iTMS biggest annoyance...

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Ok, so I messed up. Let me begin by saying that so that you don't all need to.



I have purchased about $50 worth of music from iTMS. I bought a new PB, and so used podmaster1000 to move my music from my iPod to my new library. Of course, I did not realize that it did not see all the AAC files that I had bought.



I e-mailed Apple, and got a canned response saying 'Well we are sorry, but if you had read the license agreement...' So basically, they say bugger off.



So I think 'well, it really was my fault, I can't expect them to believe that I have bought all of this stuff', and so on.



I am a student without too much cash, but I thought that I would re-buy about 10 of the tracks that I liked the most...Imagine my surprise, when I clicked 'buy song' I got a dialog saying "You have already bought this song, would you like to buy it again?". The system knows that I have paid for it, but refuses to let me re-download it. So basically, all that is needed is technically in place. I feel like I have been raped.



Like the usher in the movie theater, who watches you run out to the parking meter, and then insists that you pay to re-enter.



Am I the only one that finds this laughably, moronically stupid??



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 30
    Yeah I had been wondering what would happen when you lost the music or apple gives an update that erases a bunch of stuff.. What then? They really should have a system that lets you re-download the song.. Especially if it knows you already bought it.
  • Reply 2 of 30
    theflythefly Posts: 72member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by scotio

    Am I the only one that finds this laughably, moronically stupid??



    Let's say you buy the new CD from Red Hot Chili Peppers. You leave it on the front seat of your car on a particularly hot day when you run into a store to pick up some Doritos and Dip.



    But the lady in front of you can't seem to find that last coupon and by the time you get back out to your car the sun did a nice bend job on that CD.



    Now, which store is going to replace that CD for you?



    theFly
  • Reply 3 of 30
    scotioscotio Posts: 40member
    Quote:

    Now, which store is going to replace that CD for you?



    I agree with this...but the reality is that I seem to have chosen the worst of options. There is no reasonable expectation of replacement from a physical loss, however..



    If I had bought the CD, I could re-rip the music, if I had stolen the music (limewire..) I could re-steal it. It seems that through doing the 'right thing', I have no options here at all.



    There are many vendors who distribute SW/products via the web...from software houses, to audible.com. They all keep a locker of your bought items for you to re-download. It is taken as a given that in the world of computers, hard drives crash.



    I understand your 'if you lose the cd' argument, but in that case, the ripped mp3 is a secondary source. I would still have a primary (the CD). Apple is selling primary sources, with no method of recovery.





    \
  • Reply 4 of 30
    theflythefly Posts: 72member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by scotio

    I understand your 'if you lose the cd' argument, but in that case, the ripped mp3 is a secondary source. I would still have a primary (the CD). Apple is selling primary sources, with no method of recovery.



    That's the whole issue. The downloaded ACCs ARE the primary. Your complaint is about losing the primary, not about losing a secondary copy.



    There is nothing to stop you from making copies of those ACCs to CDs, etc. One of Apple's main benefits of iTMS is the fact that you can easily copy those file to different devices (iPod, CD, etc) unlike other services.



    Besides, what we don't know is if this is a requirement of Apple's contracts with the record industry. For all we know, Apple may have their hands tied.



    I don't disagree with you, I think it would be nice to have a grace period where you can redownload the song.



    But now that I think about it, I wonder how redownloading the song affects the copy protection. Consider, I download a song to my Mac. Go to a friends house, log in there and redownload it. How does the copy protection work. Does that second download count against my first download as well? What if I do that 3 more times? Don't know how the protection works in that case.



    theFly
  • Reply 5 of 30
    scotioscotio Posts: 40member
    Yes, it is indeed a primary source, however, it is a volatile primary source in daily usage. This is the exact reason that while many companies save money these days doing web downloads, they need to offer it for re-download, should the need arise, expressly because it is volatile.



    As for the copy protection...if I buy an AAC from Apple, I am allowed to share it to up to 3 macs. So the machine that I buy it from, registers as number one. The files will play on up to 3 machines at a time. If I sell my mac, I can 'de-authorize' it and authorize my new one.



    To be honest I have a solution that to me, is really simple.. I have an ipod...the music on the ipod is hidden. It is hidden so that it is harder for people to drag the music (not copy protected) from machine to machine.



