The only reason to upgrade is if you plan on illegally sharing your music with other people, right?
... or perhaps I'd like to put some songs from my iTunes library on a NON-APPLE music player... say I'd rather give my kids a $29 Sansa to loose (they're kids, stuff happens) instead of a $150 iPod.
I'd still like to know when the tracks will be upgraded and how we will know when they are.
I'm in the position of never having bought DRM'ed music (cause I'm a purist morally speaking), and as confusing as the "Upgrade My Library" stuff is, it's not as bad as not even knowing if you can buy stuff.
I have a whole long list of albums that I am waiting to buy but so far I've seen no movement at all on albums showing up with the "iTunes Plus" moniker. Hell, we don't even know at this point if the new tracks *will* be marked as "iTunes Plus." If everything is DRM free, it makes no sense to use the term anymore, but they *might* continue to use it anyway (although we don't know because Apple hasn't bothered to tell us.)
Has anyone actually seen a track go from DRM'ed to DRM free and does it then acquire the "iTunes Plus" label? It's been like ... two days!
Upgrade my library does not include albums that I've pre-ordered with exclusive tracks (the last two Beyonce albums) as well as albums that have been edited since being released on the store (Lil Wayne Tha Carter III).
It's hard to imagine how anyone would be interested in paying to "upgrade" their existing library.
There's absolutely no point unless you're planning to migrate away from iTunes/iPod, and if you are moving out of iTunes there are plenty of alternative options that won't cost you money (just a bit of your time). It's only audio, after all, and audio is *very* easy to work with. Back in the day we actually had to manually dub music if we wanted backups; those days are long gone...
I have only four albums that could be "upgraded", and I was actually tempted to do it because $3 an album isn't expensive. But then I came to my senses. Even if it's cheap, there's no reason to spend money on something that has zero value.
You don't value your time at ALL? Wow, you should see a therapist about your self esteem problems.
Itunes will auto-rip and then eject a CD after it has finished. honestly, ripping from CD is easy and doesn't consume much time, and can be easily done during other tasks. cut the down the insults... all you're gonna do is instigate, which will most likely result in a warning and then a ban.
For those who will complain about the cost (aka eric42):
Some people have seemingly legitimate points. They include: "Wow, I have poor timing. I bought this music yesterday when it was not iTunes plus, now I have to pay for an upgrade the next day." This is a reasonable point. But to juxtapose this argument I submit this one: One day before the CD version of your new favorite album came out, you purchase the same album on tape. Should you get a free upgrade? No. In fact, you'd have to pay full price; you wouldn't even have the option of paying a reduced upgrade fee. That people feel this entitlement towards upgrades of music astounds me.
Some may counter that argument by saying that you aren't selling something physical. I agree that the lack of a physical purchase allows for upgrades to be distributed with little cost to the distributor (and therefore discounted upgrade fees should be expected instead of full price repurchase), but there are still costs. Think bandwidth, storage space, wear and tear of read/write on server HD's, etc. While these costs might not total $0.30, Apple surely is not reaping large profits off these downloads.
For those who complain about paying for music in general, I have a different rant for you, but I'll save the other readers from it.
It's hard to imagine how anyone would be interested in paying to "upgrade" their existing library.
There's absolutely no point unless you're planning to migrate away from iTunes/iPod.
Quality, quality, quality!!! Quality is 2x for the itunes Plus. this means a lot to some people, including myself. Take any respectable sound system, and play a 128kbps track with electric guitar. It'll sound incredibly harsh and flat compared to the same itunes plus (256 AAC) version of the song.
also, there are plenty of other legit uses for upgrading (see using Toast and other apps / burning CD's) that have nothing to do with moving away from iTunes or quality as well.
If I understand everything right, I will have to re-download all of my purchased music again if I upgrade my library (since the DRM free tracks are of higher quality than my originally purchased music).
If you REALLY wanted to upgrade just a portion of your music, you could always temporarily remove those other unwanted songs from your library. When you're done upgrading, move them back into your library.
