iTunes scam rip-off?

Question

iTunes scam rip-off?

well, today I browsed iTunes, happened to find something I liked and thought I'd give it a go..

After checking this bit:

Import in An Instant

To import songs into iTunes, just insert a CD into your computer and click Import CD. Or set up iTunes to automatically add music when you insert a CD. Either way, iTunes imports music in a snap. iTunes saves music from your CDs as high-quality AAC files — a format that builds upon state-of-the-art audio technology from Dolby Labs. But you can choose different audio formats, too. iTunes lets you convert music to MP3s at high bit-rate at no extra charge. Using AAC or MP3, you can store more than 100 songs in the same amount of space as a single CD. iTunes also supports the Apple Lossless format, which gives you CD-quality audio in about half the storage space.

then registering an account I felt sort of confident, not in the lack of looking, the information is just hot air anyway written by halfwits, but this was what it seemed simply because its not spelled out anywhere what I wanted to know and I was eager to get that CD right friggin now, which I thought was the whole point.. shop music from the leisure of your chair

BUT LOW AND BEHOLD,

None of this happened

I end up with M4P files.... 13 tracks 50 MB in all???...lossless my....??? *** are M4P???!

Burning my new purchase onto a disc didn't work in my stereo

I'm really p *ed off about this matter, measly 10 $ maybe, but the disappointment in being aggravated this way adding to increasing dismay, that you don't get anything face value from practically any commercial company anymore, seriously gets my fumes going, cos I could have gone to the record store, taken care of everybody and probably walked out with two great discs for the same price and half the time I spent sorting my anger, which didn't help me read through farfetched htmls with deauthorisation and more bla bla bla

Somewhere else someone is having problems loading DL music onto his iPod??? and the crap goes on..

I'll say it again, software designers stay the f * out of my way and start doing your jobs and provide the service you advertise using the KISS principle... stop jacking around, we friggin pay your salaries and provide you with a job and expect to be honoured in return for our graciousness in buying YOUR product!

H*ll even the buttons in here don't work, trying to highlight in italic the quote from iTunes store...

Someone explain me how I get, as they state I could and should, buying my record in the iTunes store and get it on a CD so I can play it on my stereo, cause as we all know the G5 comes with f * all speakers..

If I got it all wrong and Im not supposed to do with DL paid for music as I bl**dy well please, whats the ferkin point then?? Scamming idjots? Ill admit I was lured, fool me once though, MF's!

with kind regards and an obscene bird gesture to all this internet boosh*t

G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Posted on Mar 23, 2006 2:16 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Christian Skjott Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 23, 2006 3:55 PM in response to Christian Skjott

Welcome to The iTunes Music Store, the best place to preview, buy, and download music, ever. You're about to experience downloading done right! Keep this e-mail in a safe place for future reference. It includes important information about your account.

Here's all you need to get started

Click here to launch iTunes and visit the iTunes Music Store right now!

-----------------READ HERE THE BS!!!------------------------------

Your account is set up and enables you to purchase and download immediately. You can listen to the music you buy on up to five Macintosh or PC computers, make unlimited playlists, >>>>>burn CDs<<<<<<, and transfer your music to iPod. Use your new Apple ID for all kinds of Apple purchases -- from the newest hardware in the Apple Store online to photo books and prints through iPhoto.

If you would like to find out more about the iPod portable digital music player, visit <a class="jive-link-external-small" href="http://">http://www.apple.com/gr/ipod/ to learn how you can take up to 15000 songs you buy and download with you wherever you go.

For help using the Store, choose Help > iTunes and iTunes Music Store Help in iTunes. If you have questions about your purchases, click the Account: Sign in button from the iTunes Music Store navigation bar in iTunes, sign in, and visit your Purchase History page.

If you have forgotten your password or need additional customer service, please visit http://www.apple.com/gr/support/itunes/

Thanks for setting up your account!

Sincerely,

The iTunes Music Store >>>>>SCAMMER<<<<<< Team
iTunes Music Store

Somewhere else in all the pile it states lossless, but when a regular CD consists of about 500 MB to cover 10 tracks and iTUNES renders 50 MB to do the same job, I know this is a crock!

