getting drm files to play on my android phone

If the tracks are from the iTunes Store and carry copy protection, you cannot play them on an Android phone or any other non-Apple device. You can, however, use iTunes to burn the tracks to an audio CD, which will then behave as would any other audio CD.

Regards.

Are there any plans to provide an app to strip off the DRM or, at the very least, allow iTunes to keep a non apple device in the drm count? I get drm, but I don't get how apple restricts the device count to apple only devices or iTunes capable devices.

The whole "just burn it and re-rip" is a non answer for this problem.

"Are there any plans to provide an app to strip off the DRM "

From the terms of use of this forum:

"Keep within the Law
No material may be submitted that is intended to promote or commit an illegal act.
Do not submit software or descriptions of processes that break or otherwise ‘work around’ digital rights management software"

allow iTunes to keep a non apple device in the drm count?

The DRM developed by Apple (Fairplay DRM) is not licensed to anyone else to use.

If you go here -> Your iTunes Plus eligible updgrades , you can see which songs you can upgrade to versions with no DRM.

This has nothing to do with fair play or digital rights. This has everything to do with bootstrapping iTunes to other peoples digital works. The real answer is to not use iTunes at all.

Meh

Eztrozo wrote:
This has everything to do with bootstrapping iTunes to other peoples digital works.

I have absolutely no idea what you mean by this.

This has nothing to do with fair play or digital rights

Yes it does.
And it FairPlay, not fair play.
FairPlay is the name of the scheme Apple developed to add DRM.

This has everything to do with bootstrapping iTunes to other peoples digital works

DRM is only used on iTunes store purchases. Any music purchased after April 2009 does not have it.
All movies/TV shows and some music videos have it.
Anything you obtained elsewhere (your own CD RIPs, DVD, other music stores, etc.) does not have FairPlay DRM.

Maybe my approach was wrong here. I know its "FairPlay" but was not referring to the scheme; I was referring to the concept. I apologize for being unclear.

My bootstrapping comment is a reference to the tying of the Apple product to the intellectual property of another party. Apple was not responsible for its value and, in fact, helped themselves to its value under the pretense of “DRM”. The only reason the scheme would exclude all non Apple media devices would be to protect the Apple device/software, not the intellectual property (note that you can reset your DRM count and continue to upgrade Apple devices via the authorize/de-authorize method ad infinitem, but you can never use another device without bypassing the DRM entirely).

What I was (and am) looking for was some way to get the DRM off of the products that I licensed, from which Apple has subsequently removed DRM. It seems the only way to do so is to incur some additional cost, either from Apple (which I should not have to pay twice) or in the value of CD’s, which I will discard after the process is complete.

Regardless, the solution seems to be to either: a) find another product or b) pay for an additional service/process.

However, the question still remains. Why not just provide a free tool to strip it off? If it’s not currently in use and serves no other purpose but to frustrate users, why allow it to persist?

Message was edited by: Eztrozo

edit It won't let me re-edit my response, so I will apologize in advance for the typos

My bootstrapping comment is a reference to the tying of the Apple product to the intellectual property of another party. Apple was not responsible for its value and, in fact, helped themselves to its value under the pretense of “DRM”.

They didn't "help themselves" to anything.
The copyright owners (not Apple) would not allow Apple to sell iTunes songs unless they could guarantee some way to minimize illegal file sharing.
Apple did't simply say, "Hey! let's add DRM to this stuff so it can only be used by Apple products".
FairPlay DRM was developed as a way to allow users a "fair" (as determined by Apple and the copyright owners) way to use these songs.
It can be used on up to 5 computers.
Audio CDs can be burned to use anywhere.

What I was (and am) looking for was some way to get the DRM off of the products that I licensed, from which Apple has subsequently removed DRM.

And the copyright owner agreed to.

Regardless, the solution seems to be to either: a) find another product or b) pay for an additional service/process.

Correct.

Why not just provide a free tool to strip it off?

Because the copyright owner (which is not Apple) doesn't want to give you DRM free stuff unless you pay for it.

Eztrozo wrote:
... I get drm, but I don't get how apple restricts the device count to apple only devices or iTunes capable devices.

I'm not sure you do. The reason for restricting your usage of a purchased song is to protect the interests of the owners of the song. That's not you - it's the "copyright owners" - usually the Record Company that released the song. When you "bought" a CD, you owned the physical CD but not the music on it. No, of course that doesn't make sense to you and me, but that's basically how it always worked.

Consequently, the Record Industry didn't like the idea of us buying music in digital form and in order to keep the Recording Industry happy, Apple (and others) introduced various methods of copy protection - a method of preventing unauthorised copying or duplication of +the record company's+ music. (That is; to stop one person buying the song and then "giving digital copies" of it to someone else, who hasn't paid for the song.)

As usual, the Recording Industry (the record companies who finance the bands and release the music) failed to understand the technology they rely on, in addition to which, their attempts to restrict music fans' use of the music they like has met with such loathing (by us, the music fans) that - to cut a long story short - DRM has been more or less abandoned (for digital music). (I'm not saying we are right!)

