Help? Free DRM removal sofware? :(

[DuncanDewballs]

i just jumped ship from apple to the awesome Galaxy 3 but, i have over 1,500 songs from iTunes. 200+ of these songs are DRM protected. when i was buying music i didn't know anything about computers or DRM or anything involving piracy or copyright protection. i dont think its fair that i should have to purchase converter software or blank CD-RWs to be able to listen to the music i already purchased legally. even Apple charges $25 for iTunes match.

does anyone know a free DRM removal method and if so can you provide links or detailed instructions on how to rescue my music from the evil clutches of Apple?

Help?

 

[Bob Maxey]

It might be illegal to remove DRM. I would be very careful and investigate first. Also, know where your tools--whatever they end up being--to remove DRM are coming from. Lots of the software that borders on illegal sometimes also delivers things you do not want.

Like discussions on ROMS and illegal torrents, I think this thread should be perhaps looked at and closed. Sorry for being a Grinch.

By the way, it is not a matter of Apple being evil. They absolutely need to protect the content they delver to customers and it is not all Apple's fault.

 

[EarlyMon]

Apple explains in their help that removing their earlier DRM via transcoding to mp3 songs to a CD is just fine.

Or, you can pay something like 30 cents/song and they'll provide higher quality unlocked files.

To avoid wasting plastic, look for a virtual CD drive, they're abundant and free, and follow Apple's instructions.

This is a case where preceding statutes trump the DCMA, and why it's legal. The Fairplay DRM license isn't violated and neither is the law, unless you share the files.

Which is not the request here, so, ok.

 

[Rxpert83]

Can you just upload the song to Google music and then redownload googles non-drm protected songs?

Luckily I ditched iTunes years ago before I had too many songs, so just thinking aloud here.

 

[EarlyMon]

Can you just upload the song to Google music and then redownload googles non-drm protected songs?

I don't think so. Not sure.

 

[A.Nonymous]

I had a similar issue several years ago and ended up just buying the music again somewhere else. I chalked it up as a lesson learned to never buy DRM'd music. In my case I purchased from an online store that then went out of business. So there was no server on the other side to check in and validate that my music was legit. Suddenly I had all this music that I had legitimately purchased in good faith but that I could no longer use it. In my case I couldn't even copy it to a CD. It literally didn't work as there was no server on the other end. That was bad times.

 

[Davdi]

easiest way to lose DRM is to play the DRM-ed track and record the audio with Audacity and save it in any format you like. That way you've ot violated the original track in any way, just made it irrelevant.

in response to A.Nonymous's post above: Never trust the cloud, always have a local copy and at least 2 backups on (different) physical media.

Horses and stable doors I know, but still...

 

[A.Nonymous]

easiest way to lose DRM is to play the DRM-ed track and record the audio with Audacity and save it in any format you like. That way you've ot violated the original track in any way, just made it irrelevant.

in response to A.Nonymous's post above: Never trust the cloud, always have a local copy and at least 2 backups on (different) physical media.

Horses and stable doors I know, but still...

I had numerous local files. I still have the files in fact. The server they phone home to doesn't exist is the problem. Now, if I had physical media I'd still have the files. But in most cases you'd think if you had the files you'd always have access to your stuff. You don't figure that you'd suddenly lose access to your content.

 

[Speed Daemon]

Apple explains in their help that removing their earlier DRM via transcoding to mp3 songs to a CD is just fine.

Or, you can pay something like 30 cents/song and they'll provide higher quality unlocked files.

To avoid wasting plastic, look for a virtual CD drive, they're abundant and free, and follow Apple's instructions.

This is a case where preceding statutes trump the DCMA, and why it's legal. The Fairplay DRM license isn't violated and neither is the law, unless you share the files.

Which is not the request here, so, ok.

I have to say that this is the first time I've heard about something about the DMCA that's not Orwellian. Good to know. Maybe there's hope after all.

If I may go slightly off-topic, is this why we can get software to copy a CSS DVD, but can't even view a BluRay movie on a PC? I mean, at one time it was a crime to publish the DeCSS code in the US, and now nobody seems to care.

EDIT: I see now that Apple FairPlay

 

[EarlyMon]

The MPAA pushes good and also crazy guidelines.

They actually published a guide for teachers wanting to show copied material from tv in the classroom. Copy to dvr and make a dvd? Not ok. Play back from dvr on tv, put a camcorder on a tripod, film the tv playing and show that - perfectly okay.

A few years ago thousands of people put the DeCSS hex codes in their sigs and posting everywhere they could. Buh bye big secret.

 

[9to5cynic]

The MPAA pushes good and also crazy guidelines.

They actually published a guide for teachers wanting to show copied material from tv in the classroom. Copy to dvr and make a dvd? Not ok. Play back from dvr on tv, put a camcorder on a tripod, film the tv playing and show that - perfectly okay.

A few years ago thousands of people put the DeCSS hex codes in their sigs and posting everywhere they could. Buh bye big secret.

The illegal prime number?

I remember hearing about a tee-shirt with that on it... Some people are scary smart.

I hadn't heard about the hex code in sigs, that's pretty funny.

 

[Speed Daemon]

The MPAA pushes good and also crazy guidelines.

*sigh* Yes, RIAA and MPAA have been a thorn in the side of both consumers and working professionals trying to earn an honest living in the new media field. That's why I'm a SMPTE guy.

They actually published a guide for teachers wanting to show copied material from tv in the classroom. Copy to dvr and make a dvd? Not ok. Play back from dvr on tv, put a camcorder on a tripod, film the tv playing and show that - perfectly okay.

Ain't that grand? No doubt I was a very bad boy when I used my DVR to record NFL and MLB games, blew them onto DVD and mailed them to my cousin when he was serving in Afghanistan. Talk about cognitive dissonance!

A few years ago thousands of people put the DeCSS hex codes in their sigs and posting everywhere they could. Buh bye big secret.

I remember. Although I've no doubt used DeCSS code unknowingly, I've made a point of ponying up for fully licensed DVD playing software on my computers. I pay all kinds of licensing fees to stay legal. (Can't put a price tag on a clear conscience.) It would be nice to be able to buy a fully licensed Blu-Ray player, but I don't see any. It's pretty much moot now that streaming Internet video has emerged to make disc-based video all but obsolete. There's a great South Park episode about that. I'd post a link to my MPEG file, but...you know...

 

[Speed Daemon]

The illegal prime number?

I remember hearing about a tee-shirt with that on it... Some people are scary smart.

I hadn't heard about the hex code in sigs, that's pretty funny.

IIRC someone managed to write a working DeCSS in one line of Python code. Scary smart is right. I admire their ingenuity, but wish that such brain power could be put to use on higher causes. I mean: Thoreau, Gandhi, King...and guys who want to watch movies for free? What's wrong with that picture?

 

[mikedt]

The MPAA pushes good and also crazy guidelines.

They actually published a guide for teachers wanting to show copied material from tv in the classroom.

This teacher(me) downloads a lot of copyrighted movies and TV shows with BitTorrent for students to watch, so they can improve their English listening and comprehension skills. Educational and academic purposes in China.