G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

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Answer 2

Mar 23, 2006 5:05 PM in response to Christian Skjott

The text you quote pertains only to importing music from commercially purchased music discs. It does not pertain to downloading music from the iTunes music store.

When importing music from audio disc you can choose from the several formats that iTunes supports: AAC, MP3, AIFF, WAV, or Apple Lossless. You can also specify multiple bit-rates for AAC or MP3 to get the files that sound best to you.

However music purchased from the iTunes Media Store is only available in 128 Kbps Protected AAC. You can not change this by setting your import settings.

If the audio disc you burned is not working in your home stereo you should check the media. If you used a CD-RW disc that is most likely the problem. Most CD players do not support CD-RW media. When burning audio discs you should always use good quality CD-R media. Burn your disc again, using CD-R media, and it will work.

Additionally if I might make a suggestion: in the future it might help if you take a deep breath and wait a few minutes before posting to the forums. These are user to user forums and we want to help you solve any problems you have. But if you are going to just vent perhaps you should do that on the MacNN forums.

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Answer 3

Mar 23, 2006 5:13 PM in response to Christian Skjott

OK, calm down. You sound really angry and you needn't be.

If I have understood your problem correctly amongst the veiled expletives you have bought some songs from iTunes and want to put them onto CD so you listen to them in your stereo but it didn't work as you expected.

M4P files are what iTunes sells -they are protected AAC files, a digital compression protocol. These are more or less 1MB per minute in size, more than ten times smaller than full sized CD audio.

Burning these files always works for me, perhaps the CD burning settings need looked by you. Go to iTunes preferences, 'Advanced' and select 'Burning', ensure that you have selected here that the disc format is "Audio CD". Try again - it should work just fine. Also ensure that your stereo can play burned media (some older ones struggle with this). Follow this procedure:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301917

Also this might help:
http://www.apple.com/support/ipod101/tunes/

As far as your quote from Apple that you think doesn't reflect what actually happened this is the procedure for importing songs from a CD that you own, it is not the procedure for buying songs and burning them to CD. The Apple lossless format is a digital audio compression format - one that does not remove any audio quality from the CD. Lossless does not refer to a principle of not getting rid of data file size as you suppose - it refers to not degrading audio quality:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61086

Hope this gets you going again.

Enjoy iTunes! (it really isn't so bad)

Gareth

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Answer 4

Mar 24, 2006 5:17 AM in response to Gareth McFadden

Hope this gets you going again.

Enjoy iTunes! (it really isn't so bad)

Gareth

Hey Michael and Gareth,

Thank you both for your replies, a good nights sleep soothed my anger about this, and I just been checking my settings again, note again, and they were set as stated all along, so there lie not the problem... Even tried toast, which converted the files into QT mpegs, other result but audio, and the CDs I got, 3 of them all crash iTunes btw, I forgot to mention... my CD player is state of the art and has no problems with other burns from iTunes or Toast..

May I just mention another grief here speaking of CDs, irrelevant to this, that the guy(s) who back in mid 80's decided to market the CD over the MiniDisc, where a bunch of stoopid ignorant pr*cks... most my well played old CD's are off course scratched through the processes of partying with them and now jump irrationally and I now have to reburn many of them, a time consuming problem entirely avoided had we had MiniDiscs on the market..

Anyway, the DL doesn't figure other than on the Purchased Music list and not in my iTunes library anywhere as stated it would...the DL doesn't NOT convert either...files protected.. so I leave it there or I suppose lose my DL and risk jackin around without my DL and another 10$ short..

So you are both right, I'm p*ssed, because being on a Mac since '92 doesnt exactly make me illiterate though Im not getting into terminal issues, the risk of ferkin up my computer with this seemingly delicate system which reminds me more and more for each update, of PC antics, which I hear it will be with the new intel chips, next generation Mac hence I won't be able to buy as Im wholly allergic to inefficiency or incompetence, and why I use Mac in the first place but probably won't in a few years, they tell me Linux is king after all, I simply resorted to amazon and bought the CD, with another 3, I will receive in the mail 3 weeks from now, shipping to Europe. Problem sort of fixed 😀

So it got me going again, and thanks for stating that; 'iTunes really isn't that bad', which to me signifies it just isn't good enough which I suppose was my point veiled in all my spews 😉 and I'm not as angry as I'm seriously disappointed with the blatant inadequacy, same same but different..

