Legally Downloading Media

[nakatago]

I want to buy some MP3s legally but I don't have iTunes (I don't want to use Apple products as matter of principle). Amazon MP3 is out because it's US-only and even Ubuntu One doesn't have the major labels because of geo-restrictions...unless I make it look like my computer's in the US. And the CDs aren't even available locally if at all!

Any ideas?

"Oh, here's some money. I want to give it to you in exchange for your product. What? I can't have it because I'm not in the US or Europe? I'll just have to resort to other means then...What? You'll sue me?!?!?!?"

This is so exasperating...

[Strong Eagle]

I wholly agree. Just want to buy a legal piece of music... and cannot. I say, "F*ck them". Time to head for Sherwood Forest and take that which I cannot purchase.

You can get very good sound tracks (sometimes) off YouTube, and with a nifty converter end up with good MP3's. The Russian sites are pretty good as well... and cheap. Also, they don't care where you live.

I have no sympathy for the sh*theads that will not allow me to buy legally. What I do next is entirely up to me... and without moral or ethical worries.

[nakatago]

I wholly agree. Just want to buy a legal piece of music... and cannot. I say, "F*ck them". Time to head for Sherwood Forest and take that which I cannot purchase.

You can get very good sound tracks (sometimes) off YouTube, and with a nifty converter end up with good MP3's. The Russian sites are pretty good as well... and cheap. Also, they don't care where you live.

I have no sympathy for the sh*theads that will not allow me to buy legally. What I do next is entirely up to me... and without moral or ethical worries.

and these dinosaurian dunderheads wonder why people resort to piracy. people are willing to go legal and pay and they won't let 'em.

[curiousgeorge]

TO cut a long story short, this issue for legally downloading in Singapore is tied up by RIPS, the Recording Industry Protection Society in Singapore.

For electronically stored media to be sold in Singapore, it must be 'copied' in Singapore. Therefore, international downloading is basically made illegal by Singapore's own copyright legislation. You can't allow people to download in Singapore unless you can demonstrate the ownership of the original material in Singapore, and of course commercial rights to sell that material.

For most companies, the effort of establishing all the necessary IT infrastructure and smoothing the legalities in Singapore is not worth it for the size of the market.

The most efficient legal method is to order CDs from abroad and rip them yourself (as long as it is only for personal use...commercial use is another RIPS nightmare).

If I was suspiciously minded, I would also wonder if Singapore's reluctance to legislate on private-use downloads in a manner to other countries is tied in to the reserved right to view, charge and censor any material published in Singapore. When you order a CD from abroad, they can choose to confiscate it at customs and charge you $15 to have it passed by the board of censors...hard to do that with a download!

[Splatted]

It's not hard to remove the DRM from stuff bought legally from itunes.

And (as far as I know) it's not illegal to do this, as long as you don't then go and start distributing the music eg limewire etc.

[nakatago]

It's not hard to remove the DRM from stuff bought legally from itunes.

And (as far as I know) it's not illegal to do this, as long as you don't then go and start distributing the music eg limewire etc.

I don't own Apple products (see above) and use Linux so I'm not even bothering to check iTunes. Also, it's usually licensing issues that's the cause of geo-restricting downloadable media. I did a quick google-search and someone said that it's just iPhone apps that are available.

And about removing DRM, it's usually troublesome (and in case of the US, the DMCA is in the way. And if these industry dinosaurs had their way with the ACTA, it will enforced all over the world. And IIRC, Singapore is behind the US regarding the ACTA. But I digress). Ubuntu One (the music store for Ubuntu Linux) also offers music from major players...IF you're in the US so it's not an issue of DRM.

The last time I bought music, I had to fork out money for the CDs (which were not available in Singapore) and shipment from Amazon, which costs almost 3x as much if I were able to use Amazon MP3. MP3 Album = 10 bucks; CD (inc. shipping) = 25 bucks. I went to the band website and they can't even let me buy the MP3's from them because of licensing.

It's the legal nonsense why some people resort to piracy (the rest are just freeloading cheapskates).

[Splatted]

perhaps start a 'music club'.... everyone that joins the club, collectively chips in a dollar coin and buy a cd, then pass it round

[x9200]

It's the legal nonsense why some people resort to piracy (the rest are just freeloading cheapskates).