However I agree, it would be nice if you could create a playlist and then have iTunes upgrade everything in the list.
No - I have deleted quite a few of the songs I purchased to use in an iMovie or iPhoto project long ago but still had to pay $.30 for each of those in order to upgrade the 200+ songs I did wish to have in higher quality. It bases your upgrade offer on what songs you've purchased in total - not just those that are still in your iTunes library.
I too wish there had been a way to upgrade just a selection of songs.
If I understand everything right, I will have to re-download all of my purchased music again if I upgrade my library (since the DRM free tracks are of higher quality than my originally purchased music).
Is this correct?
That is correct. iTunes will handle it for you and will also ask if you want to delete the original files or not.
If I understand everything right, I will have to re-download all of my purchased music again if I upgrade my library (since the DRM free tracks are of higher quality than my originally purchased music).
Is this correct?
Correct. If you have low-bandwidth, I suggest allowing the downloads to complete overnight (its gonna take a looong time). Also, check back every month until April (or is it May?), as there are still 2 million tracks which are DRM'd.
nice that apple got a majority of songs non-DRM, so that now the other 2mil songs have to be made itunes plus (who is going to buy songs that will need to be upgraded? need to stay current to be competitive).
... check back every month until April (or is it May?), as there are still 2 million tracks which are DRM'd....
I'm starting to think that this no DRM is only in the USA or something.
I don't see *any* new non-DRM files, just the usual which is about 10 - 20% iTunes Plus and the majority "regular." No way is 80% of the store I'm looking at converted already as some have said, and I can't find a single DRM track that's been converted to non in two days of looking.
Y'all scared YodaMac away. I don't think he thought about this very hard.
I've read that when you upgrade your library keeps track of the upgraded songs with regard to playcount, etc. Can anyone verify this??
All or nothing seems like something to get away with when you're holding all the cards...
True for 80-100% of the music. Sometimes the tags will have changed since purchase (normally only true for music purchased more than 2 years ago). Say, if the song has changed from sporting an "Alternative" tag to a "Pop" tag, the new download will not replace the old one. This case is rare, at most occurring 20% of the time.
The only reason to upgrade is if you plan on illegally sharing your music with other people, right?
If your music has played fine on your iPod and Mac all this time - it still will.
If you're a true audiophile (nut), then you'd be buying physical media and ripping your own. Those few bits improvement aren't going to make your iPod sound any better in the car or jogging through noisy streets anyways, right?
I have NEVER had an issue with DRM in all the years I've been using iTunes. So what's the fuss all about?
Hey, count yourself lucky. But it's best to not take such a broad assumption that it's going to be for piracy. Besides, it's not that hard to pirate the DRMed file, DRM generally confounds legitimate uses too. It reduces convenience in streaming to non-Apple brand devices. Also, it removes the risk of odd errors on computers you stream music to but forgot to authorize the computer, like what Front Row gave me, it took me a while to realize that the generic error stemmed from an authorization issue. Having to manage authorizations is an unnecessary inconvenience that wouldn't happen if the tracks were bought on CD and imported. So why should iTunes tracks be any different?
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjtomlin
If you REALLY wanted to upgrade just a portion of your music, you could always temporarily remove those other unwanted songs from your library. When you're done upgrading, move them back into your library.
Quote:
Originally Posted by McDave
Good to see it's not just me who has nostalgic moments of weakness. Maybe the author should drag the embarrassing tunes out of his library, into a folder, upgrade the library then drag the files back in (or maybe not!). It's not very 'Apple' but given most iTunes users are Windows-based this kind of file-fiddling should be second nature.
I don't think you two read the story, because if you did, you would know that doesn't work, I can attest to that. A track downloaded to a different computer and never copied to my main computer still shows up on my list.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nagromme
The process is very simple, and I think, fair. It doesn't offer a lot of customization, though, it's true. I don't see it as a problem except for people who buy a lot of music they don't like... a habit that carries a downside no matter what
I'm just glad that free songs don't get upgraded--that's clearly stated, and it makes sense. I don't WANT to upgrade all those free songs, I want to upgrade the songs I chose to buy--and that's how the system works.
