Quote:
Originally Posted by film_girl
Selection of bitrate and format is what really made AllofMP3 attractive to me too. I mean, don't get me wrong, the new Apple Plus DRM-free AAC files (though they still have your username in the meta value - that doesn't bother me at all, I would never be dumb enough to torrent iTunes stuff, but it's still an irk) are really, really nice quality - 256 kbps AAC is like 320 MP3, easy...and for most purposes, you don't need more than that (and I'm one of those idiots that spends cockloads on her home theater system just so I can listen to an SACD remastered copy of Cowboy Junkies or the Beatles Love DVD-A...I know there is a difference, I just accept that it is minute and really only applicable for certain situations) - so that's pretty cool, but my issue with DRM is this:
I am an early adopter for a lot of technolgy products. I got an iPod in September of 2002, the day the Windows version was released. Not many 19 year olds are willing to drop $500 on a music player, but I did - and I would do it again. And while the iPod was the first high-line MP3 player I ever bought (it was the first one that I could see fitting my needs - early flash players were useless to me because I wasn't going to pay $200 for a 128 MB card - which is what they were even 5 years ago), it's not the only audio device I've ever owned or will own.
Even after I upgraded my iPod in 2003, someone gave me a flash MP3 player (a Nike Rio I think) for free, and I used to use it when working out really hard or in areas where I didn't want to risk damaging my iPod. But not being able to listen to music I purchased legally on that device, even if it was ONE TIME - was and is infuriating. De-DRMing files, burning them and then re-converting them to something else (so that the quality suffers), doing all this stuff just so I can play something I bought on something that isn't Apple is insane. And then Apple isn't the only one. I've been a Rhapsody subscriber since 2003...and I've even bought a few CDs via them, the reason I don't buy more is because I don't like only having two options - burn to CD instantly and the re-rip into AAC or MP3 or get a player compatible with that format (because despite their hacks, they don't work on your iPod). If I buy something, I should be able to listen to it easily. It shouldn't be a disaster. I shouldn't have to buy The Postal Service on Rhapsody and then end up getting it on iTunes out of frustration. You know?
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Hi film_girl.
Let me start by saying that I couldn't agree with you more. Both this and the post on how you found AllOfMP3 should be read by the music industry and their only option would be to nod and think about what could have been.
I have even copy/pasted both your posts and put them in a special word document of mine, where I put all the excellent written stuff that describe why DRM is evil and that people "pirating" music isn't always a loss for the industry.
Finally let me compliment you on your written English, which seems almost impeccable both in how you put your words together and also in a grammatical sense. Having a non-English mother tongue, I guess I'm much more focused on how "correct" people write - especially when they are in fact raised in an English speaking and writing county. I
truly enjoy your writing.
solaris
P.S. Wow, this was my post number 1000 in this forum
