Digtal music download news

[jons]

Two pieces of news. Music downloads are interesting, honest!

Anger over DRM-free iTunes tracks

The launch of music tracks free of digital locks on iTunes has been overshadowed by the discovery that they contain data about who bought them.

Some fear this data could be used to identify the owner of the tracks if they turn up on file-sharing sites.

The tracks from record company EMI cost more and are of a better quality than standard iTunes songs.

Apple has yet to comment on what it plans to do with the information embedded in the music files.

Lock off

The tracks without the digital locks, known as Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology, officially went on sale on 30 May under the iTunes Plus banner. The downloads cost $1.29 (99p in the UK) rather than $0.99 (79p in the UK).

Apple uses a technology known as Fairplay to limit what people can do with downloads. Fairplay can be circumvented by burning tracks to a CD and then converting them to another format.

News site Ars Technica was among the first to discover that downloaded tracks free of Fairplay have embedded within them the full name and account information, including e-mail address, of who bought them.

It suggested that this information could be an anti-piracy measure as it could help work out who was putting downloads on file-sharing sites.

But it also added that the user information was found on all the tracks that people buy on iTunes whether free of DRM or not.

It was not clear, said Ars Technica, whether the data was part of Apple's administration system for iTunes or something else. It said because the data was easy to spoof Apple needed to explain why the data was present.

The BBC has contacted Apple seeking comment but so far the company has made no official response.

Other websites said it was only a matter of time before a utility program was produced which could strip out the identifying information.

At this point it is not yet clear how deeply the user data is buried in the track or how easy it is to remove.

EMI's decision to sell DRM-free tracks was announced in April.

At the launch event Apple boss Steve Jobs announced that the iTunes store was the first to sign up to sell them.

Tracks by artists such as Coldplay, Joss Stone, Frank Sinatra and Pink Floyd are available without DRM technology.

The EMI/Apple move followed an open letter penned by Steve Jobs in February that called for music companies to release tracks without digital locks.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6711215.stm

[jons]

Music downloads: free, safe, legal and artists get paid!

We7 is all set to create a new free music downloads community. And, if you love music downloads, you need to be part of it!

Over the coming months, with your involvement, you will see We7 become one of the most significant music download destinations.

With We7, your favourite tracks from your favourite artists will eventually be yours to download free, safe and legally.
You'll get the chance to review the best new music and the latest new bands as a We7 TasteMaker.

With no DRM you'll be able to play your music downloads when and how you like - and even share them (legally) with your friends. Plus being a member of We7 will be completely free.

I hate ads! But I like FREE!

At We7, we know that ads are not always desirable, so as with everything in life it's a balance and We7 will give you a choice.

* If you want a track now with no ad, then we will give you a way to buy the track at normal price.
* If you want a track that is free, legal, safe and the artist gets rewarded then we add the ad. However, you don't have to have the ad forever, as with We7 technology, after a period of time (4 weeks) you will have the choice to have the track 'ad free'. So, enjoy We7 and the new digital music download model.

'Keep it' legal - don't support music download piracy

You may have used those Peer 2 Peer (P2P) or low-cost/no-cost download sites. The fact is, most are illegal, they're unsafe and the artist never gets paid!

You may well get all the music you want this way. But you could also get lots of other things - like spyware, viruses and other Internet nasties. Not to mention programs that expose your identity and steal your personal information. With We7, the music is paid for - and you get the free music and video downloads you want, safely and legally.
All the fun of the share

Sharing music is all part of the fun of music downloading. And, best of all, as a We7 member, you won't have to keep your music downloads to yourself.

All the music and videos you download are yours and via We7's site you are free to share with family, friends, whoever you want... and all in a way that's free, safe and legal.

www.we7.com/

[jons]

To coincide with these two pieces of news here is an interview with Peter Gabriel on the BBC's Click technology programme.

Peter speaks about the new free ad-based music service WE7 among other things: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/default.stm

[comet]

Hi Folks,
This has always been a gray area for me.
you can support an artist in a few ways.

You can go to their concerts which funds the artist directly.
You can buy their records in the hope that the artist gets their share of the sale price.
You can recommend their work to people or buy gifts of genuine albums for your friends / relatives etc.

The gray area is in the copying of material for friends etc.
The friend may then NOT buy an original of the item at all, ever..
This is BAD for the artist you support.
Or the friend may go out and buy the whole CD collection available.
This is a GOOD outcome for the artist you support..

If I am loaned a cd and I like the material I usually buy a copy of the item in the usual high street outlets, ie Tower, Virgin or HMV. I do like to have the material item with its sleeve notes etc. I still feel the need for something real,something I can hold in my hand and put away until later. This is my way of supporting the artist and I have around four thousand titles to remind me, but many have been neglected since I heard Hayley sing, head and shoulders above many who have gone before her.. i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

I am not in favour of downloads mainly because EQUIPMENT is not 100% reliable. Many generations and formats of equipment have come and gone but at least I still have the discs to go back to.The disc is your licence to play this music for your own use (Not for public performance or broadcast).

