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Shifting From P2P To Stream Ripping

An anonymous reader submits "As users continue to try fending off the ever more litigious music industry, some seem to have dropped P2P entirely, moving to ripping instead. While they lose some control over what they are downloading, it's a untraceable way to download music (no way for the RIAA to track users or sue). With some of the more powerful software that's been coming out recently, stream ripping has become more main-stream. Some of the more well known software packages, like StationRipper, allow users to download several thousand songs on a daily basis. And, depending on how you read the law, it's 100% legal. How will the RIAA respond? As more users move to this type of technology to avoid the P2P lawsuits, how will the music industry respond?"

22 of 577 comments (clear)

  1. Just make sure... by i_want_you_to_throw_ · · Score: 5, Informative

    The station you rip is streaming their songs with the ID3 tags otherwise the software won't know when to stop one MP3 and start another one.

  2. streamripper by quelrods · · Score: 5, Informative

    don't forget streamripper.sourceforge.net They have support for just abt every os under the sun and if all else fails you can recompile yourself. I think finding a stream that spends 50% or more of it's time playing music you enjoy and ripping results in nice collection. (I do this because our bandwith at work is overused and streaming doesn't work out so well.)

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    :(){ :|:&};:
  3. Stream ripping easy does it with your friend Linux by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 4, Informative
    I've been doing that with ALSA under Linux, and SoundBlaster Live! cards for a long time. No need to dowload anything. Here's how:

    Start alsamixer

    Set the capture source to "wave"

    Jack up the "wave capture" setting

    Capture the stream (or anything currently playing in fact) from /dev/dsp

    Just think people have been bitching and moaning about the truly staggering number of ALSA settings for SB-Lives!, now see how it's useful?

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  4. Re:My parents used to do this by pauls2272 · · Score: 5, Informative

    "Sure it sounded bad but they didn't care. And neither did the RIAA..."

    Actually they DID care. That is why a royalty is paid to record companies for every blank tape sold. To compensate them for the copying people did at home.

  5. Re:Good idea but... by nkh · · Score: 3, Informative

    When you connect to a Shoutcast station, the server sends you a buffer of the music being played, and IIRC stream rippers just make a lot of fake connections to have the whole song by appending these buffers, that's why the quality should be the same.

    What bothers me is that the program StationRipper claims it can record up to 300 streams at one time, when a usual 512k DSL connection is limited to 4 CD quality streams (128k mp3)...

  6. Re:Good idea but... by Suidae · · Score: 4, Informative

    Why not just rip from CDs borrowed from friends (or the library)?

    Libraries are great sources, and so are used music and book stores. They will generally buy stuff back after you've had it for a while too. The music ends up not being totally free, but it only costs a couple of bucks per CD, which is better than anywhere else.

  7. Re: depending on how you read the law... by sir_cello · · Score: 3, Informative


    Well, UK and EU copyright law allows an exception for "time shifting" on domestic premises (i.e. video recording a television broadcast for playback later).

    It doesn't state whether the time shifting copy could only be used once, but it's implied, and generally the copyright exceptions are subject to an overridding berne three step test that the exception is limited to acts that do not prejudice the right holder. This means that although the exceptions are available, if you abuse them in aggregate then it could be a problem.

    However, theoretically, you could set up stream ripper to rip from thousands of stations, and only play back the song once at a later date, then delete it. Effectively, a music PVR. This would - in my interpretation - entirely justified under UK CDPA 1988 and the other EU national copyright laws that were harmonised in the late 1990s.

  8. Re:Keys to the kingdom for $9.95?!? by EverDense · · Score: 4, Informative

    Freeware Stream Ripper for Windows http://www.naturpic.com/all2wav/

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    http://jesus.everdense.com/
  9. For Mac Users... by toupsie · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you are using Mac OS X, you can use audio hijaak pro. It lets you record RealAudio, Windows Media and MP3 streams. I use it all the time to time shift radio shows I like to AAC or MP3 for my iPod. Works like a charm. You can set up schedules and file sizes. Really sharp.

