iTunes."

But there are a number of different and perfectly legal reasons why you'd want to be able to do that.

For example, your computer suffers a disastrous crash, you lose data that includes your music library, and you want to recover your lost music library from your iPod and return it to your now-repaired computer.

There are programs that let you move songs from the iPod, up to a computer - such as Senuti and PodWorks - but, for the average user, it may be more than he or she is up for. There are some ways around companies' DRM technology, but those are far trickier to use and Microsoft and others frequently plug holes in their software to prevent converting DRM-protected songs into unprotected MP3 files.

As for how complicated it is to get around DRM protection, consider this quote from a Website: "Microsoft's DRM is actually, for a change, really well thought out. The XML content header at the top of every protected WMA file just can't be changed because it's digitally signed using either ECC or RSA. The same thing goes for the actual license files and corresponding keys."

That's language that is probably not readily understood by the average consumer.

"The average consumer hasn't run into the restrictions" that the likes of Apple, Microsoft and Sony have placed on online music purchases, McGuire said. "Certainly there's some interest in Apple wanting people to return to the iTunes store but these restrictions are really due to the rights holders and the labels."

[Dylan]

Moral of the Story: Steal as much music off of Limewire as you can and say fuck those pricks.

[Minrott]

tunebite man

[Spazz]

.99 cents a song is a total joke too. A punk rock cd would cost ya 27 fuckin dollars.

[labbats]

Moral of the Story: Steal as much music off of Limewire as you can and say fuck those pricks.

There is something to be said for tangible items.

[brinstar]

no shit, i still buy CDs

[Spazz]

Me too. Just got an awsome one in the mail the other day. I dont know how to share and link music and shit or id share. Yall need to hear the sainte catherines

[Diekan]

I don't. I burn them and then print up a nifty CD label, stick it on and wham! .99 cent CD that works just fine.

Fuck the RIAA, fuck Apple, fuck corporate America.

[Dylan]

Kiss my black ass America!

[Jay]

I'm not a fan of the RIAA but I will buy the music to support the artist because I really don't know any other way to support them without the RIAA getting a huge cut of that. I do use Limewire to sample the music before hand and I have purchased a few songs from iTunes.

[Diekan]

You do realize that the artists make very little from albumn sales, right? They make their cash from concerts and merchandize like T-shirts...

In fact I do believe that most artists sell the copyrights of the song to the record label.

Don't think you're hurting the artist by burning a CD of MP3's - you're not - you're fucking over the record label that deserves it. You wanna hurt the artist? Scalp tickets or steal T-shirts....

[Jay]

The artist makes a percentage of the sales on a CD. Like of every twenty they make about 4 or 5 from what I understand (my friend Benn Jordan performs for smal label and makes 8 to 9 per CD and tells me when you are on a major label it's half that). From that 4 and 5 they spend about 2 paying their agents, production companies and shell out for their first music videos (performer pays for the first). In the end they make about 4 to 6 million per platinum record? I wouldn't call that very little. True the label and RIAA makes the majority of it, but the artist isn't going broke by any means. Also, there's plenty of artists who have their own label. That's just raking in the dough right there.

It's a pendulum effect in business. Wanna screw the RIAA and the conglomerate labels? Stop buying records. In turn, artists lose money, there's less good music around. Artist can't fill seats in concerts because the CD buying populace hasn't heard of em. Less sets filled in concert, less T-Shirts bought. Want good music? Pay. Artist makes enough money and promotes enough, goes on tour. T-shirts are sold, everyone's happy.

I don't see why everyone's so bent out of shape by he record industry profit margins. Since I've started buying CD's in Jr. High they've always been about 16-20 dollars a shot. Someone's get rich off of putting out a quality product? Oh noes. Anyone who complains about "greedy labels" and "corporate" this and that is just making an excuse to steal music. If anyone should have a beef with this, it's the artist, not the fans.

[Minrott]

I think it's the opposite. The less money being spent in the industry, the better the music (maybe the shittier the production, but better music). Instead with the billions of dollars to be had by anyone good looking and able to sing in tune, form written crap music.

[Arlos]

Of course, those stats don't necessarily hold true for non-mainstream bands getting published via the smaller indy-labels. The big labels, maybe, but a lot of the indy labels were started by performers trying to get out from under the big labels, so they do things very differently.

If the band you're sampling and not buying stuff from is on one of those labels, then yes indeed, you're taking money out of the pockets of the performer. A lot of industrial bands (short of giants like NIN or Ministry) sell only 1000-5000 copies of an individual album, and do depend on revenue from record sales to get by. I am sure the same holds true for a lot of punk bands out there.

