Can I overcome this Copyright Protection?

[nickelzy]

This is a bit off topic for this forum, and for that I apologize (but I am thinking that there are so many knowledgeable people on this forum that problaby know the answer to this, so I'll fire away)

In an effort to download music LEGALLY, I signed up for itunes. After buying my first song and realizing that I can't even play it in Windows Media Player because it is MP4 format, I deleted the program from my computer. I decided to give the new Napster a try since the songs that you buy there are in WMA format. I was thinking that with a new program that I bought (Alive MP3 converter - which can convert WMA to MP3) I could buy the song and then convert to MP3. However, after I bought the song and tried to convert, I got the message that the song is copyright protected and won't allow me to convert.

Bottom line - is there anyway to take songs that I BUY LEGALLY from the internet and convert them into mp3 so that I can do with them whatever I want on my computer? This blows - I'm trying to go the legal route but I don't want WMA files (my portable mp3 won't play files in that format). I'm willing to pay for the music, but I want to do with them what I want. Is there anyway around this or is this just the way it is now?

[gitreel]

If we told you, we would be violating the dmca.

[Dimmer]

In other words, NO, legally in US you can't do what you're trying to achieve. Of course, the fact that upsets millions of users is that you bought the songs legally thinking they are yours now, but they are not.

[wulf109]

Current version of AnyDVD claims to overcome audioCD copy protection,might be worth a try.

[barrybear]

I think you will find that you can BURN the file you have bought to disk through windows.

There are other ways so I am told using winamp and a special plugin that overwrights the original diskwrighter plugin but I could not possibly comment on this as I have never tryed it

Barrybear

[888888]

This is a bit off topic for this forum, and for that I apologize (but I am thinking that there are so many knowledgeable people on this forum that problaby know the answer to this, so I'll fire away)

In an effort to download music LEGALLY, I signed up for itunes. After buying my first song and realizing that I can't even play it in Windows Media Player because it is MP4 format, I deleted the program from my computer. I decided to give the new Napster a try since the songs that you buy there are in WMA format. I was thinking that with a new program that I bought (Alive MP3 converter - which can convert WMA to MP3) I could buy the song and then convert to MP3. However, after I bought the song and tried to convert, I got the message that the song is copyright protected and won't allow me to convert.

Bottom line - is there anyway to take songs that I BUY LEGALLY from the internet and convert them into mp3 so that I can do with them whatever I want on my computer? This blows - I'm trying to go the legal route but I don't want WMA files (my portable mp3 won't play files in that format). I'm willing to pay for the music, but I want to do with them what I want. Is there anyway around this or is this just the way it is now?

Simple solution: don't use these services!!! By not buying into their bullshit, you are sending these companies and the music industry a clear message. The market should be dictated by what the buyers want, not what the industry will allow us to have. I hope to god all of these ridiculous services like Napster fail and people will come to their senses.

[Supreme2k]

You're basically screwed, because you don't really buy the songs. You are merely buying a limited-use license which generally allows playback on a specific machine, with specific software, for a specific number of plays (or time limit).

The only way around this is to join a service that let's you download in mp3 or raw (ha!) format so that you don't have to deal with all the DRM bullshit.

The other option is illegal. Since you're going about your music downloading the legal way, you must adhere to their rules and abide by their restrictions.

[Headbanger's Ball]

There are programs that will record the sounds off you sound card as the songs play and leaves nice little unprotected files on your computer ready to burn & do with what you please.

That's the simplest way I know of.

Of course I agree with 888888. STOP BUYING MUSIC!!!
And I also say; "If you purchased something, then it is YOURS." Where do they get off saying you don't own something you bought?


This is all easy for me to say too...grunge killed hard rock 13 years ago & I've had nothing new to listen to in a long time.

[nickelzy]

Well, thanks for all of your feedback and suggestions, but I discovered today that many of you are wrong. I CAN do what I was seeking to achieve, and rather easily!

What I do now is buy the song from iTunes and then burn the song (from iTunes software). After spending $14.95 for Winamp Pro, I can then use this program to take the file from cd and convert it to mp3. Now the 5 songs that I bought today are in the format that I want, I can play them on my older mp3 player (that doesn't support Mp4 or WMA), and I can do whatever the hell I want with them!

