Question about iTunes

misty8723

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Anybody buy music from iTunes?

I'm curious if the music you buy from them can be used on an mp3 player that's not an iPod. Or if you can keep the music you buy (like burn to a CD) or only as long as you subscribe to the service?

There's some stuff I'd reallly like to get, but I want it to keep and take with me, not just listen to on the computer.
 

ninacaliente

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I'm not sure about using it on an mp3 player, but iTunes is not a subscription service - you just pay for the music you want, but the software is a free download. You can burn the music to discs.
 

ninacaliente

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If you have it saved on an Ipod, you should be able to put it back on the computer I think. (I seem to remember transferring some stuff to my laptop that way.)
 
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misty8723

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Originally Posted by NinaCaliente

If you have it saved on an Ipod, you should be able to put it back on the computer I think. (I seem to remember transferring some stuff to my laptop that way.)
The problem is I don't have an iPod, I have a Sony, and I'm not about to buy an iPod anytime soon unless the prices come way, way, way down.

So I guess the answer is I have to have an iPod to take them with me?
 

ninacaliente

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No, you can burn them onto a CD from your computer. But mp3 players I'm not sure about.
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by MonaxLisa

I dont have itunes but I have an mp3 player. If the itunes songs save to your computer then you should be able to transfer them to your mp3.
you can also put songs/music you have on CD to an MP3 player - i helped a teacher at school do that.
 

mzjazz2u

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I've put my daughters itunes music on my mp3 player. I have a Sansa 8 gb and like it much better then my friend's iPod. In fact she bought hers and has been trying to get rid of it ever since.


They are nice (iPods)but I think they are also more of a status symbol. There are a lot of mp3 players out there with many more features and less limitations then an iPod. IMHO anyway.
 

renovia

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I'm not sure if there's a lock on music purchased from iTunes. I seem to remember something about not being able to put purchased music on mp3 players other than an ipod. But I do know that there are ways to transfer music back to your computer after it's crashed, and you can put music on mp3 players other than ipods, and you can convert them to other file formats. I use iTunes all the time to download music. I just bought a 30 dollar Magic Flute set for myself and LOVE it.
 

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I have an Ipod Nano. I don't wish to use the Itunes software to put music on my player. Isn't there a way to put the music on your player be it IPod or any other brand of MP3 player without using Itunes? In order for me to use the latest Itunes software, I have to add an update to my Windows, and I will NEVER do that. I never use ANY of the Windows updates. So, I can't even use Itunes if I wanted to. I was actually given a gift card to purchase about 25 songs on Itunes, but like I said, it requires a Windows Update. I learned the hard way about messing with Windows Updates.
 

fastnoc

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Good question, and the result is the reason I won't use iTunes.

When you purchase from iTunes you do not own the song. You get 5 activations of that song. Let's say you download from your pC. then you set your ipod to download songs. That's 2 activations.

Now lets say over the next two years you spend 500 bucks on 1000 songs. You mix them between your PC and ipod. Great.

once you get to 5 activations, meaning hardware, you're done. If you're at 5 activations and your PC dies and you lose those 1000 songs. You set up your pc again. You'll find that you have to buy those songs again. you just lost everything you gathered in the last couple years. So you think, OK no problem I'll just copy them from my iPod to my PC then I'll be fine. No dice. The files have licensing information in them. you can't copy them back to the PC. you'll have to pay for them again. Even if it's the same exact PC you're putting them back on and had to rebuild or re-install Windows, it's still another activation. Meaning if your machine needs windows installed 5 times you will not be able to use those songs again on it.

I highly suggest NOBODY use iTunes to buy music they intend on keeping, because again, you do NOT own that music. You own 5 activations of that music. Buy your music from a service that gives you full ownership so that won't happen.
 
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misty8723

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Originally Posted by fastnoc

Good question, and the result is the reason I won't use iTunes.

When you purchase from iTunes you do not own the song. You get 5 activations of that song. Let's say you download from your pC. then you set your ipod to download songs. That's 2 activations.

Now lets say over the next two years you spend 500 bucks on 1000 songs. You mix them between your PC and ipod. Great.

once you get to 5 activations, meaning hardware, you're done. If you're at 5 activations and your PC dies and you lose those 1000 songs. You set up your pc again. You'll find that you have to buy those songs again. you just lost everything you gathered in the last couple years. So you think, OK no problem I'll just copy them from my iPod to my PC then I'll be fine. No dice. The files have licensing information in them. you can't copy them back to the PC. you'll have to pay for them again. Even if it's the same exact PC you're putting them back on and had to rebuild or re-install Windows, it's still another activation. Meaning if your machine needs windows installed 5 times you will not be able to use those songs again on it.