    --
    Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
  10. Re:I said it yesterday... by Have+Blue · · Score: 3, Informative

    Everyone who makes this joke is neglecting the fact that this part of the DMCA only applies to encryption added by the legitimate owner of the copyright on whatever is being protected. So, no, encrypting your Kazaa traffic will not let you countersue the RIAA when you get busted.

  11. Except by metalhed77 · · Score: 3, Informative

    If you're doing this your only viable option is to encode to wav and use up a lot of space. The point of stream ripping is that it preserves the original encoding. There's no way i'm reencoding a 128 kbps MP3 from /dev/dsp.

    --
    Photos.
  12. Re:What's the equivalent for movies? by Z-MaxX · · Score: 5, Informative

    You can use ASFRecorder, or, what I've been doing lately, use MPlayer with the -dumpstream option to save absolutely anything. I've recorded Windows Media video (with audio), RealMedia streams, MP3, and more. Works like a charm.

    --
    Dr Superlove 300ml. I use my powers for awesome
  13. Re:Good idea but... by Hwon · · Score: 4, Informative

    There are many high-quality stations on Shoutcast. Some go up as high as 320k/s, though there are very few of those and genre is fairly limited. Though there are plenty of streams around 256 just have to sort by bandwidth.

  14. Re:My parents used to do this by Suppafly · · Score: 4, Informative

    Hmmmm... maybe I should consider building a Line In for my car cassette deck, so I can hook my portable MP3 player directly into it.

    Mini jack to tape adapters only cost about $3 for a cheap one.

  15. The RIAA has anticipated this by jgabby · · Score: 3, Informative

    The RIAA has been expecting this for a while now. Over the past several months they have been lobbying the FCC to put copy protection on the new Digital Audio Broadcasting (IBOC) to prevent this very thing. So far the FCC has held back from doing anything because RIAA has failed to show harm already being done - I wonder if this will be their example?

    They argue that ripping programs to individual songs is illegal because it is "librarying" - which is NOT a legitimate fair use. Rest assured, they will come after it.

  16. Re:My parents used to do this by tkrotchko · · Score: 4, Informative

    Type I - Standard tape, useless except for radio recordings and voice
    Type II - Better sound than Type II. Good for stuff you just wanted to listen to in the car.
    Type IV - Metal tapes. Good enough to tape an album and listen to in your home stereo. Expensive, so you had to wait for sales.

    I seem to remember
    Type III - Chrome tapes. Good enough for most stuff, but tended to be noisier too.

    This is all from 25 years ago, so its a bit tough to remember everything.

    --
    You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
  17. I just signed up for allofmp3.com by dougnaka · · Score: 3, Informative
    And I've spent a whopping $3.50 and got 4 full albums. It's legal, and like buying CD's doesn't screw the artists anyways. I'll go to shows and buy merchandise from them to pay them directly, where they get higher royalties.

    There's an interesting thread here about it, scroll down to the one that starts "OK, here's the scoop on allofmp3.com" by ronross.

    $.01/MB is about what I think is fair for online music, you like $.99/track great, I don't, I like $.05/track. If I thought artists deserve to live like rock stars I'd send them parts of every paycheck, or buy them coke, but I don't. If a musician makes more a year than I do for what is obviously less work then they can't complain.

    The URL again where you can legally get tons of good quality music for $.01/MB is www.allofmp3.com
    The English button is at the top left, FYI.

    Oh, and by the way, I welcome all flames/spam/etc to my personal email address kgb@submarinefund.com

    --
    My Linux Command of the Day site : LCOD
    1. Re:I just signed up for allofmp3.com by Torne · · Score: 3, Informative

      I also use allofmp3, and I think I should clarify its legality as your post is a bit optimistic about it. =)

      The artists do not get paid; you know that, but it's not neccecarily obvious to others. Some of the music is sourced from a single bought CD, most is sourced from downloaded MP3s. The Online Encoding Exclusive tracks are all CD sourced; the others are at best 320Kbit MP3 sources - yes, all the non-Exclusive OE tracks are being transcoded, not encoded from the original.