I am also big time against Apple and I POd. Even mentioning their name makes me sick. Just a couple of greedy companies have messed up the whole computer industry FOR EVER. We can never go back now and devise a single compatible system. Now the computer industry is just an access system into your personal earnings forcing you to buy new "compatible" programmes and licence agreements and anti virus systems. I have lost count of the number of times I Have bought a new version of Windows with either a new computer or an upgrade. I never thought I would be so easily led into buying things I did not really want. What have we done to our children who seem to accept this as normal.....
I am rambling now so I'll shut up.

SAY NO TO DOWNLOADS.

comet

[jons]

I've never bothered with a Ipod, but I have had no real trouble with Napster apart from a few delayed releases.

In the future there will be no DRM and no compatibility issues simply because downloads are popular and progress can not be stopped.

[comet]

Hi Folks.

can you leave your "Collection" of downloads in your will to be divided among a few people. They will stand around saying things like :

"Ohh I'd say this one has increased in value by now, let's sell it at an auction"

Or rummaging in an attic the come across a tiny white box like thing with a half eaten apple on it.

"Ohh I've found granddads download collection"

more likely to be a "HARD DISC FAILED" notice..

comet

[jons]

There seems to be a lot of people against downloaded music, etc. But there is another side.
For someone like me who likes to listen to lots of music and doesn’t want to spend a fortune on CD’s that stack up, it’s a saviour. Even if you don’t go down the subscription route you only have to download the tracks you want from an album saving you money. £15 or $15 a month is the equivalent of one and a half CD’s. You can download as much as you want. And if you don’t like an album you delete it and you haven’t lost out. For instance I only listened to Angelis a couple of times - I wasn’t really impressed - so I deleted it. If I had bought the CD it would of ended up in a box slowly gathering dust, a waste of 10 pounds. With subscription you can take risks, discover new music. Fear of the service being cancelled? Well the US version of Virgin’s subscription was, but they put customers on to Napster’s service; the only chore being the downloading of all the songs you had from scratch, but I don’t think it cost an extra penny.

Compatibility isn’t a problem now, almost all players support DRM. Almost all the huge capacity player all support DRM9 needed for the subscription services, which is the player you would be getting if you were considering a subscription service anyway.

CD’s are not going to die out! If you have a half decent Hifi system you would have a CD player. CD’s are still best for hi-quality sound reproduction…. look, some artists still record on vinyl!

Yes, there is a lot of confusion now regarding computer operating systems etc. Virus’s have been with us even before the internet, it was inevitable they would spread on the World Wide Web. Isn’t £35 a year worth keeping your computer safe? You can even get anti-virus programmes and Firewall’s free if you want.

Technology is constantly improving. Eventually computer will be so smart as to recognise virus’s and Malware, in fact Vista has a certificate system which programme must now have to work, otherwise they get classed as Malware and won’t be allowed to run.

The ‘Quantum Internet’ may be a long way off but its encryption systems mean it would be extremely difficult for even an expert to hack into a system. Firewall may not be needed anymore.

And computer code will be revolutionised ending compatibility forever. It has to happen eventually, with all the research going into it.

DRM. Is it really that bad? When you have downloaded your music you just download it to your player, if you get another player you can download it to that too. WE7 is an opportunity to give music to people who don’t want to pay anything and don’t want DRM. The adverts are the source of royalty for the artists. The subscription service monthly fee gives the artists there royalties, if you go down that route.

Look at it this way: Hayley Westenra’s Best Of; if you’re a collector you would get hold of that, no problem. If your someone who likes to look after their money and don’t have that much of it you wouldn’t wont to buy that CD just for the bonus track (‘Time Too Say Goodbye’). I for one would wait to see if it gets released as a downloadable track.

[davemcc]

Is DRM actually that bad? Sure it protects the music, but buying it on a CD, you co do all the tings with it that DRM tries to protect anway. Only downside is that you can't listen to songs on many players, just maybe one or two. I only buy CD's when I want to have actual something, not just a MP3 or whatever.

I would occationly buy and download Hayleys music, but with her, would like CD's too. Last thing I downloaded and bought online was "Avril Lavigne - B sides" and it was quite good and "Pokarekare Ana" too.

I have Windows Vista Home Premium and have had little to know problems with viruses and malware and things coming to my computer, altough I would recommend not just using "Windows Defender" as it can find spyware on your pc when you do a full system scan. Its supposed to stop that stuff before it comes right? I use also with it, Spybot Search&Destroy and both work well.

If your into a music artist and a collector, you would want CD's. If you only want one or two tracks, download them. I don't think CDs will die out, even if or when a newer system comes to replace them like CD's did to viynal. Viynal is still good becuase it uses variable bit rate rather than constant bit rate. Still does not compare to the live, real thing though.

One thing I can say, with CD's you get that touch that Mp3 downloads can't such as the cover booklet with thanks, photos etc...

[toronado]

Wasn't sure where to put this, it relates to Hayley peripherally I suppose, as it could mean the end of her availability on iTunes.

www.dailytech.com/Report+Universal+Music+Group+Declines+to+Renew+iTunes+Contract/article7909.htm

[Dave]

Thanks Toronado, it's probably in the right place here.

I for one am glad that someone may be prepared to stand up to Apple iTunes as I hate the idea of monopoly with a passion. And iTunes certainly come under the heading of digital downloads monopoly.

Good luck to Universal, I say.

Cheers, Dave