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If I pay for something I want to be able to use it any way I want. This does not include giving a song to somebody else. DRM puts me at the mercy of the record companies. I consider this unfair use of rights.
With official audio downloads and even CDs and high-rez audio now encumbered with DRM (digital rights management) technology, it would appear we are at the dawn of the restricted music format age. Is this a problem for you, or just another bump in the audio road?
Now that some of my favorite artists new releases are coming out with copy protection and DRM enabled. I absolutly will not buy thier CD unless it is able to be made into MP3 files. Some of the CDs even say on the back that they are not regular audio CDs. That gives me a heads up that something about the format has been altered. I was going to buy a new PC with Windows Media Center edition in it, but due to the DRM all over the place in it, I bought WinXP pro instead. So be informed and stay safe!
Overly restrictive DRM bothers me so much, even though I have no pirated music whatsoever (honestly, I want to own a designed object), that I found this site called where there is apparently downloadable software, legal in the EU, which would allow a user to duplicate audio CDs and DVDs which are supposedly copy protected.
I will not purchase DRM protected music. Sony's slip prooved that the labels don't understand what they are doing and they think DRM is a band-aid to music piracy. I gladly pay full price for recordings I want, but I do so under the expactation that I can use that music in any format and on any device within my personal domain.
I view DRM as being charged guilty of piracy, because I bought their product. It is also a waste of computing power and battery life for portable units. DRM is also limiting my rights of use (Sony betamax) which have already been granted, we should not let the movie & music industry take away these rights via technology limitation. I also wonder at what technological services or devices are being held back or not attempted do to DRM.
Personally, I want nothing to do with DRM. I still collect my digital music the old fashioned way; I rip it straight from CDs to crysta- clear high-bitrate DRM free MP3s. These files, of course, can be played on any device and represent better value in my opinion for today's consumer. In short, we've simply hit another bump in the audio road.
I don't understand why people download albums from the Internet. As far as I can see, the average cost for an album is $15.99. A reputable site based in Jersey is selling the same album on CD for $10.99. For that you get the CD, box, covers etc., It doesn't make sense to me that folks worry about DRM or audio downloads at all.
Sony/BMG's fiasco in which their DRM harmed computers which played their discs illustrates how awful this stuff can be. If I was an MP3 person that alone might have been enough to push me to seek alternative, DRM-free, ways of obtaining music and give up on buying CDs forever. DRM pretty much just annoys (and sometimes worse) legitimate users and frankly fails to deter illegitimate users. The music industry is killing itself and blaming its own customers. Sad.
When I have inadvertently purchased -CDs, I have heard noticeable artifacts, and returned them to the retailer. They were unsurprised, and happily refunded. They now simply import me better sounding, 'in the clear' issues from elsewhere.
When will they ever learn not to screw with the people who buy their music? The ones who are going to steal their music are always going to steal their music. They steal other things, too. But the rest of us pay for our entertainment and don't want it restricted or hobbled in any form. Or we just don't buy it at all. They just might kill the music.
I want the ability to listen when, where, and how I want to listen. To music I have purchased the right to listen to! And I shouldn't have to think about whether or not the media will play in this or that device. Record, meet turntable, joy!
I will not knowingly buy any recording that is crippled with DRM. There is plenty of great independent music that is not controlled by the majors. Let 'em shrivel up and die. They put out crap, control whats on the radio, keep prices artificially way high, and now the lawsuits...oyy!
One of my kids ended up installing some nasty DRM software on our computer just by popping a disc in to listen. That should constitute some sort of criminal tresspass or vandalism on the part of the music company. Just let a CD be a CD, please. I am not going to put your music up on the internet and do you really think this lame DRM is going to stop the kind of people who do? Why does the music industry hate its customers?
If I can not make .ogg (.mp3 like) format music from the original CD, I don't buy that CD at all. I can not carry my portable CD player at all the time. I have to be able to listen my favourite music through my GSM phone at any time and at any place.
The more DRM they add, the less music I will buy. I suppose that eventually I will stop buying entirely and just listen to what I already have, which is certainly not a complete collection of either classical or jazz but at least I can listen to all of it on any of my players.