If they offered a more complex and customizable process, I can see one song I wouldn't upgrade... saving me 30 cents. Not worth it--I'll accept the simplicity of the current system.
Lucky for you, but it's not just about that. What if you liked the song at first, but a few years later, are sick of it? That never happens to you? Or you bought a lot over the years, a little here, a little there, and want to upgrade in chunks to keep the cost manageable?
Quote:
Originally Posted by eric42
Why should there be an upgrade fee at all? The music was $.99 with DRM. It is (for the most part) $.99 now that it's DRM-free but I have to pay $.30 per song because I made the mistake of giving Apple my business too early.
Seems to me it should be a free upgrade now that DRM-free is going to be the norm.
Is this upgrade fee being imposed by Apple, by the labels or both?
Keep in mind that it's a lot more fair than in the past in regards to media sales. If a band remastered an album, what kind of a discount to owners of previous copies of the album get? None. A remastered version of a movie, with deleted scenes or a new re-cut of a movie, or add actor commentaries, what kind of discount do existing owners get? None. There may be exceptions, but the general rule is that you don't get any credit for having bought the previous version. In most cases, you got what you paid for, you were not promised free upgrades.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave K.
If I understand everything right, I will have to re-download all of my purchased music again if I upgrade my library (since the DRM free tracks are of higher quality than my originally purchased music).
Yes. You have to download the extra data to get the higher bitrate. Your upgrade doesn't remove the encryption from your existing file, they just send you a newer, bigger and hopefully better sounding file, but that depends on the file, your equipment and your ears.
I going to be asked to pay 30¢ to convert a song for which I already paid 99¢ into a song that iTunes will then be selling for only 60¢? It takes some serious chutzpah to ask your customers to do that. I think even the Federal bailout recipients might be embarrassed to ask that of their customers!
Comments
Not sure what all the fuss is about.
The only reason to upgrade is if you plan on illegally sharing your music with other people, right?
... or perhaps I'd like to put some songs from my iTunes library on a NON-APPLE music player... say I'd rather give my kids a $29 Sansa to loose (they're kids, stuff happens) instead of a $150 iPod.
I'm in the position of never having bought DRM'ed music (cause I'm a purist morally speaking), and as confusing as the "Upgrade My Library" stuff is, it's not as bad as not even knowing if you can buy stuff.
I have a whole long list of albums that I am waiting to buy but so far I've seen no movement at all on albums showing up with the "iTunes Plus" moniker. Hell, we don't even know at this point if the new tracks *will* be marked as "iTunes Plus." If everything is DRM free, it makes no sense to use the term anymore, but they *might* continue to use it anyway (although we don't know because Apple hasn't bothered to tell us.)
Has anyone actually seen a track go from DRM'ed to DRM free and does it then acquire the "iTunes Plus" label? It's been like ... two days!
Cost to upgrade my 19,000 tracks (ripped from CDs) to DRM-free lossless = ZERO!
Cost of ten times more space to store them ... Significant!
Cost to upgrade my 19,000 tracks (ripped from CDs) to DRM-free lossless = ZERO!
You don't value your time at ALL? Wow, you should see a therapist about your self esteem problems.
There's absolutely no point unless you're planning to migrate away from iTunes/iPod, and if you are moving out of iTunes there are plenty of alternative options that won't cost you money (just a bit of your time). It's only audio, after all, and audio is *very* easy to work with. Back in the day we actually had to manually dub music if we wanted backups; those days are long gone...
I have only four albums that could be "upgraded", and I was actually tempted to do it because $3 an album isn't expensive. But then I came to my senses. Even if it's cheap, there's no reason to spend money on something that has zero value.
