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Amazon auto ripping CDs

cjr72

Android Enthusiast
Jul 30, 2010
292
43
I just got an email from Amazon that they are "autoripping" CDs I've purchased from them in the past to mp3. I logged into Amazon Cloud Player and sure enough they are there. The thing is some of those CD's were bought as gifts or I've since sold them on. Should I feel obligated to delete the MP3s?

From the email:

You may have noticed that songs from 30 CDs you have purchased from Amazon were added to your Cloud Player library. This means that high-quality MP3 versions of these songs are available for you to play or download from Cloud Player for FREE. You can find your songs in the "Purchased" playlist. Please note that some songs from the above CDs are not eligible for this feature and may not be available in your Cloud Player library.

In addition, we're excited to announce AutoRip. Now when you buy any CD with the logo, all songs from the MP3 version of that album will instantly be delivered to your Amazon Cloud Player library for FREE.
 
If Amazon is doing this of their own volition, I'd say that you have no personal responsibility whether you play them or not. It's strictly between Amazon and the RIAA. You're also protected by a legal precedent that came out of dishonest businesses that would send people products that they didn't order and then charge them for it, or add things to a real order. In short, if you didn't ask for it, you don't have to pay for it.

Now if only Amazon would do the same thing for all the books I've ordered from them. I'd love to have e-book versions too!
 
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If Amazon is doing this of their own volition, I'd say that you have no personal responsibility whether you play them or not. It's strictly between Amazon and the RIAA. You're also protected by a legal precedent that came out of dishonest businesses that would send people products that they didn't order and then charge them for it, or add things to a real order. In short, if you didn't ask for it, you don't have to pay for it.

Yeah I would think Amazon negotiated with the music labels to be able to add this feature. If they did I'm sure they would have considered the possibility that some people no longer own some of the CDs they bought and went forward with it anyhow.

Now if only Amazon would do the same thing for all the books I've ordered from them. I'd love to have e-book versions too!

That would be really cool. I've bought a lot more books from Amazon than CDs.
 
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Yeah I would think Amazon negotiated with the music labels to be able to add this feature. If they did I'm sure they would have considered the possibility that some people no longer own some of the CDs they bought and went forward with it anyhow.
Well, the whole reason why it's legal to make "fair use" (not to be confused with an Apple licensing scheme with a similar name) copies of music CDs. If you damaged or lost possession of your music CD by some other means than selling it or giving it as a gift, you were entitled to use the fair use copy as you did the original.

Of course MP3 files use lossy compression, and are therefore not exact copies of the original CD. In that respect, MP3 files are less than acceptable as fair use bit-perfect copies. Because of that fact, retailers that provide MP3 versions to purchasers of CDs may be able to negotiate terms that allow them to provide MP3 versions for little or no cost to themselves. Certainly a juggernaut like Amazon would be the one with the most leverage to do this!

(Having e-book copies) would be really cool. I've bought a lot more books from Amazon than CDs.
I've bought more learned texts that cost over $50US, and quite often over $100US than I care to count. Prices like that for technical information that's highly perishable are borderline obscene. (It's a seller's market.) I don't think that the publishers would have anything to lose by offering a complimentary e-book companion to the hard bound text. Not that that will move the publishers to be less greedy...
 
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I just found my e-mail today. For some reason, Amazon keeps on sending everything to my business e-mail address, even though I've switched to my personal one.

Although it's a nice service that I didn't have to do anything to get, the fact that it came after I went to all the trouble of buying extra online storage, and uploading all of my MP3 files before they came up with the idea leaves me a bit cold.

Nice for others, though!
 
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