Napster Sucks

[Lynn_Bodoni]

*Originally posted by UnuMondo *
**It’s probably just better to get it for free from file-sharing services. Why pay for all your music if you can get it for free?

UnuMondo **

Because not paying for your music is illegal, and we do NOT allow advocating illegal activities on the SDMB.

Lynn
For the Straight Dope

[elf6c]

*Originally posted by Mr2001 *
**I agree with your reasons, but I can’t see myself supporting a service that doesn’t provide the one feature every illegal P2P system has - a standard file format that will play everywhere.

I wish they’d just set up a “tip jar” web site, so I could download songs in a useful format from (insert P2P site here), then give each artist a quarter, which is more than they’d be getting from iTunes or Napster anyway. **

I believe on I Tunes you can end up with a restriction free MP3. It is just a two step process. You download the file as a ACC, then can rip it to CDROM as a MP3. From there you can use it how you like (say to play it in a non-I Pod player). I do believe there are resistriction on how many times you can rip the song to MP3. Each action is legal and allowed by Apple.

Check out the I-Tunes threads here or search for details and PCWorld or other sites.

Note: I don’t download tunes yet, but checked into the I-Tunes thing.

[rjung]

Slight correction: you buy the songs from the iTunes Music Store as an AAC, then burn it as an audio CD. You can then re-rip it as an MP3, with some loss in quality.

[umop_ap_sdn]

*Originally posted by Mr2001 *
**I wish they’d just set up a “tip jar” web site, so I could download songs in a useful format from (insert P2P site here), then give each artist a quarter, which is more than they’d be getting from iTunes or Napster anyway. **

I agree that would be a nice thing to have, but it would probably require a bill making it legal.

Another difference between P2P and pay sites is the pay sites seem to be lacking in variety, although I do not speak from personal experience on this matter.

[cheddarsnax]

*Originally posted by rjung *
**Slight correction: you buy the songs from the iTunes Music Store as an AAC, then burn it as an audio CD. You can then re-rip it as an MP3, with some loss in quality. **

I’d rather not go through this process with every track I purchase. It’s a waste of time, and I’m sure the quality loss would be noticeable.

[rjung]

Unfortunately, the RIAA ain’t gonna let anyone sell music online without some sort of copy protection. The loss in quality from AAC -> MP3 is what they’re counting on in this case. Apple’s preferred solution is to sell you an iPod instead, so you can listen to your AAC tracks on the go.

[Ms2001]

*Originally posted by cheddarsnax *
**I’d rather not go through this process with every track I purchase. It’s a waste of time, and I’m sure the quality loss would be noticeable. **

Indeed. I’m not worried about the loss of quality (it can’t be worse than FM radio), but it seems like an awful hassle. That’s about 10 minutes to burn the disc, 10 minutes to rip the tracks, then another 10 minutes to burn an MP3 disc.

And for what? To let some RIAA executive pretend he’s doing something to stop music piracy? Newsflash, suits: This ain’t gonna help. I guarantee that every track on iTunes and “Napster” is already available illegally on the real P2P networks.

The people who want to go out of their way to copy music will do it anyway, because to them it’s worth spending half an hour to Stick It To The Man™. To the rest of us, DRM is just a needless inconvenience.