You don't value your time at ALL? Wow, you should see a therapist about your self esteem problems.
Itunes will auto-rip and then eject a CD after it has finished. honestly, ripping from CD is easy and doesn't consume much time, and can be easily done during other tasks. cut the down the insults... all you're gonna do is instigate, which will most likely result in a warning and then a ban.
Some people have seemingly legitimate points. They include: "Wow, I have poor timing. I bought this music yesterday when it was not iTunes plus, now I have to pay for an upgrade the next day." This is a reasonable point. But to juxtapose this argument I submit this one: One day before the CD version of your new favorite album came out, you purchase the same album on tape. Should you get a free upgrade? No. In fact, you'd have to pay full price; you wouldn't even have the option of paying a reduced upgrade fee. That people feel this entitlement towards upgrades of music astounds me.
Some may counter that argument by saying that you aren't selling something physical. I agree that the lack of a physical purchase allows for upgrades to be distributed with little cost to the distributor (and therefore discounted upgrade fees should be expected instead of full price repurchase), but there are still costs. Think bandwidth, storage space, wear and tear of read/write on server HD's, etc. While these costs might not total $0.30, Apple surely is not reaping large profits off these downloads.
For those who complain about paying for music in general, I have a different rant for you, but I'll save the other readers from it.
It's hard to imagine how anyone would be interested in paying to "upgrade" their existing library.
There's absolutely no point unless you're planning to migrate away from iTunes/iPod.
Quality, quality, quality!!! Quality is 2x for the itunes Plus. this means a lot to some people, including myself. Take any respectable sound system, and play a 128kbps track with electric guitar. It'll sound incredibly harsh and flat compared to the same itunes plus (256 AAC) version of the song.
also, there are plenty of other legit uses for upgrading (see using Toast and other apps / burning CD's) that have nothing to do with moving away from iTunes or quality as well.
Is this correct?
If you REALLY wanted to upgrade just a portion of your music, you could always temporarily remove those other unwanted songs from your library. When you're done upgrading, move them back into your library.
However I agree, it would be nice if you could create a playlist and then have iTunes upgrade everything in the list.
No - I have deleted quite a few of the songs I purchased to use in an iMovie or iPhoto project long ago but still had to pay $.30 for each of those in order to upgrade the 200+ songs I did wish to have in higher quality. It bases your upgrade offer on what songs you've purchased in total - not just those that are still in your iTunes library.
I too wish there had been a way to upgrade just a selection of songs.
If I understand everything right, I will have to re-download all of my purchased music again if I upgrade my library (since the DRM free tracks are of higher quality than my originally purchased music).
Is this correct?
That is correct. iTunes will handle it for you and will also ask if you want to delete the original files or not.
If I understand everything right, I will have to re-download all of my purchased music again if I upgrade my library (since the DRM free tracks are of higher quality than my originally purchased music).
Is this correct?
Correct. If you have low-bandwidth, I suggest allowing the downloads to complete overnight (its gonna take a looong time). Also, check back every month until April (or is it May?), as there are still 2 million tracks which are DRM'd.
nice that apple got a majority of songs non-DRM, so that now the other 2mil songs have to be made itunes plus (who is going to buy songs that will need to be upgraded? need to stay current to be competitive).
... check back every month until April (or is it May?), as there are still 2 million tracks which are DRM'd....
I'm starting to think that this no DRM is only in the USA or something.
I don't see *any* new non-DRM files, just the usual which is about 10 - 20% iTunes Plus and the majority "regular." No way is 80% of the store I'm looking at converted already as some have said, and I can't find a single DRM track that's been converted to non in two days of looking.
I've read that when you upgrade your library keeps track of the upgraded songs with regard to playcount, etc. Can anyone verify this??
All or nothing seems like something to get away with when you're holding all the cards...
Why should there be an upgrade fee at all?
because you are getting a second copy of the song. you can play both.
Y'all scared YodaMac away. I don't think he thought about this very hard.