      Yes, it's legal for them to operate the service because they are complying with Russian law.

      However, it is not neccecarily legal for you to USE the service. The situation seems analogous to buying stolen goods when you know they are stolen. It's not exactly analogous from a legal POV, though. I don't know the exact position of US law, but piracy law in the UK and much of Europe counts the party receiving the copy as liable as well as the party making the copy. I consulted an intellectual property lawyer and was assured that yes, under UK law, usage of allofmp3 is definately illegal, though it might be treated leniently given that someone who's not really clued in might believe that the site is a legitimate music seller.

      Coverage of P2P lawsuits in the US suggests that US law does not consider the recipient of a copy liable, which would probably make it legal to use allofmp3, but IANAL and my lawyer friend doesn't know US law well enough.

  18. Re:Good idea but... by jrockway · · Score: 3, Informative

    Umm how do they know you're using a ripper? Oh. They don't.

    They send you a stream. Instead of writing it to /dev/dsp it writes /home/you/file.mp3. They really can't tell the difference :)

    --
    My other car is first.
  19. Re:Good idea but... by UnassumingLocalGuy · · Score: 3, Informative

    The only thing I have against ripping from my local public library is that the discs are very commonly scratched beyond recognition/ripability.

    --
    "Hu, ho, ho-ah-oh-oh-oh. Hu, ho ho-ah-oh-oh-oh. Mario Paint! Whoaaa!"
  20. Re:Good idea but... by Kevin_Peters · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://freshmeat.net/projects/streamripper/ I use it on linux, and it's pretty cool.

    --
    The music is all around us. I can hear it. Can you?
  21. Re:Legal Question (was Re:Good idea but...) by greyfeld · · Score: 5, Informative
    Actually burning a friend's CD with an approved device and approved media is completely legal as long as you are not selling the CD's. The Audio Home Recording Act was basically the government giving into the music lobby. They record companies (many owned by the makers of the recorders) realized that there was nothing they could do about home taping and the manufacturers of recording devices agreed to levy a tax on their product and everyone would look the other way. If you are using a device that is made specificaly for copying, then copy away!!

    There is a catch though, you must use a device that is "commonly distributed to individuals for use by individuals" and for which the primary purpose of the device is to make such recordings. What are these devices? Well they are DAT tape recorders, Cassette recorders, and CD recorders sold in places like Best Buy that are set top units. CD-ROM drives and computers are not "marketed for the primary purpose" of making digital audio copies, so they don't fit the law. You must also use blanks that are for the express purpose of copying music. They must also contain the SCMS (serial copy management system) that prevents you from making copies of copies. Source disks must be originals in these devices. Obviously, these controls do not exist on CDROM drives or computers.

    There is a tax on these devices and blanks that is distributed out to the artists as royalties based on their popularity, etc. That's the crux of the issue - CD-ROM drives are not marketed as primarily CD copying devices, nor are computers and they do not contain the record copyright controls. But these set top boxes have only one real function, and there is a additional tax levied on them in the U.S. to legitimize their use.

    Find a copy of the law here.

    Section 1001 defines a "digital audio recording device" as: "Any machine or device of a type commonly distributed to individuals for use by individuals, whether or not included with or as part of some other machine or device, the digital recording function of which is designed or marketed for the primary purpose of, and that is capable of, making a digital audio copied recording for private use ...".

    Section 1008 says "No action may be brought under this title alleging infringement of copyright based on the manufacture, importation, or distribution of a digital audio recording device, a digital audio recording medium, an analog recording device, or an analog recording medium, or based on the non-commercial use by a consumer of such a device or medium for making digital musical recordings or analog music recordings."