As for not buying the songs - not sure I agree with that. I think the service is pretty damn good (now that I've got a way to put the songs that I buy in the format that I want). I have no complaints any longer! And for 99 cents for a song or $9.99 for the album, not a bad deal if you ask me.

Again, thanks for everyone's replies to my post (even if some of them were not correct)

[fritzi93]

This is all easy for me to say too...grunge killed hard rock 13 years ago & I've had nothing new to listen to in a long time.

You bet it's dead. Rock music, hmm, coalesced (?) in the fifties, and the original impetus lasted about a generation. Then the music industry all but killed it with "formula" albums. Kinda like how the Nashville "formula" killed genuine country music. Punk managed to revive Rock a little. But it's well and truly dead now.

So how long does copyright go now? Surely you're legal if you download some very old Leadbelly or T-Bone Walker (?). Better than the sh*t they put out now. Which reminds me, I've been looking for something...

[Greg12]

yes you can get around it buy burning and ripping the audio cd, but you could have used a free audio cd program (dbamp)

[nickelzy]

Well, that would have been nice to know a little earlier - that's why I posed the question

Just kiddin - oh well, 15 bucks won't set me back too much and most of all, I'm just happy I can do what I was setting out to do!

[stonysleep]

A couple of things spring to mind
The best conversion method i've seen is on a mac, where some versions of roxio toast titanium convert the DRM'd AAC files from iTunesMusicStore direct to mp3, though i have never tried it.
But even then it's not perfect, cos that conversion is gonna lose quality, albeit not as much as going from AAC to AIF to MP3 will, and when u consider u're going from a file which has started as AIF to go to AAC - that's just my take on it

[Nilfennasion]

This is all easy for me to say too...grunge killed hard rock 13 years ago & I've had nothing new to listen to in a long time.

www.peaceville.com
www.nuclearblast.com
www.moonfog.com

Plenty new and exciting stuff there.[/url]

[dphirschler]

I can then use this program to take the file from cd and convert it to mp3. Now the 5 songs that I bought today are in the format that I want, I can play them on my older mp3 player (that doesn't support Mp4 or WMA), and I can do whatever the hell I want with them!

But you are still most likely violating the license and are no longer "legal" with those songs.


Darryl

[junkmalle]

Grunge didn't kill rock and roll. MTV did. The transformation from an audio format to a video format made the audio secondary. This resulted in flashy videos with crappy music.

It is appropriate that the very first music video played on MTV was the Buggle's "Video Killed the Radio Star".

[yoda313]

Hello,

"But you are still most likely violating the license and are no longer "legal" with those songs.


Darryl"
Your probably technically correct, but shouldn't this count as personal backups under fair use? I would assume that like this site said conversion of purchased material is ok. They should have made these backward compatible to work with old systems instead of needing special players {ie ipod}. Anyway, I just thought this seems like a "fair use" issue (while we still have them here in the US )
Kevin
P.S. I tried the quote thing to highlight Darryl's quote but I couldn't get it to work properly, it just made my whole text a quote (anyone know how to do this properly?)

[junkmalle]

P.S. I tried the quote thing to highlight Darryl's quote but I couldn't get it to work properly, it just made my whole text a quote (anyone know how to do this properly?)

You use a "close quote" tag to demark the end of the quote:

[cuote] Quoted text [/cuote]

I mispelled quote so you could see the tags. If you want to quote with a name use:

[cuote=name] Quoted text [/cuote]

Oh, and you can use the Quote button: press the Quote button, type (or paste) the text, then press the *Quote button.

[yoda313]

You use a "close quote" tag to demark the end of the quote:

[cuote] Quoted text [/cuote]

I mispelled quote so you could see the tags. If you want to quote with a name use:

[cuote=name] Quoted text [/cuote]

Oh, and you can use the Quote button: press the Quote button, type (or paste) the text, then press the *Quote button.