I've read that when you upgrade your library keeps track of the upgraded songs with regard to playcount, etc. Can anyone verify this??
All or nothing seems like something to get away with when you're holding all the cards...
True for 80-100% of the music. Sometimes the tags will have changed since purchase (normally only true for music purchased more than 2 years ago). Say, if the song has changed from sporting an "Alternative" tag to a "Pop" tag, the new download will not replace the old one. This case is rare, at most occurring 20% of the time.
Not sure what all the fuss is about.
The only reason to upgrade is if you plan on illegally sharing your music with other people, right?
If your music has played fine on your iPod and Mac all this time - it still will.
If you're a true audiophile (nut), then you'd be buying physical media and ripping your own. Those few bits improvement aren't going to make your iPod sound any better in the car or jogging through noisy streets anyways, right?
I have NEVER had an issue with DRM in all the years I've been using iTunes. So what's the fuss all about?
Hey, count yourself lucky. But it's best to not take such a broad assumption that it's going to be for piracy. Besides, it's not that hard to pirate the DRMed file, DRM generally confounds legitimate uses too. It reduces convenience in streaming to non-Apple brand devices. Also, it removes the risk of odd errors on computers you stream music to but forgot to authorize the computer, like what Front Row gave me, it took me a while to realize that the generic error stemmed from an authorization issue. Having to manage authorizations is an unnecessary inconvenience that wouldn't happen if the tracks were bought on CD and imported. So why should iTunes tracks be any different?
If you REALLY wanted to upgrade just a portion of your music, you could always temporarily remove those other unwanted songs from your library. When you're done upgrading, move them back into your library.
Good to see it's not just me who has nostalgic moments of weakness. Maybe the author should drag the embarrassing tunes out of his library, into a folder, upgrade the library then drag the files back in (or maybe not!). It's not very 'Apple' but given most iTunes users are Windows-based this kind of file-fiddling should be second nature.
I don't think you two read the story, because if you did, you would know that doesn't work, I can attest to that. A track downloaded to a different computer and never copied to my main computer still shows up on my list.
The process is very simple, and I think, fair. It doesn't offer a lot of customization, though, it's true. I don't see it as a problem except for people who buy a lot of music they don't like... a habit that carries a downside no matter what
I'm just glad that free songs don't get upgraded--that's clearly stated, and it makes sense. I don't WANT to upgrade all those free songs, I want to upgrade the songs I chose to buy--and that's how the system works.
If they offered a more complex and customizable process, I can see one song I wouldn't upgrade... saving me 30 cents. Not worth it--I'll accept the simplicity of the current system.
Lucky for you, but it's not just about that. What if you liked the song at first, but a few years later, are sick of it? That never happens to you? Or you bought a lot over the years, a little here, a little there, and want to upgrade in chunks to keep the cost manageable?
Why should there be an upgrade fee at all? The music was $.99 with DRM. It is (for the most part) $.99 now that it's DRM-free but I have to pay $.30 per song because I made the mistake of giving Apple my business too early.
Seems to me it should be a free upgrade now that DRM-free is going to be the norm.
Is this upgrade fee being imposed by Apple, by the labels or both?
Keep in mind that it's a lot more fair than in the past in regards to media sales. If a band remastered an album, what kind of a discount to owners of previous copies of the album get? None. A remastered version of a movie, with deleted scenes or a new re-cut of a movie, or add actor commentaries, what kind of discount do existing owners get? None. There may be exceptions, but the general rule is that you don't get any credit for having bought the previous version. In most cases, you got what you paid for, you were not promised free upgrades.
If I understand everything right, I will have to re-download all of my purchased music again if I upgrade my library (since the DRM free tracks are of higher quality than my originally purchased music).
Yes. You have to download the extra data to get the higher bitrate. Your upgrade doesn't remove the encryption from your existing file, they just send you a newer, bigger and hopefully better sounding file, but that depends on the file, your equipment and your ears.