Sorry Nakatago but I don't understand this logic. How a couple of bucks on a single CD can force someone to get a pirated version? This is a pretty lame excuse esp. if this someone has a reasonable source of income.
BTW, you can have it sent cheaper than for US15 (per pc). I use cduniverse and for the first CD it is like US8.5 and then adds up 2.5 or similar for each subsequent CD so it is more like US5 per pc with the order of 5 CDs. And you have a nice hard copy Yes, you have to wait, typically 5-10 days.

[ScoobyDoes]

And you have a nice hard copy Yes, you have to wait, typically 5-10 days.

Hard copies are so....... with the Ark, dude.

[nakatago]

NOTE: Gaah! I just lost my reply to x9200 because of a browser hiccup!!!

My point was, it's not always due to economics why some people resort to piracy.

* the CD is not available in your country
* the legal download option is not available to you because some dickhead lawyers made complicated licensing agreements. too bad, because you were willing to pay
* importing the CD will cost 2-3x more than the legal download. and you have to wait. and you have to rip and encode the CDs.
* with the cost and the inconvenience, the free mp3 download is looking very attractive now, doesn't it? It's simpler, faster and it's free.
* for some people (not all), it's about being cost-effective. is it still worth it to go through all that trouble and money?

you could also go without what you wanted. but at the back of your head, you know that free download is out there and more often than not, you'd probably get away with it...

lame or not, that's what goes in some people's heads. and we all know there's no technological and economic barrier stopping companies from offering affordable and convenient media. what's stopping them is licensing issues with local companies AND them thinking of ways of restricting you from enjoying the music that you bought, aka DRM.

PS

Thanks for the tip about CD universe. Unfortunately, however, the CDs that I wanted cost the same. And I already bought them from Amazon two months ago anyway. Oh well, at least it's an option next time.

PPS

For other readers, I BOUGHT the CDs. I DID NOT illegally download them. I just wished I could've downloaded them legally so that I didn't have to pay as much--it's not just 'a couple of dollars.'

[x9200]

I am not accusing you of doing IT. Simply assumed that if you brought it up you share this POV.

[nakatago]

I am not accusing you of doing IT. Simply assumed that if you brought it up you share this POV.

I was addressing other readers since it's not only us viewing the thread. I also used boldface and caps because we all know a lot of people have bad reading comprehension (not referring to anyone in particular)

[nakatago]

Reviving this thread.

A neat work-around:

Some albums are only expensive at launch. When the CD price goes down such that even with shipping, it's reasonable, purchase it. For example, an album I wanted launched 18.00 USD. Now, it's 9.99 USD, only 50 cents more expensive than the MP3 purchases. Shipping is only 6ish USD.

Most CDs bought from Amazon come with auto-rip; that is, you can get free MP3 copies which will be stored and can be downloaded to your device. The caveat is there can only be 10 authorized devices at a time. If I read it correctly too, you can revoke authorizations, in case you change your device.

While you wait for your audio CD, download your free and LEGAL MP3s. The MP3s are at 256 kbps (which is fine for heavy rock).

Enjoy your legally-obtained music. Wait several days to see the dead-tree version of the liner notes.

[Brah]

And you have a nice hard copy Yes, you have to wait, typically 5-10 days.

Hard copies are so....... with the Ark, dude.

Some say, though I prefer them. Then I get to choose my quality level for listening on portable devices, can rip and rip again.

The only problem is their size in the kind of number I have them.

[Brah]

Most CDs bought from Amazon come with auto-rip; that is, you can get free MP3 copies which will be stored and can be downloaded to your device. The caveat is there can only be 10 authorized devices at a time. If I read it correctly too, you can revoke authorizations, in case you change your device.

While you wait for your audio CD, download your free and LEGAL MP3s. The MP3s are at 256 kbps (which is fine for heavy rock).

Unless something has changed, you have to be in the States to get your Amazon mp3s from CDs bought from them.

If they now put what you buy in the cloud, there is an awful lot of my music out there that I don't know about, I have spent a lot of money on music from Amazon.

Meanwhile, while I share your distaste for things Apple, I use iTunes as it's a pretty good way to get free podcasts (yes I know there are things like FeedBurner and the like) and albums when I don't mind the lower quality. But for the latter, I now tend to get it off YouTube, and if it's something I really like, buy the CD. I personally do see the big deal between listening to something on YT to downloading it from YT to listen on my portable player. Same for shows on YT.