Do you own the music you buy from a download site?

[new_media]

I'd assume you can resell physical CDs without running afoul of any legal restrictions, since CD resale is something that's always been carried on quite openly without even those nice folks at the RIAA apparently being bothered.

 

IIRC correctly, the RIAA did sue to shut down CD resellers in the early 90s and lost at trial.

[sdolezalek]

I am not sure I understand what you are saying...Did you download your music to your PC? Did you back up your PC. How can a file you own on your PC be turned off by the company that sold it to you without that company entering into your PC and screwing with the file??

 

If you are using some sort of a 'cloud' service, well...all can say about that is good luck.

 

This was one of my earliest high res digital downloads direct to my PC from a company called Music Giants. The files downloaded as WMA files (from Wikipedia: "A WMA file is in most circumstances contained in the Advanced Systems Format (ASF), a proprietary Microsoft container format for digital audio or digital video. This container can optionally support digital rights management (DRM) using a combination of elliptic curve cryptography key exchange, DES block cipher, a custom block cipher, RC4 stream cipher and the SHA-1 hashing function.")

 

As a result, each time you open the file (whether in Windows Media Player or in JRiver Media Center) it first does a DRM check - when Music Giants went bankrupt those checks failed -- even though I had fully paid for my download.

 

I guess the first lesson is don't download WMA files, but I'm not sure if any of the other formats support DRM and how you know whether or not it is enabled.

[master]

Makes me glad I buy only CDs and LPs. The only thing holding me back from buying online is the low resolution. If the companies started providing hi-res downloads like FLAC or WAV then I'd probably pay and download as opposed to buying CDs and ripping them.

 

Either way I don't see the RIAA moving fast enough to catch up with the times. Apple only serves themselves... not the music industry so they are protecting their investment and doing all they can to prevent privacy.

 

I do however use and share my iTunes app store login with my family members... never faced any issues with it.

[Julf]

I guess the first lesson is don't download WMA files, but I'm not sure if any of the other formats support DRM and how you know whether or not it is enabled.

 

FLAC should be safe.

[Jud]

IIRC correctly, the RIAA did sue to shut down CD resellers in the early 90s and lost at trial.

 

I'm shocked...shocked, I tell you! ;-)

[James1776]

This was one of my earliest high res digital downloads direct to my PC from a company called Music Giants. The files downloaded as WMA files (from Wikipedia: "A WMA file is in most circumstances contained in the Advanced Systems Format (ASF), a proprietary Microsoft container format for digital audio or digital video. This container can optionally support digital rights management (DRM) using a combination of elliptic curve cryptography key exchange, DES block cipher, a custom block cipher, RC4 stream cipher and the SHA-1 hashing function.")

 

As a result, each time you open the file (whether in Windows Media Player or in JRiver Media Center) it first does a DRM check - when Music Giants went bankrupt those checks failed -- even though I had fully paid for my download.

 

I guess the first lesson is don't download WMA files, but I'm not sure if any of the other formats support DRM and how you know whether or not it is enabled.

 

How would that work...My PC is not always on line and my iPOD and android phone, which both have music files, do not communicate with the internet when opening a file.

 

If I ever had a file I owned stop functioning because of some activity by the seller, it would be the last file ever 'purchased' from them. It seems they have redefined the concept of purchasing into renting without revising the words.

[James1776]

On a related subject....I had an account at amazon kindle crash yesterday. I had a score of books on a tablet when I found I could not access the e-mail account associated with the account. I established a new account but was advised my previous purchases were lost in the ether. As I had the books on the tablet, I did not understand what they were telling me. I am still not sure as I am still screwing with the accounts and have not settled into a new norm.

[Audio_ELF]

If I ever had a file I owned stop functioning because of some activity by the seller, it would be the last file ever 'purchased' from them. It seems they have redefined the concept of purchasing into renting without revising the words.

Perhaps thats why Music Giant went bankrupt...

[Musicophile]

DRM is a good idea in principle, as you want to avoid abuses, in practice it simply doesn't work.

 

I just hope that the no DRM plus responsible users plus decent a decent legal framework that alllows users to really OWN the files that they purchased (usually rather expensive) exactly in the same way they would with a physical media will be the ultimate outcome of the current rather fuzzy situation.

[Kimo]

Whatever happened to the guy spewing the Copyright Alliance line around here? This one should be in his wheelhouse. Who scared him off?

[James1776]

DRM is a good idea in principle, as you want to avoid abuses, in practice it simply doesn't work.

 

I just hope that the no DRM plus responsible users plus decent a decent legal framework that alllows users to really OWN the files that they purchased (usually rather expensive) exactly in the same way they would with a physical media will be the ultimate outcome of the current rather fuzzy situation.

 

Does Linn or HD Tracks use DRM??