DRM troubles (legal!)

Bri

Just bought a legal mp3 from an online retailer. When I paid a link appeared in my invoice page, and I downloaded the track. The d/l took no time at all. No really, I mean it literally was done before the popup had started! I was on a great connection but I tried this since on a modem and it's relatively similar.

So I gets my file, and I open it - foobar, WMP10, etc. The clip only lasts 1 second. The file is about 47kilobytes.

The retailer sent me a nice long copy and paste of their FAQ - all about leaving your connection enabled, opening in WMP9 first, and have internet certificates enabled. I've done what I can but I don't have WMP9, I've 10, and I don't have an option to enable certs in IE's security settings (maybe it was a pre-XP SP2 help file?). Anyway, before I write back and ask for a refund or something similar, can anyone tell me if DRM files work for a split second and somehow manage to add another 3+ megs to a file once their certificate is authenticated? Btw, I d/l'd this with Firefox first time. The link is closed and won't be re-opened till I write back but I wanted a little advice first of all!

Does this not sound like the file on their server is simply damaged?

Any advice?

Thanks in advance.

Dundhoone

Firefox definately doesnt work with the Coke download site , I had a similar problem the first time i tired to get a track form there. I had to install IE to get it to work.

Maybe its the same prob with whatever site you are talking about.

Syth

Stupid download site. The more difficult they make it for honest people to get music digitally the more likely the person will download it 'illegally' the next time, probably for the pure convience. They need to make it easier than p2p in order for legal digital music to become popular.

Fenster

Buy from someone who doesn't use Draconian DRM.

EKRIUQ

Why not use a decent site thats much cheaper www.allofmp3.com

Bri

Ah lads thanks for the comments but what I'm looking for here is information about what the tiny clip d/l'd would mean - my fault, their fault, etc. Thanks for the idea Dundhoone but I already tried this via IE.

I know about allofmp3.com - they don't do a full catalogue of 12" mixes!
DRM - Well excuse me for trying to do something legally! As above I thought I'd give it a go and yes it would completely put me off doing this again. The site is recordstore.co.uk and I only bought it as an mp3 so I could have it immeadiatley to use with my CD decks. Def. ordering the vinyl next time!

Anyone else got any ideas?

Pa ElGrande

ElectricNews.Net wrote:

The end of the CD is nigh: report
Monday, May 09 2005
by Deirdre McArdle
Source: ElectricNews.Net
Irish consumers are increasingly turning to online music and shunning CDs, according to a new survey conducted by research firm Millward Brown IMS.

The survey reveals that 10 percent of Irish consumers now own an MP3 player or other digital music players such as the Apple iPod, with a further 13 percent, or 349,000, saying they are likely to buy one in the coming year.

Of the 10 percent, popularity of digital music players is most prominent among the 15 to 24 age group, with 22 percent of that demographic owning such devices. Some 17 percent of consumers aged between 24 and 35 have purchased an MP3 player, a figure that is likely to rise considerably, the report said.

While a significant portion of digital music player owners are transferring their CD collections onto their devices, 52 percent said they are downloading music online at least once a month, with 19 percent downloading music online once a week.

The report found that of those who don't already download music online, 44 percent said they were likely to start doing so. The increasing adoption of broadband in Ireland will almost certainly have an impact on the volume of music downloading, the report claims.

This increase in the number of people downloading music from websites is likely to negatively affect CD sales, Millward Brown says. The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) claims that there has been a 19 percent drop in music sales in Ireland between 2001 and 2004, a fall IRMA has estimated to be worth about EUR28 million. While this drop cannot be wholly attributed to the rise of digital music players, the report claims that MP3 ownership is likely to accelerate the decline in CD sales.

Forty-one percent of digital music player owners say that since they bought their device they are buying CDs less often, 47 percent said there has been no change in their CD-buying habits while only 3 percent said they are buying more CDs.

Despite the rise in downloading online music, the report found that 61 percent of respondents said there would always be certain albums that they would prefer to buy in CD format. However, price is seen as an important factor, with 56 percent saying they would opt to purchase an album as a digital music file rather than pay more for a CD in the shops.