Steve Jobs, get back on the ball, forget Disney and other moneymakers and tend to the global mac following, which seem to be going astray with increasing problems every mac generation trying to stay ahead and conquering new frontiers instead of perfecting the existing to the unquestionable, which should be a priority number one on any responsible company's agenda... I wonder if it isn't really Bill Gates, Microsofts 20% holding in Apple creating this funk?

Thanks again

G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

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Answer 5

Mar 24, 2006 6:46 AM in response to Christian Skjott

Christian,

You are still having problems here that aren't normal. Are you sure your CD's are of good quality?

You say the Download is not in your iTunes library - that is very odd. It should be there, unless you remove it. The purchased music list is simply a playlist of songs that fit the purchased category. Do a search for the songs you bought - they should be in your library. Also, it is correct and stated that iTunes purchased music are protected:
http://www.apple.com/uk/support/itunes/musicstore/songs/
However, you can burn it to audio CD format and listen to it all you want - this is what I do regularly and with no trouble.

Get some new CD-R discs, create a new 'playlist' with the tracks you want on an audio CD (less than 80minutes in length of course). You do this by selecting them, then go to <File> 'create playlist from selection'. Then select your playlist and burn it to an audio CD. It always works for me, I frequently make CD's for my car by burning playlists onto CD-RW then deleting and making another when my mood changes.

BTW, I agree that CDs are far to vulnerable to damage.

When I said iTunes isn't really that bad - that would be my UK understated nature. I actually love it - it has never failed me and I've been using it since it first came out. I hardly ever use my CDs anymore because iTunes is just more convenient.

I hope you persevere with learning how to use iTunes and enjoy it. (BTW, cool it with the language please - we don't all like that stuff).

Gareth

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Answer 6

Mar 24, 2006 7:55 AM in response to Christian Skjott

Christian, as Gareth says I ams also unclear as to what the actual problem is you are having. You seem to be saying that CDs you burn do not play and you can't find your downloaded music in the Library. However your post is unclear. Please state your problem in clear, concise terms so we can help you.

These tips might help:
1. When burning iTMS-purchased music to audio disc the only application that can be used is iTunes. Unprotected content can be burned to audio disc using any burning software, such as Toast, Dragon Burn, or iTunes. But protected content can not.
1a. Protected AAC files purchased from the iTMS can not be trans-coded to another format within iTunes. The only way to get protected content into another format is to burn it to an audio disc and import it back into iTunes.
2. When burning Audio discs only use CD-R media. Gareth mentioned that he uses CD-RW media but most CD players don't work with CD-RW. So to make sure your discs will be playable on as much hardware as possible only use CD-R. I have always had good results from Phillips, Verbatim, and Taiyo Yuden media. I have heard that Memorex CD-Rs do not always produce consistent results.
3. To find music in the iTunes Library click in the Search text-field in the upper right corner of the window and type the band name, album, or song name. iTunes will narrow the results until it finds the best match.

If you will cut back on the ranting we can help you much more effectively. iTunes is some of the best software available and if you learn how to use it I think you will be pleased with the features it has. It sometimes can take some time to get to know the software, though, so stick with it.

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Answer 7

Mar 24, 2006 8:20 AM in response to Gareth McFadden

Thx Gareth,

My language is probably offensive, I'll be nicer having made a stink already and because you ask it..

Can't help myselfish in my rages about where and how things are going and that everyone seems to be embracing it all eyes wide shut.. perhaps I'm a relic, but being an 80's kid I vividly remember the times when things just worked and the last 20 years of technical advances are really not impressive if you look at them objectively, you now just have increasingly better access too much 'fuss' about not much in my book.. just prettier gadgets, but increasing poor quality and diminishment prevails.. Shouldn't it be the other way around, I thought this was included in the word 'advances'?

Interestingly, and I'm curious about the result the tracks have now been transferred to a PC, playing freely I'm told and so my friend will burn it for me from the PC, will have it later.. but it might just sort this encoding nonsense I'm viewing..