I highly suggest NOBODY use iTunes to buy music they intend on keeping, because again, you do NOT own that music. You own 5 activations of that music. Buy your music from a service that gives you full ownership so that won't happen.
Thank you fastnoc, that's one of the things I was trying to figure out.

I just don't understand that concept. If I pay for a song, it should be mine to keep. I guess they're worried I'm going to make a zillion copies and sell them on ebay or something.

I downloaded their software, and I don't like the fact that I hadto give them a credit card before I could download their free song. I've been experimenting. Windows Media Player can't play their format, it will only play on their software. I see no way to even try transferring it to my Sony. Based on all of this, I'm going to cancel that membership I created and uninstall their software.
 
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misty8723

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Originally Posted by pushylady

Does anyone have recommendations on alternative music services?
Amazon.com sells music for the same price (about 99 cents per song), and they're yours to keep once you purchase them.

eMusic has subscriptions, but you pay for your downloads and you keep them. It's $9.99 a month for their cheapest and you get 30 downloads. However, that's mostly Indy records and re-recorded oldies. They do have some good stuff, but you have to be willing to poke around their site for awhile to find it. The bad thing is you have to use all your 30 songs in the month or you lose them. You also have to be careful, because I've heard that if you go even one song over the 30, you get upgraded to the next level (rather than them telling you you're going over your limit).
 

zissou'smom

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Originally Posted by fastnoc

Good question, and the result is the reason I won't use iTunes.

When you purchase from iTunes you do not own the song. You get 5 activations of that song. Let's say you download from your pC. then you set your ipod to download songs. That's 2 activations.

Now lets say over the next two years you spend 500 bucks on 1000 songs. You mix them between your PC and ipod. Great.

once you get to 5 activations, meaning hardware, you're done. If you're at 5 activations and your PC dies and you lose those 1000 songs. You set up your pc again. You'll find that you have to buy those songs again. you just lost everything you gathered in the last couple years. So you think, OK no problem I'll just copy them from my iPod to my PC then I'll be fine. No dice. The files have licensing information in them. you can't copy them back to the PC. you'll have to pay for them again. Even if it's the same exact PC you're putting them back on and had to rebuild or re-install Windows, it's still another activation. Meaning if your machine needs windows installed 5 times you will not be able to use those songs again on it.

I highly suggest NOBODY use iTunes to buy music they intend on keeping, because again, you do NOT own that music. You own 5 activations of that music. Buy your music from a service that gives you full ownership so that won't happen.
That's not true. If you keep your files backed up, you will not lose your music and will not have to pay for it again, just like any other non-subscription music service.
You won't be able to download the songs twice from iTunes, especialy to a different computer. But if you burn the library to DVD, put it on an mp3, or heck, e-mail it to yourself (as I did when I bought the new computer) then the songs are still yours.

There is a five-machine-at-a-time authorization limit, but if somehow you manage to have four machines authorized, you just go in and deauthorize the ones you aren't really using (presumably the prior computers you had). Putting music onto an iPod, cell phone, cd, or anything else does NOT count as an activated machine.
 

fastnoc

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Well, sort of. I didn't want to go into technical details, but you're right on deactivating. But there's a problem. you cannot deactivate a computer that's not online. In other words, if you want to deactivate the machine you're on, that's OK. but if you crash you cannot deactivate it. The way iTunes works is it gives your computer that's being activated a token. In order to de-activate it you have to give that token back. Which is why I specified if your system crashes it's a dead activation that can't be replaces.

As for burning, yes you can burn your music. however, there are limits to how many times you can burn a song, as well as the fact that when iTunes burns a disc it doesn't burn MP3. it burns it's proprietary format. So you can't simply rip that disc again.
 
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misty8723

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Originally Posted by fastnoc

Well, sort of. I didn't want to go into technical details, but you're right on deactivating. But there's a problem. you cannot deactivate a computer that's not online. In other words, if you want to deactivate the machine you're on, that's OK. but if you crash you cannot deactivate it. The way iTunes works is it gives your computer that's being activated a token. In order to de-activate it you have to give that token back. Which is why I specified if your system crashes it's a dead activation that can't be replaces.

As for burning, yes you can burn your music. however, there are limits to how many times you can burn a song, as well as the fact that when iTunes burns a disc it doesn't burn MP3. it burns it's proprietary format. So you can't simply rip that disc again.
It also seems like a pretty convoluted way to cancel your account. You can't just cancel, you have to go through a bunch of hoops that I haven't had the energy to figure out.

If anyone is interested, I got the song I wanted from Amazon.com with no strings, and I got it free for 5 Pepsi points. To heck with iTunes and all the rest of them.
 
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