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Dealing with Digital Music and Vendor Lock-In?

Posted by Cliff on from the what-to-buy dept.

rahuja asks: "Buying and using digital music is a far from easy decision today - there are various competing and incompatible formats, stores and players out there in the market, primarily Apple (AAC + iTunes + iPod), Windows (WMA + various stores + WMA-compatible players), and Sony (Atrac3 + Connect.com + Walkman). How do you then ensure that the music and player you buy today will not be incompatible with your player, online store or the OS?" "Burning to audio CD and ripping back is always possible, but it is a painfully slow process and all tag information (song, album, artiste) is lost in the process.

In the past, I've used Sony Connect [Ed: IE 5.5+ only] (thanks to a $10 card I got with a Sony CD Walkman), which locks you in to Sony-only devices, and later, WMA with MSN Music and a Creative Muvo Micro N200. My player just died, and I'm too scared to lock myself into a new player/format/store now. iPod doesn't have an FM tuner yet, and my WMA tracks will be useless if next year I switch to Mac once the new x86 Powerbooks come out. I'm not sure how real Real's Harmony is, and JHymn doesn't support iTunes 6 yet.

In an ideal world we'd all have OGG-based players with FM tuner, and access to DRM-less music, or at least a universal, compatible format.

How are you dealing with this issue? Or is it just me?"

12 of 612 comments (clear)

  1. Duh... like... by MouseR · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I burn an audio CD out of iTunes and voilà?

    No worry there.

    1. Re:Duh... like... by belly917 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Simple.. do your research to live in a DRM free environment

      Digital Audio Player
      I researched around for an non-cripled (no DRM) player that would mount as a hard drive, allowing access to the music files without the use of any software.

      Result:iRiver iHP-120 (which has better audio fidelity, plays more formats, and has many more options than the iPod [digital optical out/input, FM radio, etc.]) Not to mention I'm running rockbox on it so it's a wonderful experience

      Music purchases
      I buy CDs! I can rip everything in the FORMAT & BITRATE that I choose, and if, God forbid, I lose or destroy my DAP (& the duplicates on my computer) I can re-rip something. Also, if you search around, you can get CD's online for cheap & without tax.

  2. Easy by Eightyford · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Just buy a digital audio player that supports mp3 or ogg, and don't buy from the vendors that lock you in.

    --
    Religion for nerds. Stuff that really matters
  3. How is this different? by mtec · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Than buying an 8 track and then they come out with tape, CD etc?

    --
    Cake or Death? Cake Please!
  4. I don't buy music by davidwr · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't steal music, but I don't buy it either.

    It's my way of sticking it to the RIAA.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  5. All of.... by wpiman · · Score: 5, Informative
    allofmp3.com allows you to pick whatever format you desire.

    I choose mp3 because it works everywhere.

    1. Re:All of.... by gurutechanimal · · Score: 5, Informative

      You know, all this talk of voting with your wallet is completely true. I was once a very large consumer of music; my CD collection stands at over 2000 legitimate, store-bought discs. But ever since the RIAA started taking a very aggressive, anti-consumer stance with their products, I have done a few things:

      1) I stopped buying new music discs from stores.
      2) I increased my used CD purchases.
      3) I increased my concert attendance to give my money directly to artists.
      4) I started downloading music.

      What does all of this have to do with allofmp3.com? In the last 3 months, I've spent over $250 of my money with them. They provide exactly the kind of service that I would expect from an online music retailer: large selection, choice of format, reasonable pricing. It has totally eliminated numbers 1, 2, and 4 from the above list. It's the perfect solution (although I still buy used CD's when I can't find them on allofmp3).

      People are bitching that allofmp3 is:

      A) Unethical because the artists don't get paid: Well, they don't get paid when I go down to mall to buy a CD, and they don't get paid when I buy a used CD. Speaking as someone who at one time was under a major-label contract, artists don't get paid from record sales, unless they're already huge.

      B) Run by the russian Mafia: the record industry here is run by the mafia, or at least run LIKE the mafia. No sympathy here; at least if allofmp3 is run by the mafia, they don't pretend otherwise. Here, our record labels act like they exist to serve the artist...what a load!

      Look, the bottom line is that allofmp3 has it right. LARGE SELECTION, FAIR PRICES, CHOICE OF FORMAT, and EASE OF USE. I know they're doing it right, because I'm finally buying huge amounts of music again. It's everything a music store should be. And its far out of the reach of US law, thank God!

      --
      Governments are not necessary.
  6. Re:compact discs by BushCheney08 · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...you're going to be butting heads with DMA before long.

    That's why I use PIO. : p

    --
    Be a real patriot: Question authority. Think for yourself. Formulate your own conclusions.
  7. Magnatune by Gubbe · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I buy from Magnatune, Audio Lunchbox or one of the many other sites that sell open, non-DRM music in MP3, OGG Vorbis and FLAC formats.

    Why should I buy things from people who don't have respect for me and my wishes as a customer?

    No major label will ever again get a single penny from me until they say "screw DRM" and mean it too. If they don't, that's just fine with me. They can just wither and die for all I care.

    Solution provided.

  8. Not technically legal, TOTALLY legal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They pay the fee for the music. The police in Russia checked their licenses in response to an RIAA complaint and they're all in order.

    Globalisation doesn't just work for corporations importing cheap shoes, it works for you too.

  9. pirating & civil disobedience by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Personally, I own hundreds of CDs and all my iPod music is 100% legally ripped from them. Many of the CDs are used, many are greatest hits compilations, both of which save money, and I've purchased them over many years. I also buy my ipods when the new version comes out and the old version drops in price so I get a good deal.

    If you want to "pirate" to "make a point" the only caveat is this: any time you commit civil disobedience (breaking the law to embarrass the legislature into changing it) you have to be willing to face the consequences of breaking that law (fines and jail) in order to make your point. Remember, Gandhi insisted on being jailed (I think it was for making his own salt) in order to embarrass the government. In Canada, Mortgentaler went to jail repeatedly to uphold the right of women to abortion. In your own country, Doctor Death did the same.

    Otherwise you're not a crusader, you're just another whiny punk who wants everything for free immediately. Considering you could do what I do, there's an obvious alternative to pirating to avoid DRM.

  10. AllOfMp3.com by Trevahaha · · Score: 5, Insightful

    http://www.allofmp3.com/ lets you buy DRM-free music and instead of paying per song, you pay per bandwidth... you choose your format that you want and you choose the compression rate. It's pretty sweet. It's based out of Russia and is legal to buy from.