iTunes to go anyone?

[DaLazernet]

Hey, I'm not sure how many of you out there use iTunes to manage and purchase music, but I have for the past month now. Here's the problem. iTunes seems to have a proprietary format with copyright protection or whatever you call it. So, I can't play them with my CLIE...do any of you know a program that can handle this, or do we have to wait for Apple to make an iCliePlayer to accomplish this? I know, I know - I could get an ipod, perhaps even that brand new mini one (silver - very hot), but I just wouldn't be using it enough to justify the ipod pricetag. I want to impulse download a song and bring it with me if I so desire, on my CLIE. Is there any way I can "have my cake and eat it too?" Many thanks for input/suggestions.

- Eric

[krypticide]

iTunes Music Store files are only compatible with iTunes and the iPod. There is no way for you to play those files on your Clie, and there is a 0.000001% chance that Apple will let you do that in the next 2 years, I'd say. Selling iPods is their strategy, not selling songs.

Having said that, your only bet is to burn the iTMS files to CD, then rip them back in MP3 format. Cumbersome, but doable.

[Wazowski]

As I understand it, pretty much all of the "legal" online music stores generally incorporate some form of DRM (digital rights management) into the downloaded songs. I don't know of any "legal" online music store that provides unprotected MP3 files. I may be missing some, but it's a choice of either Windows/WMA, Real AAC or Apple AAC files. I think the major players of the online music stores are Apple's iTMS, MusicMatch, Roxio Napster, Real Rhapsody, Walmart, to name a few.

The DRM in all of the songs puts restrictions on the downloaded files making it more difficult to freely copy and share the files (read: pirate). This is how Apple and the other legal music download service providers were able to appease the Music Labels to make their catalogs availble. It's not just iTMS files, this generally applies to Windows Media Files also.

The easy work around to avoid the DRM in your music files is simply rip the songs yourself into your computer from a CD. (I prefer this since I like having the CD anyways.) You can easily do this in iTunes, Musicmatch, etc. However, if you've already purchased a song from iTMS, as another poster correctly stated above, you can easily remove the DRM by simply burning that song to a CD and then re-rip the song into your computer as an MP3 (or an unprotected AAC, WMA, etc.). The only problem is that you will lose some audio quality in the re-ripping process.

P.S. I've got an iPod and my wife has the iPod mini -- they are awesome. Yes, it would be more convenient to have ALL of my music in my Clie so I don't have to carry both. But then again, I just can't see my wife working out at the gym with a Clie on her armband. Instead, she works out with her iPod mini -- very sexy indeed. ;)

[Wazowski]

Originally posted by krypticide
There is no way for you to play those files on your Clie, and there is a 0.000001% chance that Apple will let you do that in the next 2 years . . . .
Agreed. I'd further clarify and say that there is a ZERO chance that the RIAA will approve of any any online music store providing unprotected music files over the Internet without some form of DRM. Sad, but true. :(

[krypticide]

I've been using allofmp3.com for a while, and it is supposedly legitimate, at least in Russia. Museeker or something like that has a review on their site that talks about it's legality. They let you encode a song in any format, and it's just $.01/MB to download. Why bother with file-trading programs when you can get LAME MP3s for about $.05 a song, while supporting artists directly without going through the RIAA? As for artists I REALLY REALLY like, I still buy their CD.

[DaLazernet]

Thank you so much for that tip about allofmp3.com! I've been using it all day today and am loving it! My songs cost a teeny bit more because I'm grabbing them all in 320kbit where possible (I'm an audiophile-nut). Very nice, and thanks again!

- Eric

[krypticide]

Yes, it's great. Song selection isn't as large, but it works fairly well. =)

[dramsey]

Of course you can play iTunes songs on your Clié. I do it all the time.

All you do is install Missing Sync, which, among other things, makes your TH-55 or other MP3 enabled Clié visible to iTunes. Copy the songs you want and off you go!

Missing Sync also makes the Clié photos available in iPhoto.

Hm. It just occured to me that the poster might be talking about iTunes for Windows, in which case I don't know of a solution. But the DRM isn't getting in your way; all you need is for someone as clever as Mark Space to write a utility for you.