I wonder if I face consequences of sorts for trying other methods to get my 'property'? I haven't read the fine print, it's in greek!? But I was given no choice here, and my curiousity about this affair leads me astray and I really can't be bothered with the contradicitons of modern technology and their paranoid dispositions.. Someday this time will all be forgotten anyway..

The tracks were in my library after all, hidden in the compilation list and not ganging up with my other albums under same artist, iTunes does have strange behaviour that way, I even saw in another thread, my bad and pardon my french, fiddling on it's own with the listing of albums recorded, which sometimes can be sorted then not.. Only toast seems adequate when you're not making a 'various' compilation which is just not handy in toast..

No tweaking helped, burned it again on a CD-R, which I only use, in 'blind' hope of getting it right, but won't play still, same thing again, so the encoding in the tracks from iTunes store is the problem apparently on my computer to a CD to my player, which I have no explanation for in this particular and only case which shouldn't happen in the first place, as any technical obstacles or risks of diminishment of purchase should be removed once you did pay for it and the DL should not be encoded then not to transfer to other players in your household, not Apple.. iTunes should deliver simply on their statement, which I obviously experience they haven't.. and there is some "big brother" convoluting here I don't like.. why hasn't any admin adressed my fury?

I'm very glad it works for you, no punt! I'm sad for me, when I'm sad I get angry instead, an idiosyncrasi, and now my reasoning simply bids me to ignore the iStore, but there was a bunch of things there I would have enjoyed getting and with the ease it promised, but this was an unsatisfying attempt of joining the 'future'. I'll have to return to my steady ressourcefulness which then again probably is for the best anyway..

Ill post the result of the PC burn solution

😉

G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

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Answer 8

Mar 24, 2006 8:37 AM in response to Christian Skjott

No tweaking helped, burned it again on a CD-R, which
I only use, in 'blind' hope of getting it right, but
won't play still, same thing again, so the encoding
in the tracks from iTunes store is the problem
apparently on my computer to a CD to my player, which
I have no explanation for in this particular and only
case which shouldn't happen in the first place, as
any technical obstacles or risks of diminishment of
purchase should be removed once you did pay for it
and the DL should not be encoded then not to transfer
to other players in your household, not Apple..
iTunes should deliver simply on their statement,
which I obviously experience they haven't.

Christian,
If you would like us to help please tell us step by step and as objectively as you can what procedure you are following to burn the CD of the tracks you bought in the iTunes Store. I still can't figure out what you're doing so I'm unable to help you do it correctly. You say no tweaking has helped - what exactly did you try?

The behaviour you describe is NOT how iTunes is supposed to work. There is no conspiracy, or refusal on Apple's part to grant you fair use, you just have a problem and we should hopefully be able to help you solve it, if you will give us more specifics.

Thanks for the clean mouth policy - life is at least one little bit sweeter.

Gareth

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Answer 9

Mar 24, 2006 8:38 AM in response to Michael Allbritton

1a. Protected AAC files purchased from the iTMS can not be trans-coded to another format within iTunes. The only way to get protected content into another format is to burn it to an audio disc and import it back into iTunes.<</div>

Interesting, i'll try it, seems a long about way, but Ill have a good laugh, mostly on myself for not knowing this, if this is the way to it, to get it burned back again without encoding and play it on my stereo.. Would make this whole business absolutely 'gay'!

I am using only CD-Rs, TDK's and memorex, being a music amateur, and this story has now cost another 4$ in discardable discs, but the money is not really the issue.. just very annoying.. and giving hidden extras to shopping in the iStore.... hehe.. 2 bucks actually, rendering it senseless.. as I can buy the original for round 8$ in the store.. but I was willing to pay the little extra for immediacy, not almost double for a poorer copy and lining mediators pockets for no good reasons..

No more ranting, it's a personal thing anyway, scoping beyond this story..

G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

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Answer 10

Mar 24, 2006 9:37 AM in response to Christian Skjott

Holy maccaroon!

Unbelievable way about, but it worked! Back and forth just the way you stated, even boosted the tracks to the full fledged and respectable 500MB.

Now that is one seriously messed (<--i wanted another word there, but I promised Gareth) up way about an iTunes store purchase and getting onto your stereo, to have to 'trick' it in this way, but it's playing... I'm actually stunned... mixed up..

