Was going to post this in another itunes thread but thought I’d start a new one as I think everyone should know about this!
Just thought I’d mention something on the itunes thing. The tracks are all AAC encoded, which not all music software supports. Sometimes tracks are downloaded in “purchased AAC” format which is fine because you can convert to what ever format you want in itunes. Most of the time it downloads in “protected AAC” format which means that if you want to convert to AIF, WAV etc you must burn to CD and reimport in the format you want. Not practical if you have downloaded just one song as it wastes a CD and your money, and if you have downloaded a load of songs it wastes your time.
itunes charges 79p and sometimes 99p for a track. The tracks are all in 256k. If you delete a track by mistake you must pay again to download it and as I just mentioned all the tracks are encoded.
SO PEOPLE, MY ADVICE TO YOU, SHOULD YOU CHOSE TO LISTEN TO IT, IS…
DON’T PURCHASE TRACKS FROM ITUNES!!!
Play.com and many others offer the same tracks in 320k bit depth (they even tell you the bit depth of every track before you download, as some are 256, the majority are 320… but at least they tell you). The tracks are also not encoded so will be ready to use in any music software. They also let you download the tracks up to somewhere around 3 or 4 times with no additional cost, just incase you loose or delete the track by mistake. They also only charge 69p per track as opposed to 79p and it works out even cheaper per track if you buy an album (sometimes as little as around 40p)! I have no problem with paying 79p or even 99p per track… but in a lower bit depth?.. and encoded?.. and with the option to only download it once?
ITUNES (APPLE) TAKE THE PISS!!
I’d love to spread the word to get everyone to boycott using itunes. Sure use it to organise your music but not to purchase… not until they at least stop encoding the tracks!
Sorry in advance if anyone feels differently on this matter.
Works in Traktor which is OK with me, plus it is convenient. Plus most of the music I’ll DJ, iTunes doesn’t have anyway, so for everyday music acquirement, I’m quite happy.
Yeah thats fair enough, for your everyday music acquirement then sure, for ease and convenience go for it. But I’m talking more from a DJ or even production point of view. I play a hell of a lot of music I purchase from Play or used to buy from itunes and I want to know I can get the best quality available, so if the option to pay less and get better quality is there I’m gonna go for it. I’ve also had load of issues with the encoding thing in the past.
If I’m DJing a set of stuff I want to play (breaks, DnB, House) I’ll shop in beatport or the alike and get WAVs. But I have to cater for a lot of different people right now so all the rubbish like Beyonce and Rihanna that I would never purchase otherwise, I’m not gonna pay £1.50 to have the WAV, but at the same time I’m playing it on a big system to keep all the dick head girls happy so I at least want the best quality available.
Also, if you’re gonna sample a track for production purposes obviously you should try and get the WAV, but if it’s not available again you’re going to want the best quality available. I’d sooner have 320 over 256. And again some music production software doesnt support AAC.
iTunes doesn’t sell any more DRM protected files. I have old files that I bought there which are protected but it’s fine to me because I only listen to those files in itunes and my ipod.
If I really need to play a protected file in traktor I just use MP4converter.
As a user interface itunes store is pretty neat, and the whole buying experience is clean and fast.
I don’t like sampling other people works so to me 256 is enough. Even considering the best possible listening situation: a good studio with perfect acoustics and thousands of dollars of equipment I doubt 0.001% of people could really hear the differences between a wav and a well encoded 256 m4p.
@ Dee secure that shit soldier!
i bought an old goa album off itunes last week because it was the only place to get it. i didn’t know it was all in aac till it spit back up when i put it thru PN. wasn’t too much of a problem converting but i think itunes should at least let you know the format you are getting your music in.
But Pier if I make music I make it for free, if I ever made it big I would allow people to download it for free! I do pay my ridiculous amounts of $20+ AUD per cd but only when I can purchase direct from the artist! I paid over $20 for Alex Deegans, ANIM8 album!
I guess it’s a matter of personal preference, I’ll just do what I do but keep it on the low down, as suggested earlier! I honestly thought it was alot wider accepted though!
BTW do Traktor’s updates cost? Like I looked on the NI site the other day and it said upgrade for $70 to 1.2.3!!!
What a load of whale jizm! Who charges for updates? Well obviously NI does!
I dont know whether you’re being serious or not, but everyone always gives this argument of “if I was a big producer I’d be cool with people having my shit for free”, and it’s these people who are really quite narrow minded. But putting all that aside, if a guy locks himself in a room for months on end slaving away learning his trade after spending a fortune on a load of expensive gear and after how ever long working away when all his mates are out having a good time and getting laid while he’s still there working all the hours he can then finally comes out with a track I want…
…the least I could do is give the poor cunt 79p for crying out loud!
Personally I dont agree with music piracy, but each to their own I guess. If you feel you need to save yourself a few cents by downloading what is probably shit quality MP3’s then go for it.
Mate you beat me to it… I completely agree with you. Also i got 50 quid of iTunes vouchers for christmas so I guess I’m stuck with them for a while! lol
I believe you have to be absolute about the whole thing, as in you either buy every bit of music you obtain and only then shit-can people who obtain illegally or unethically.
I only have 10,000 songs but if I were to buy them…I wouldn’t have a motorbike in my shed because that’s how much I would have spent getting all that music! Piracy is such a widely known and almost subconsciously accepted issue that producers should keep that in mind when sitting in their dark rooms for hours on end!
The fact that your music will never be safe from piracy! I say if you can’t beat them…join them!
If people have a problem with controllerism, that’s their problem not mine!
If I’m such an embarrassment then the mods will ban me! But until then Mr Combo Breaker with a Record Breaking 37 posts, it’s a matter of perseverance!
Dee is entitled to his opinion just like everybody else. he may need a slap occasionally for mentioning piracy lol but apart from that he’s more than welcome imo peace all.