    All Apple need do, is create a visable 'Purchased Music' folder on the iPod. There is no need for Apple to hide this music, as it is heavily copy protected anyway. In fact, they should be encouraging you to share it between your quotient of 3 macs! This way, if I get a new machine I can plug in the ipod, and choose 'recover purchased music' from iTunes, and it will bring it back in. Sure, this does not help those who do not have iPods, but I venture that most who buy tunes a lot from ITMS, do.



    R.
  • Reply 6 of 30
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Yet another reason to back up often. Sorry to hear about the problem. I do think some osrt of confirmation/re-download service should be possible with a kind of encrypted text doc that records what songs were purchased and checks them against the user's home directory? (Maybe I haven't thought of all the logistics.) Ultimately, I it is the user's responsiblity of course, but it would be a good perk. Note that you can back up the original AAC files to a data CD in iTunes.
  • Reply 7 of 30
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by scotio

    Am I the only one that finds this laughably, moronically stupid??







    Maybe I'm missing something...



    When I buy music from the iTMS they are downloaded to my computer and placed into a folder called Purchased Music (something like that)... From that point it's iTunes that copies that music (if I so choose) to my iPod... So I should now have those files in TWO places (my desktop / or laptop as well as my iPod).



    Now you say... 'I used some-app' to copy the songs off my iPod to a new laptop (but it missed moving my aac files).



    So you should still have:



    MP3 + AAC on your old desktop/laptop

    MP3 + AAC on your iPod

    MP3 only on your new laptop



    What happened to the other two copies of the files? (the old desktop or laptop and the iPod)



    Finally...



    " I feel like I have been raped."



    Gimme a break! If you wanna know who raped you look in the mirror.



    Dave
  • Reply 8 of 30
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    What happens if you use the "check for purchased music" option in the menu?
  • Reply 9 of 30
    scotioscotio Posts: 40member
    Quote:

    Dave: Gimme a break! If you wanna know who raped you look in the mirror.



    Firstly, thank you for those kind words.



    I sold my laptop that had the files on it, and then the second that I 'paired' the iPod with the new machine, it overwrote the library with the new one, and thus the files were gone.



    The 'check for music' only looks for music that was partially downloaded, and then resumes it. Once you have the music, it is useless.



    Dave Gee- I realize that it may be far easier for you to grapple with the fact that it is I who am silly, useless, and clueless, rather than perhaps that Apple is doing something that nobody else in the industry is; forcing people who have legally and legitimately purchases SW to re-purchase it. But of course, I must be silly. Your comments were rude, I made a perfectly legitimate observation.
  • Reply 10 of 30
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by scotio

    [BYour comments were rude, I made a perfectly legitimate observation. [/B]



    You sold your laptop without backup your files and then you claim you feel raped because Apple will not let you re-download the files for free?



    Did you think that maybe Apple CAN'T just let you re-download the files without owning money to the labels - I dunno how those contracts were negotiated and written up do you? If for example the contact stated "For each download the label will get X in fees" - now, if that is what the contract states then Apple isn't gonna let you re-down anything for free.



    Heck this isn't even the point...



    My comments rude? No, I don't think so. Harsh yea okay I'll admit that I'm not usually one to pull punches... but, I'm sorry you and only you were the CAUSE of all of your trouble and now you don't wanna take the blame and instead accuse Apple of "raping you" for a lousy $10 all because they wont make a special exception for you to re-download your files again.



    The rules are the rules for a reason - maybe it's contract related - maybe it's bandwidth fees related - maybe it's for some other reason but do you really think they said - lets just do it to be nasty - after all we know someone will someday forget to backup 10 songs and then we can make him so angry that he might never use the service again?



    Think about it will ya?



    Dave
  • Reply 11 of 30
    teddyteddy Posts: 155member
    Just go onto Acquisition and download them. If you have already payed for the songs then just download there. I lost some tracks I had payed for and just downloaded them on Acquisition. That is my advice for you.
  • Reply 12 of 30
    scotioscotio Posts: 40member
    Ok, to begin...



    Your tone is so abrasive and unpleasant that it makes any semblance of objective discussion difficult at best. I have perused these boards for some time, and have to say it is members like you that make posting less than appealing.