Thanks I guess, the juggling has been noted and iTunes should rectify this detail, obviously nonsense, waste of time and CD-Rs..

My hissy fit is still justified though, messed up mechanics in my opinion. But I might get to enjoy iStore after all, if they don't revoke my account over this, at least I'll rethink my position.. tough one though

B)

G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

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Answer 11

Mar 24, 2006 9:45 AM in response to Gareth McFadden

I got it, see last post, thanks again for your time here and advice, cheers mate

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Answer 12

Mar 24, 2006 10:03 AM in response to Christian Skjott

Your account is set up and enables you to purchase and download immediately. You can listen to the music you buy on up to five Macintosh or PC computers, make unlimited playlists, burn CDs <---- they mean what they write here, obviously it's plural, and you need two to get it right the first time, but they forgot to SPELL IT OUT EXACTLY the method you need to go through..</div>

I hope others don't happen in the same situation, at least here they'll find the solution

Thanks again for your time and patience, hat's off, nice one, really appreciate it

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Answer 13

Mar 24, 2006 10:13 AM in response to Christian Skjott

1. Purchase and DL your music from iTunesMusicStore

2. Burn your purchased music onto a CD-R

3. Then Import it back into iTunes from the burned CD, REPLACING the originals

4. Throw the CD away..... yes throw it away, it's useless

5. Make a playlist with your 'new' tracks

6. Load a NEW CD-R and burn it again

Et voila, load it in your player and enjoy.... clever isn't it

Thanks to Micheal Allbrit...

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Answer 14

gmbolser

Level 1

0 points

Mar 25, 2006 9:53 PM in response to Christian Skjott

I agree with GS only not for the CD archive in aiff format standpoint. I learned after several hours how to create an audio CD in .aiff from iTunes.

The real ongoimg problem, now several days old, is to create an audio DVD archive disc from my purchased music.

Toast is, well...TOAST Titanium in this regard, as it simply deposits shrunken m4p files to the DVD. Indeed, the $100 spend on that program is wasted, especially the part where Roxio claimed to offer a $20 discount and then reneged on the offer from their Miami vendor (Confirmed all over the internet). It seem the music scam isn't just limited to Apple. MCE is in on it too.

The whole idea behind archiving one's PURCHASED music files is to retain the UNCOMPRESSED version exactly as it comes from the original CD and the logical media for this is on a DVD media. M4p files are compressed. One can get that on a 17 song CD but not on DVD media. With out FIRST creating a CD and then jumping through hoops back into iTunes, DELETING one's original downloads and then leaping back out of iTunes to the DVD (I still haven't managed to achieve this phase of the multi-page Apple checklist but I do have all of next week free now set aside for the project.

Good luck if that DVD is an MCE external firewire rewritable (The drive mounts sometimes and sometimes it doesn't). Apple buddy MCE boasted iTunes support in bold lettering. Hah! There is no MCE file labled "Application" or "Driver" after the MCE install–just a 4K trailer and a receipt for the "pkg". The MCE FAQ is two items long.

There are other problems with buring one's paid for music from iTunes. Good luck getting the playlist song names to stick on the CD IF the playlist is longer than one CD length. When I burned a MOBY playlist of 33 songs only the second CD showd the song names. Oppps! Oh well I didn't need the CD anyway because I'm really going to the DVD.

I thought the 20 pack of CDs I bought was too much for my tiny library of less than 200 purchased songs. I'll be able to heat my home with the melted CDs by the time I'm able to manage all the Apple hoop drills in ordert o get to the aiff DVD completion stage of the Apple WAY. It's that WAY or the highway.

As for the anger from GS. I regard his firm language as unbelieveably MILD compared with my wasted several days and ultimate realizatiuon that whatever superficial convienence may be achieved by visiting iTunes is MORE than removed by the rediculous ordeal forced upon paying customers to simply get quality uncompressed music from the Powerbook TO the expensive audio installation.

What iTunes IS good for is to preview the music and then go to a music store.

From now on I'll stick to a CD, drag the music to a real firewire DVD and create an archive without an army of Homeland Security weannabes looking over my shoulder.

bye

G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9) MCE DVD firewire external

G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9) MCE DVD firewire external

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