So, while the big labels may indeed be evil, it is far too broad a statement to say that ALL are and that artists are NEVER hurt by people downloading songs and never actually buying albums.

-Arlos

[Captain Insano]

Moral of the Story: Steal as much music off of Limewire as you can and say fuck those pricks.

thats what I"M fucking saying!


I pay ten bucks a month for the Rhapsody digital music service and I have conceived a brilliant technique to steal perfect copies of every single album on there.

i win at lyfe

[Granh]

http://www.allofmp3.com

Legal

0.02 a meg

Works with any mp3 player (just not with macs... yet)

Screw Itunes

[Drem]

Also, there's plenty of artists who have their own label. That's just raking in the dough right there.

It's also the way to go. Indie record labels that aren't affiliated with the RIAA are boss. Record labels sometimes get so out of hand that they ruin genres, like Epitaph. I hate Epitaph records and refuse to listen to anyone on that label. They ruined the punk music scene and if you don't think so, you probably don't know what punk music is. And now they sign wannabe MCs like Sage Francis and blues bands like the Black Keys. I also hate the Warped tour, since it seems to be where Epitaph ejaculates all of its shitty bands. Don't they even give you fucking Warped Tour merchandise bags to carry around for all the shit that they expect you to buy? It just feels like it's not about the music anymore. It's about the name, the aesthetics, and the gimmicks and worthless shit that you can buy to "support your band" That's so fucked up to me.

Did any of you guys that went to like a Doors or Led Zeppelin concert get handed your merchandise bags so you can buy Doors golf balls and tee-shirts and remote controls and coffee mugs?

[Drem]

But really I believe record sales profit accounts for the cost of actually recording and pressing so many copies of the record. Touring brings in the most money for a band. You can look at a band like Love, who were in the '60s in LA and who were an inspiration to the Doors. Most critics agree on and herald this band for capturing the feeling of the '60s in Hollywood the best. Even better than the Doors.

But have you ever heard of them? Probably not. Why? Because Arthur Lee refused to tour outside of Hollywood. They never got widespread recognition and they ended up running out of money and like Hendrix, only released three albums.

[Tikker]

But really I believe record sales profit accounts for the cost of actually recording and pressing so many copies of the record. Touring brings in the most money for a band. You can look at a band like Love, who were in the '60s in LA and who were an inspiration to the Doors. Most critics agree on and herald this band for capturing the feeling of the '60s in Hollywood the best. Even better than the Doors.

Buffalo Springfield jablowned them


too bad they couldn't get along

[Drem]

/agree

[Spazz]

I think the idea behind giving you the bag is to promote bands dude you know the stickers and such it just happens to come in handy if you do any warped shopping. I think warped has gone down hill a great deal but this years is lookin pretty good. Since i love to SUPPORT BANDS I LOVE and pretty much only where band shirts i think the bag comes in kinda handy ya know throw your against me shirt and your extra smokes and your drink in there and your good to go. Over the years epi has put out a lot of good cds ( nofx bad religion pennywise to name a few) and if im not mistaken hellcats a part of epi and hellcat has put out some of the punkest records( leftover crack choking victim lars and the bastards) in the most recent years. I guess thats not really relitive to riaa but i thought i owed you a response drem.

[Drem]

THe point is it's supposed to be a punk show but it's littered with corporate America. It's just really funny to me, because that's kind of not what punk was about...

Me personally, I don't like anything on Epitaph. When I listen to punk I listen to the MC5, iggy & the stooges, X, DK, etc.... Bad Religion was really good before Brad started Epitaph records. Rancid was really good before they signed to Epitaph... and imo, NOFX is not punk. It's pop. Like Blink 182 and shit. I lump bands like that together because they all have a really annoying cut & paste sound and even more annoying singers

[Spazz]

Nofx is a punk dude hate to break that one to ya but your wrong.poppy yes but still a punk band. Why dont you enlighten me drem as to what punk is about.Lotta corperations sponser warped but a lotta good bands and awareness booths goes on there to. The bands walk round in the crowd and talk to the fans. Its what you make of it A huge company sponsered commercial event or a punk/ska/hardcore festivel. Tell me somewhere that isnt ruined by corperate america?

[Jay]

Id let Tossica field this one.

[Tossica]

The only real punk rock bands I've seen in the last 20 years or so are the ones that noone ever hears of. Local bands made up of kids playing their hearts out without ever thinking about world tours, t-shirt sales, etc. If you want punk rock, go check out your local coffee house, basement/garage party, dive bar, etc. Don't look for it at Best Buy or on MTV, you won't find it.