The Awful Truth About Downloaded Music

Fri May 26, 2006 9:25AM EDT

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Can you really commit yourself to one music player, forever?

What would happen if you ever decide to ditch your iPod, or play your iTunes purchased music on other devices? Well the truth is that you can't.

Same goes for WMA files that won't play on iPods.

It's very important to remember that songs purchased in a protected format (AAC or WMA and not MP3) means you are making a restricting decision you have to live with forever.

In the case of ACC, you can't even burn them onto any MP3 CDs. If you ever decide to switch players, you'll have to re-purchase any music you bought in any of these proprietary formats. 

People eventually found ways to convert AAC files into MP3 to be able to listen to music purchased through the iTunes Music Store in other devices.

One such free software folks used was called JHymn (Hear Your Music Anywhere), but this software doesn't work with the latest version of iTunes 6.0.

Jake Ludington has another piece of advice: " Burning CDs of your iTunes Music Store purchases and ripping those CDs back to your hard drive as MP3 or WMA files is your best bet".

Digital O'Reilly also has a long article titled "Free Your Music: How to Convert Digital Audio" which offers you other ways to convert your music files into MP3 files.

I don't really think there is a seamless solution to this problem, except to purchase compact discs, then rip them to your iPod or to purchase music in an MP3 file format.

I use iTunes for single downloads, but I go back to CDs when I decide to purchase the whole album. To me it's just not worth the fight, money or effort it takes to rightfully own music you pay for online. It may take more effort to go to the store to buy a CD, but in the end I can listen to that music in any way I want. 

This is nothing new, but why do we keep doing it?
What's your opinion? 

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  • 1 Posted by sbrionez on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:06PM EDT Report Abuse

    I'm with Jake on this one. Just burn audio CD's of your purchased music. Not to sound like a broken record (pun intended) BACKUP YOUR PURCHASED MUSIC!

  • 2 Posted by mcscott_2000 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:13PM EDT Report Abuse

    Mac users can also use GarageBand to convert music files. Just drag and drop from iTunes. It's a great way to edit songs (think live tracks). Kind of an old school solution - the LIBRARY! Check out CDs for FREE and rip them. And you can reinstall an older version of iTunes to use jhymn, convert the songs then reupgrade. I know these may seem clunky work-arounds, but to say you're stuck forever is also incorrect. Your iPod is also a backup. Burn your library to DVDs. Is this really an issue still?

  • 3 Posted by idogcow on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:22PM EDT Report Abuse

    I agree with the 'Buy CDs for whole albums,' thought. Who wants yet another unlabeled CD-R that may be unreadable in a few years or tons of music lost to a dead drive or 'pod? If nothing else, think of the us current (and future) Thrift-store shoppers who dig through bins looking for past-decade gems and clunkers! :)

  • 4 Posted by m_hersh on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:32PM EDT Report Abuse

    Well, after purchasing a Macintosh and an iPod, I don't foresee myself ever using the MP3 format again, or Windows. Why is everyone so quick to put down Apple? It's always the PC using crowd, too. I used PCs for years, and my recent switch to Apple was like a revelation. I like the way Apple's products work, because of the simple fact that they WORK, always. Why don't you write an article about something more relevant.

  • 5 Posted by eably on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:50PM EDT Report Abuse

    Don't be a user, renter, cash stream. Buy, that is BUY and own it. When you actually buy something, anything, you own it and can do what you wish with it. To older people and many young people, it is the difference between renting and owning a home.

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