Can I merge 2 Apple IDs?

LesMikesell wrote:

When there are equivalent purchase protections for digital media, I'll consider spending money on it. But not before.

But, what you aren't allowed to do, legally, is transfer that CD to digital, then sell the CD but keep the digital copy. Will anyone find out if you do? Probably not. But, of course, that's not the point.

I doubt we'll ever see a doctrine of first sale for digital media that looks exactly like that for physical media. So, keep buying those CDs.

LesMikesell wrote:

When there are equivalent purchase protections for digital media, I'll consider spending money on it. But not before.

They already are equivalent, you don't own the content rights to either of them, but with CD it is your little piece of plastic.

Sorry, but no. In the US, if you buy something you can sell it. At least a physical thing. That was always obvious, but this case covers even the special case of buying outside the US. The restriction vendors want is illegal.

https://www.theverge.com/2013/3/19/4123740/supreme-court-upholds-first-sale-righ ts-abroad

As I said, do some Research, start with the Home Recording Act of 1992 and then the RIAA license terms for commercial recordings

Meantime here are the relevant sections form the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

How do I know what's legal and what's not when it comes to copying music/movies?

Here's the bottom line: If you distribute copyrighted music/movies without authorization from the copyright owner, you are breaking the law. (Distribution can mean anything from "sharing" files on the Internet to burning copies of copyrighted material onto blank CDs, DVDs, or Flash drives, and selling or giving them to others.)

Is it illegal to upload music/movies onto the Internet even if I don't charge for it?

Yes, if the material is protected by copyright and you don't have the copyright holder's permission. U.S. copyright law prohibits the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted creative work whether or not you charge money for it.

What will happen to me if I get caught illegally copying or distributing copyrighted music/movies?

Under federal law, first-time offenders who commit copyright violations that involve digital recordings can face criminal penalties of as much as five years in prison and/or $250,000 in fines. You could also be sued by the copyright holder in civil court, which could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars more in damages and legal fees.

Hi Chris,

Best possible solution I could think of is:

Step A: Change your apple id email address that you use for iTunes to an email address that you have access to by going into - https://appleid.apple.com/#!&page=signin -> sign in with you account details -> click on account -> edit -> change email address. A verification mail will be sent to that email.

Step B: Continue to use your .me address in iCloud to use free iCloud space

PS: Apple offers Free 5GB iCloud storage to any apple id for life time.

Apple cannot merge the apple id accounts, however you can use multiple apple id's on an iPhone or iPad i.e, one for iTunes and app store, different one for iCloud.

Syam

Yeah, I know the music distributors would like to make it illegal to have a guest in your house share listening to a song when you play it. But it doesn't change the right of first sale you are guaranteed with a physical object. So, I'm not buying any digital media until there is a way my wife and I can split up joint property as easily as sorting a box of dvds if we divorce. And I'd advise others to do the same if they care about where their money goes.

35 years in the music business and I still laugh when people who have no experience at all tell me how they think it is. Or how it should be,

Do as you please, no one will find you (but it would be wiser not to boast about stealing on a public forum)

Please explain how buying dvds jointly with your wife and splitting them in a divorce settlement would be stealing? Or inheriting them for that matter? Or why businesses like to accuse people who buy their products of stealing? I'd really prefer not to have half a room full of plastic discs if I actually owned something with digital versions.

LesMikesell wrote:

So, I'm not buying any digital media until there is a way my wife and I can split up joint property as easily as sorting a box of dvds if we divorce. And I'd advise others to do the same if they care about where their money goes.

The easiest (and only legal way ownership-wise), is to buy your digital media with your own Apple/iTunes IDs. My husband and I have been doing this for years, and it does not prevent us from sharing that media via iTunes whenever we wish. If you get a divorce, then wipe the iTunes Library, and re-download your own media to the iTunes Library that you will be using post divorce....

Because, you see, there is no such thing as "joint property" when you are purchasing digital media. The media is attached to one Apple ID. The Apple ID is attached to one person.

It's not really rocket science.

GB

Well, hopefully, the other person knows that persons Apple ID information. I know my husband's and he knows mine, so we can get into eachother's accounts any time we want. That's how you would work that particular issue out. Since Apple IDs are a one-person ownership thing, the only way to make the "joint" is to share all of the "secure" information about those IDs with the person you are jointly sharing with.

Sure, other things we purchase we do so jointly, and even though we each have our own checking accounts, both of our names are on them, so they are owned jointly. But Apple IDs just don't work that way. A lot of things don't, like a "membership" card to a gym or a co:op. You just find the best way to work it out so that both people have as much equal access as possible.

GB

Actually, the best solution for music purchases is to buy the CD. It costs about the same, you own physical product, It's often higher quality and you can upload it to iTunes. I only buy from iTunes when something is either not available or I just want single songs. I also burn them all to CD so I have physical archives in case Apple tries to ding me for too many copies (mix CDs I like to make).

The Apple ID problem has been going on for years, ever since they made us convert to an email address, but still kept our other account.

So many years later, Apple still has not chosen to address the issue, so we'll have to live with juggling multiple accounts. I tried to link my two using the "Family" mode, but they have this set to first, assume you are adding a child, and second, not allow you to link your other non-email Apple ID. I think Apple is waiting for all the people with old IDs to die - problem solved!

In a perfect world, a solution would be straightforward, but Apple doesn't have a good track record with much of its software. (i.e. Apple Mail).

Still prefer all this headache to a PC, but Apple, can't you try and up your game just a little bit, please? :-)

Thanks Gail, but this is years later and so many tried (including myself) to address this with Apple back then - to no avail.

There's a reason they don't want to change certain things, and only they know the reasons. Not for lack of talent or money.

The ongoing issue with purchases made using two Apple IDs. Many of us got stuck after Apple changed Apple IDs from using usernames to emails and have two because of that. Others had two emails. They have no way to merge the ones that you own into one account.

Send your feedback to Apple: Apple - Feedback. They don't respond to feedback, but they do read it.

GB

It looks like I'm in the same boat... I THINK I can dump my MobileMe account (I don't use that email address) and sync everything to my iTunes Apple ID before I get in too deep with iCloud.

I can't believe how much of a headache this process has been so far.