Hello,
Thanks junkmalle! I think I got it. I appreciate the help.
Kevin

[nickelzy]

But you are still most likely violating the license and are no longer "legal" with those songs.

Oh boy... if they want to come to my house and slap a lawsuit on me for doing what I am with the files that I AM BUYING and not distributing to anyone else - then I'll give them personal directions to my doorstep via mapquest. :P

[crashnburn]

too bad I didn't read ths post on time but I could of told you the same thing that you did without even have to spend $15 on Winamp. What you did is correct in that you burn the songs you download to say...a CDRW (so that you can re-use it again) and then rip the track back to the hard drive under whatever format you want. Since you mentioned that you burn the songs you downloaded, what software did you use to burn because for example, Roxio will allow you to rip the track to hard drive without spending the extra $15. Also, there are a few freeware apps out there that allows you to rip from CD to file.

[ValamirCleaver]

This is all easy for me to say too...grunge killed hard rock 13 years ago & I've had nothing new to listen to in a long time.

www.peaceville.com
www.nuclearblast.com
www.moonfog.com

Plenty new and exciting stuff there.[/url]

And to add some of my own.

www.centurymedia.com
www.spvusa.com

[indolikaa]

What U Hear

[Nilfennasion]

Ah yes, Century Media. I used to listen to their product all the time, but then Theatre Of Tragedy went MTV-style, and I basically decided I had no reason to bother anymore.

I wonder if Osmose have bothered to get a website yet?

[ValamirCleaver]

Ah yes, Century Media. I used to listen to their product all the time, but then Theatre Of Tragedy went MTV-style, and I basically decided I had no reason to bother anymore.

Your tastes must differ from mine. I'm not into Death Metal, Black Metal, Grindcore, Thrash, Punk or Alternative. I prefer Nuclear Blast, SPV/Steamhammer, and Century Media for their Classic Rock, Classic Metal, Progressive Metal and Power Metal offerings.

[Nilfennasion]

My only real preference is for what I seriously refer to as "real music". That said, what started out wonderfully with bands like Napalm Death or Morbid Angel is fast turning into a trend with a multitude of bands diving in with nothing interesting to contribute to the genre. Even those two bands are partly to blame for it, in fact.

I've actually been listening more and more to the Repo Man soundtrack, honestly.

[junkmalle]

You use a "close quote" tag to demark the end of the quote:

[cuote] Quoted text [/cuote]

I mispelled quote so you could see the tags. If you want to quote with a name use:

[cuote=name] Quoted text [/cuote]

Oh, and you can use the Quote button: press the Quote button, type (or paste) the text, then press the *Quote button.

Hello,
Thanks junkmalle! I think I got it. I appreciate the help.
Kevin

Oops, I gave the wrong instructions for quoting with a name. The name must be in parenthesis:

[cuote="name"] Quoted text [/cuote]

Sorry!

[dphirschler]

"But you are still most likely violating the license and are no longer "legal" with those songs."

Your probably technically correct, but shouldn't this count as personal backups under fair use? I would assume that like this site said

I was just making light of the situation. I found it ironic that you were trying (very hard I might add) to stay legal but you had to circumvent digital encryption, which under the DMCA is considered illegal (although I don't know if this has been tested in a court of law). But I applaud your effort to stay legal. It just goes to show you how stupid some of our copyright laws are.


Darryl

[yoda313]

"Darryl-but you had to circumvent digital encryption, which under the DMCA is considered illegal"
Hello,
Just to keep it light and continue the argument, it's not a direct circumvention. If you think about it Itunes and others let you make your own music cds which they KNOW can and will be ripped in some future time. All your doing is converting that version which is ok'd by them.

And actually, I think I remember Windows 98 having the MP3 code preinstalled (not certain). If that's the case then Microsoft itself was contributing to the mp3 craze.

One more note, I never would have gotten into mp3's if the media hadn't jumped on it back in the Napster days. I'm sure it would have kept going but not as large. Whenever mass media tells you how to do something for free people will do it. They have as much to be guilty about as the rest of us.

RIAA should sue the big 3 media networks for spreading the word!!!
Kevin

[zak_swan]

mIRC