Why did Apple add all that stupid DRM to my actual songs?

Question

Level 1

4 points

Why did Apple add all that stupid DRM to my actual songs?

I ripped all of my CDs onto my iPhone 6 (64 GB Verizon) when I first got it. Unfortunately, most of those CDs got lost when I was bringing them to my brother's house to listen to them and it was raining. All the CDs got damaged and are unlistenable. But something peculiar happened. When I went into my phone, I noticed all of them were DRM protected. Now, I didn't know that Apple Music was gonna add this useless *** DRM to ALL of my songs. My trial ends in four days, and I am ******. I want to know how to remove the DRM from all of my songs. I still have a few of my CDs that I didn't bring, but there is NO WAY I am going to go out and buy new copies of those CDs. In fact, there is no reason that they should have added the DRM to non-Apple Music songs. I tried burning them to CDs and ripping them, but all I got out of that was big, fat silence in the files. So how do I get rid of this - what they think is "anti piracy" but is really anti consumer - DRM?

iPhone 6, iOS 9.0.2

Posted on Oct 4, 2015 4:57 PM

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Answer 1

LombardUser Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 4, 2015 7:05 PM in response to swandy

I do have the original files. I put them into iTunes, put them on my phone, and then when I copy them back (through iExplorer - I wish it was easier to get songs off of an Apple device, but I guess not), I get the restricted DRM files again. I am worried that in 4 days, I will have no access to any of my music.

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Answer 2

swandy

Level 4

2,581 points

Oct 4, 2015 6:08 PM in response to LombardUser

When you ripped the CD's, I assume you did it from a PC (either Windows or Mac) and then synced the music to your iPhone since you can't rip cd's directly to an iPhone. Are the files still on that computer - because those should not have DRM attached to them and should remain on your computer even after you allow the AM subscription to lapse. (If you either deleted them from the PC or did not backup your files before deleting them from your PC, well.....Apple did advise everyone to make a backup of their music library before turning on iCloud Music Library and/or iTunes Match.

Apple Music only adds DRM to devices that you download tracks directly to them - but not on the device that you originally uploaded/matched them to ICML. Their reason is that the idea of sharing/streaming your music (even your own) between your devices is part of their paid services (either AM/ICML or iTunes Match). Otherwise you have to maintain your music library on a computer and sync the music you want to your other devices.

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Answer 3

Rysz

Level 8

44,455 points

Oct 4, 2015 7:37 PM in response to LombardUser

You should not be copying anything from your device to your computer. That's not a supported workflow and using hacks such as iExplorer is dangerous, anyway. Why are you doing it anyway? You already have the files in iTunes?

As swandy already explained, files downloaded via AM or iTunes Match are DRM protected, so obviesly they will retain the DRM protection if you copy them.

Learn how to use Playlists and Smart Playlist and let iTunes do all the heavy lifting in managing and syncing your music and devices.

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Answer 4

LombardUser Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 4, 2015 7:52 PM in response to Rysz

I am doing it to check the file and see if it plays on my computer/to see if it has DRM.

I have MP3 non-DRM files that were ripped from purchased CDs. But when I put them on my phone through iTunes, it shows as DRM. The only songs I found that have no DRM are songs that I purchased through iTunes. Everything else (such as CDs) are locked. At the beginning of Apple Music, it was even removing songs from my library. A quarter of my songs were removed, since they weren't on iTunes.

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Answer 5

Rysz

Level 8

44,455 points

Oct 4, 2015 8:41 PM in response to LombardUser

LombardUser wrote:

I am doing it to check the file and see if it plays on my computer/to see if it has DRM.

Sorry, I still don't understand why you're doing this.

Files downloaded to your device via Apple Music or iTunes Match ARE protected, period.

FIles stored locally on your computer in iTunes should remain unprotected. Given your early experience, I can understand why you would like to confirm that, but you can do that directly within iTunes. To make it easier, add the Media Kind column in the Song view.

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