    So before you launch your next salvo...



    My first line read: "Ok, so I messed up. Let me begin by saying that so that you don't all need to"--Perhaps you missed that one.



    "The rules are the rules for a reason"--gosh, perhaps that is what the people living under the Taliban failed to grasp for all those years.



    In regards to my original point, if there was indeed some contractual obligation that dictates that they can't make the song available again, they need to let us know that.



    The reality is that none of this matters a damn, at this point. What really matters is the fact that I should have been able to relate my concerns and express my opinions on this open forum, without you being a pompous and contentious ass.



    Even having lots of posts does not give you the right to be one of those.



    R.
  • Reply 13 of 30
    vitaflovitaflo Posts: 35member
    Apple is not to blame. You should have made backups, either to CD, or some other media in case something like this happened. Apple allows for this. It shouldn't be their job to save you from your own lack of foresight.
  • Reply 14 of 30
    scotioscotio Posts: 40member
    This is not about me trying to assign blame!!!!



    I began saying it was my fault, my intention here was to merely discuss a policy.



    It seems that everyone just wants to blame someone.
  • Reply 15 of 30
    vitaflovitaflo Posts: 35member
    I'm not saying you're trying to blame Apple, I'm just saying that it's Apple's policy to leave backing up their files to the user, and they've given you the ability to do so.



    IMHO, it's a good policy. I don't see anything wrong with it.
  • Reply 16 of 30
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by scotio

    Your tone is so abrasive and unpleasant that it makes any semblance of objective discussion difficult at best. I have perused these boards for some time, and have to say it is members like you that make posting less than appealing.



    I am so sorry, and now I see the error of my ways....



    I completely forgot...



    We've devolved into such a liberal society that you my friend could never be blamed for this or any other action you take - someone else is always and should always be available to push the blame on to. In this case your right, we should re-direct the blame of you not being responsible for baking up your files on to Apple and accuse them of raping you. Your missing MS Word and Excel documents on bad Billy Gates and your collection of missing adult entertainment files on Oui or perhaps Playboy...



    Don't blame yourself... it's not your fault... it's never your fault...



    Fat people - It isn't your fault blame McDonalds and Hagen Das instead

    Smokers - Don't worry the Marlboro Man will be paying settlements till the end of time it isn't your fault.

    Gamblers - It's all Donald Trump's and Steve Winn's fault sue em while you can - you'll only loose it again in their casinos.

    Spouse Abusers - It's gotta be your parents fault for now... That is until we can find some deep pocketed rich company to sue instead.



    Sorry, I guess I'm still having a hard time adjusting to this new word where we should always expect someone else to pay for our mistakes.



    D
  • Reply 17 of 30
    scotioscotio Posts: 40member
    Wow, you could be an entire career for some ambitious young psychiatrist.
  • Reply 18 of 30
    gordygordy Posts: 1,004member
    I'm sure Apple could easily implement redownloading of songs, but do you think that the record companies would go for that? The geniuses among us would find a way to steal music via this method. In its current state, each file transfer is authenticated by a financial transaction. A transfer wituout authentication is just swapping--regardless of the circumstances.



    The moral. Back up...everything...often.
  • Reply 19 of 30
    scotioscotio Posts: 40member
    Your moral, I agree with!



    I think that must be what it is...if I have 5 macs on the network, and the files work on up to 3, I can buy it, spread it to 3 of them, and then claim that I lost it, re-download it, and copy it to the other 2.



    I bet that is what it is.



    \
  • Reply 20 of 30
    banchobancho Posts: 1,517member
    The idea of making the purchased music folder on your iPod visible is flawed since Apple allows you to play the music on unlimited iPods. Any program which allows that would completely screw the DRM and Apple would probably go to an even more strict system (their system now is fairly lax provided you make proper backups).



    Aren't you supposed to de-authorize a machine that you don't want to play the purchased music on prior to moving it to anotehr machine anyhow? I'm not totally sure about teh whole procedure (but you can believe that I'd check before letting my machine go to another).



    The only comment I think is unwarranted in your original post is that "you've been raped". Apple's policies concerning the music stor are pretty clear and easy to find.



    Sorry about your lost tunes. The hard lessons always stick with you longer though.
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