Last protected music simply disappearing from iTunes?
While Apple's move to remove copy protection from iTunes songs has been welcomed, shoppers have found that some protected songs have been pulled outright with no immediate signs of iTunes Plus replacements.
AppleInsider readers, those in our forums and site staff themselves have noticed that songs which were still sold only in a FairPlay-protected format are either no longer visible on the store or are no longer recognized as purchases, preventing an iTunes Plus upgrade.
As an example, Neil Young's "The Bridge School Collection" albums -- which were online exclusives for Apple's store -- surface in the auto-populated search suggestions but are unusually absent in the actual search results. Other titles no longer show at all, and the number of songs eligible for iTunes Plus has decreased even when the songs themselves still exist on the iTunes Store as iTunes Plus editions.
Why the disappearances are taking hasn't been formally explained by Apple. The firm had promised that it would offer all its songs without locks by the end of the quarter but didn't say it would pull the older versions if it didn't reach that timetable or if they were needed for iTunes Plus reasons.
The LA Times recently floated a rumor, however, that Apple would use April 7th as a cutoff date that would switch iTunes from its longstanding flat-rate model to variable pricing, which may affect licensing or other purchasing concerns for tracks whose artists or publishing labels haven't agreed to changes. Apple is known to have had hard-fought negotiations with labels to institute variable pricing on its planned schedule.
No matter what's triggering the pullback, the shift is little comfort to those who either wanted particular albums or had planned to upgrade, either for the freedom to move songs to any device or for the better sound quality. Apple hasn't outlined what these customers can do, leaving at least some frustrated.
"I still need to upgrade my old non-Plus songs to Plus," one AppleInsider reader says. "Where do I go now?"
AppleInsider readers, those in our forums and site staff themselves have noticed that songs which were still sold only in a FairPlay-protected format are either no longer visible on the store or are no longer recognized as purchases, preventing an iTunes Plus upgrade.
As an example, Neil Young's "The Bridge School Collection" albums -- which were online exclusives for Apple's store -- surface in the auto-populated search suggestions but are unusually absent in the actual search results. Other titles no longer show at all, and the number of songs eligible for iTunes Plus has decreased even when the songs themselves still exist on the iTunes Store as iTunes Plus editions.
Why the disappearances are taking hasn't been formally explained by Apple. The firm had promised that it would offer all its songs without locks by the end of the quarter but didn't say it would pull the older versions if it didn't reach that timetable or if they were needed for iTunes Plus reasons.
The LA Times recently floated a rumor, however, that Apple would use April 7th as a cutoff date that would switch iTunes from its longstanding flat-rate model to variable pricing, which may affect licensing or other purchasing concerns for tracks whose artists or publishing labels haven't agreed to changes. Apple is known to have had hard-fought negotiations with labels to institute variable pricing on its planned schedule.
No matter what's triggering the pullback, the shift is little comfort to those who either wanted particular albums or had planned to upgrade, either for the freedom to move songs to any device or for the better sound quality. Apple hasn't outlined what these customers can do, leaving at least some frustrated.
"I still need to upgrade my old non-Plus songs to Plus," one AppleInsider reader says. "Where do I go now?"
Comments
(And to boot, 1st post in thread for me! WOOT!)
There are a few others that changed to iTunes Plus in the last week or two.
Hopefully it's because they just didn't meet the deadline, and will get offered later (soon), but it's possible they could be gone for good. I don't know if it's up to the record companies or Apple to convert them, but it's sad to see iTunes losing music (while loosening restrictions).
At least a couple of the 13 albums are available for download at Amazon, but most aren't.
"I still need to upgrade my old non-Plus songs to Plus," one AppleInsider reader says. "Where do I go now?"
Mininova?
Forever! Due to increasing numbers of legal disputes, probably forever.
I have songs from 13 albums waiting in my shopping cart for iTunes Plus versions. Those songs are now grayed out, and "unavailable."
There are a few others that changed to iTunes Plus in the last week or two.