When it comes to actually paying for downloading music, 63 percent of respondents said they don't pay for music downloads with less than a third saying they pay for online music. File-sharing sites such as Kazaa -- a free site -- are proving popular with Irish consumers, while pay sites such as Apple's iTunes, Napster and Eircom's Music Club were also cited as popular destinations for MP3 owners.

The issue of illegally downloading music online has become a contentious one worldwide. In Ireland the Irish music industry recently announced plans to take legal action against a number of "serial filesharers" who they claim have illegally uploaded thousands of music tracks on to peer-to-peer file sharing networks.

with a further 13 percent, or 349,000, saying they are likely to buy one in the coming year...IRMA won't like this

Syth

Course now that you've bought it legally, you may as well download the track off the internet. A good way of getting rid of the DRM.

Pa ElGrande

There was a conference held in the Guinnness Hop Store earlier this year about the subject of DRM. I did not get to go. If you have powerpoint you can checkout the following slides...

http://www.digitalmediaintelligence.com/DRM/drmindex.html

http://www.digitalmediaintelligence.com/drm_presentations/carolplunkett.ppt

http://www.digitalmediaintelligence.com/drm_presentations/garymillner.ppt

http://www.digitalmediaintelligence.com/drm_presentations/johnmenton.ppt

http://www.digitalmediaintelligence.com/drm_presentations/paullambert.ppt

Anyone with any constructive input on the subject if DRM should direct it to these people. If they are not aware of the problems they create they can't ever fix them and will pursue even more ridiculous policies.


[PS]
If you need a powerpoint viewer there is one here [microsoft.com]. Openoffice users also can view powerpoint files.

Rew

DRM dosn't and never will, now let them try fix that...

Bri

right so!

Rew

Did you use your CC top buy the song? If so claim the money back as you never recived the goods. Tell Coke or who ever thats what ypur going to do and see what they do. Seriouly though your mad buying that DRM rubish. Go to All of MP3 its legal and not DRm crippled. Also the windows media format isn't that well supported.

Infini

If it has DRM I wouldn't touch it with a 50ft pole. Too much trouble and too much bull in it.

rsynnott

http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=2384

the_syco

Hi. I'm drunk, so I only read the rist port. Get DRM2WMV. Once you have a legal copy (and the key that comes with it: it only works with the key), you can convert it to no DRM file. Look @ sourceforge.net or me good mate google.com/intl/xx-klingon/ fo more info. Good luck, and ****. The leglity (for all you mods) is that if you have the key, it most likely b legit, so its all good. No key, tho, and it don't work

Bri

Thank you for the responses, but for some reason people keep missing the point.

"Go use allofmp3.com"...I already said:

Bri wrote:

I know about allofmp3.com - they don't do a full catalogue of 12" mixes!

"Why would you use a DRM file?"...I already said:

As above I thought I'd give it a go and yes it would completely put me off doing this again.

"WMA is a crap format"...I already said

I only bought it as an mp3 so I could have it immeadiatley to use with my CD decks. Def. ordering the vinyl next time!

All I really wanted to know was how it works, or if what I'd described sounded like a damaged file on their part. I can't imagine a working DRM file playing 2 seconds of a song and only being 47.6kilobytes before authentication, and somehow 'expanding' when opened in WMP9. AFAIK they say WMP for the same reason people design sites for IE - Because it's common enough that they can work with it as 'standard'.
I've already got back to them and I appreciate the CC idea - if they're pr!cks I'll be asking for my 99p back

Rew

Sorry, The file sounds damaged its too small to be a full song. If the DRM was at fault u wouldn't be able to play it at all.

Winning Hand

Does napster actually work here? Remember trying to sign up a few months back and they told me they dont operate outside the states.

Bri

Rew wrote:

Sorry, The file sounds damaged its too small to be a full song. If the DRM was at fault u wouldn't be able to play it at all.

Excellent thank you very much - that's exactly what I wanted to know!

+rep