So DRM was never about preventing use of the music on non-Apple products, it was about preventing illegal copying or duplication of the music which - in effect - you have leased from the record company which owns the "rights to copy" that music. That's why a digital song bought on iTunes can only be "authorised" for a limited number of computers. As your computers are replaced, you may need to unauthorise older machines so that you can authorise the song onto a new computer.

Phil

Message was edited by: the fiend

Thanks for the reasoned response Phil. Once again though, I must apologize for inevitably it was my mistake to assume that when I spoke about apple's implementation of DRM, that I was actually talking about apple's implementation of DRM and not DRM itself.

Frankly, I support the idea of DRM, but what I do not support is the limitation to the use of Apple products via Apple’s implementation of DRM. Apples implementation is indefensible as it not only devalues the intellectual property of the artist/owner (by limiting the use of their product to Apple devices), but it devalues the product purchased by the consumer (once again, by limiting… you get where I am going by now 😉 ). So my x number of $.99+- songs bought on iTunes is not worth the same as the same $.99+- song(s) I bought on Amazon or any number of other locations (which, oddly enough, the Apple device has absolutely no trouble playing… why not exclude their use as they were not originally DL’d to an Apple device? I mean, we are trying to protect the artist right?). Now, to use my $.99 song purchased on iTunes the same way I use the song purchased just about anywhere else, I have to do something that I object to… I have to defeat a copyright protection and, in effect, pirate my licensed music.

All I would like to do is license the song and use it on the device of my choosing as per the restrictions of my license (a limitation on the license BY THE OWNER being perfectly reasonable). Apple is piggybacking with the hopes of locking you to their device, giving the license holder (that would be me) only one option for the fair use of the licensed product; completely defeat DRM (and not just FairPlay) by stripping it off via CD transfer. I’d love to just add my droid to the device count and still live with DRM, I’m only using 1 of my 5 slots as is, why not? But it seems that offends the sensibilities of those who believe that my device should have a shiny fruit on it instead of being an alternative device of my choosing.

So, tldr version:

1.FairPlay is not in use(abandoned for obvious reasons), but songs restricted by its poor DRM implementation are. WTB fix (and yeah… it’s a lot of music, which makes the CD transfer option a huge pain in the rear).

2. Angry mob says NOFIXFORURAWR.

3. Ok, I get it. It’s crappy, but I get it.

Thanks all for chiming in. Cheers!

Eztrozo, you are making this too difficult.
When did you purchase those songs from itunes? If they are already itunes plus you can easily create a MP3 version for your Android.


Just change itunes import settings to MP3. Right-click on those songs and choose "Create MP3 version". You don't have to click on each song one-by-one, but I am not sure I would do hundreds at once. Maybe in chunks of 10 or 20.



Now, if they are the older 128kbps songs (not itunes plus, they say kind = protected instead of kind = purchased) you can burn an *AUDIO CD* and use it like any other *AUDIO CD*.

In reality, with DRM, the only people who lose/suffer, are those who legitimately obtain the DRM encrypted files.

Apple did not want DRM. Apple had to do it to get the labels and copyright owners to agree to sell it on the iTunes store.
It was Steve Jobs who told the labels they should to get rid of DRM. See this -> Thoughts on Music - Steve Jobs - February 6, 2007
Guess when Amazon MP3 store opened? September 2007. Not a coincidence at all. They could not have sold MP3 format files before because MP3 cannot have any DRM. And movies/TV shows do have Windows DRM (cannot be played on a Mac).

Keep in mind that Apple has not sold any DRM songs in over 19 months.
And Apple is not alone in this.
Windows DRM (Zune store, protected WMA, etc.) will not play on any Apple product.

Now, to use my $.99 song purchased on iTunes the same way I use the song purchased just about anywhere else, I have to do something that I object to… I have to defeat a copyright protection and, in effect, pirate my licensed music.

You are not defeating, pirating or doing anything "wrong" by burning these songs to CD. It is an authorized (by the copyright owner) use of these files. A bit inconvenient, yes, but it makes them happy. It is simply a pain for legitimate purchasers and does nothing to stop those who they are trying to stop (illegal file sharing).

Personally, I have no problem playing any iTunes purchases anywhere I want.

1.FairPlay is not in use

It is very much in use. DRM is only part of FairPlay. All movies/tv shows still use FairPlay DRM. Some music videos do. All music RIP'd with iTunes uses FairPlay (though not with DRM). You can see by right click - get info on anything you RIP'd with iTunes. It will show the iTunes/Fairplay version used to RIP/convert with iTunes.

ll music RIP'd with iTunes uses FairPlay (though not with DRM). You can see by right click - get info on anything you RIP'd with iTunes. It will show the iTunes/Fairplay version used to RIP/convert with iTunes.

It doesn't on my system, Chris. Not even iTunes Plus tracks from the iTunes Store report a FairPlay version. Only those tracks from the iTunes Store that came with DRM show a FairPlay version. If your tracks ripped from a CD are showing a FairPlay version, methinks your library has a problem.

Regards.