Hopefully it's because they just didn't meet the deadline, and will get offered later (soon), but it's possible they could be gone for good. I don't know if it's up to the record companies or Apple to convert them, but it's sad to see iTunes losing music (while loosening restrictions).
At least a couple of the 13 albums are available for download at Amazon, but most aren't.
I can confirm this also and I'm in Canada so they aren't available at Amazon!
It's pretty clear they are removing them, just check out John Lennon (one of the albums I was waiting for was his). He's gone from two or three pages of albums to one.
Apple could have at least given us notice so we could buy the crappy DRM version if we wanted to. People like me who have been patiently waiting and don't buy DRM stuff are screwed. I guess Apple assumes that if you really wanted it you wouldn't have minded the DRM and would have bought it already?
Are we talking days, weeks, months?
I had songs from a Peter Gabriel album appear in my upgrade list a couple of months ago. Before I got around to upgrading, they disappeared and have yet to reappear. I had lost them transitioning computers a few years ago and was happy to see them again. But it wasn't to be...
As someone else said, maybe it's best to stick with CD's.
To the idiot who suggested P2P for music...um, yeah, stealing music is CLEARLY the best way to show the studios that DRM-free music is the way to go with online distribution...
"I still need to upgrade my old non-Plus songs to Plus," one AppleInsider reader says. "Where do I go now?"
Demonoid? Or just delete the songs. That what I did.
I had songs from a Peter Gabriel album appear in my upgrade list a couple of months ago. Before I got around to upgrading, they disappeared and have yet to reappear. I had lost them transitioning computers a few years ago and was happy to see them again. But it wasn't to be...
Maybe they will all show up again tomorrow but at the increased price?
Edit: One of the albums I've been waiting for has turned into an iTunes plus selection, but with three or four tracks missing, so it's probably IP issues and not just the price thing.
Why not just use Requiem?
That will strip the DRM, but good luck on upgrading the audio encoding using that.
CDs have no upgrade fees, which is why I will be sticking with them.
Be sure to enjoy the format while you can, it's gradually fading away. The CD I'm ordering tonight might be my last puchase of a pressed CD, I don't know.
As it is, there are a lot of online exclusives.
Demonoid? Or just delete the songs. That what I did.
So, because you can't upgrade your songs, you're just deleting them? That sounds crazy.
CDs have no upgrade fees, which is why I will be sticking with them.
Several of those 13 albums in my cart are not available at all on CD.
I still buy almost all my music on CDs, except when the CD is not available - a lot of CDs are out of print and only available used for $40+, or impossible to find at all. And sometimes I have to have that one song from an album that otherwise I don't like.
I check MusicIsHere (for indies) and HDTracks first - they have lossless downloads, but of course not huge selections.
To the idiot who suggested P2P for music...um, yeah, stealing music is CLEARLY the best way to show the studios that DRM-free music is the way to go with online distribution...
I already own the music! Since the DRM-free version is not (& may never be) available via iTunes, I am forced to get it from different avenues (without wasting a CD & importing it back). Seconds versus 10 minutes to burn & reimport.
Geez, bite my head off with personal slander.
I To the idiot who suggested P2P for music...um, yeah, stealing music is CLEARLY the best way to show the studios that DRM-free music is the way to go with online distribution...
1) P2P is not stealing. No theft is occurring.
2) We're talking about music you've already paid for anyway.
3) If the studios won't give you DRM free, showing them that you will only utilize avenues that are DRM free definitely does send them a strong message.
That will strip the DRM, but good luck on upgrading the audio encoding using that.
Difference is minor, most people wouldn't notice it/don't care.
Be sure to enjoy the format while you can, it's gradually fading away. The CD I'm ordering tonight might be my last puchase of a pressed CD, I don't know.
I don't know about your country, but CDs (or some other physical medium) will be around for many years to come.
As it is, there are a lot of online exclusives.
There is still a lot of music not available legally online, and the problem is worse for things like movies, books, etc. But more or less, it's true. Which can be quite frustrating, given that people who buy CDs often pay extra.