What the fuck happened to iTunes Store?

[DWarrior]

You used to be able to download songs as much as you wanted once you purchased them. I remember I bought the wrong song once, deleted it, and it came back the next time I started iTunes.

Now we can only get them once? That's bull. I think I wasted about $50, as Keith said, I'm never buying music from iTunes again, fuck them.

[Luis]

And now you can't? Just yesterday i downloaded the Queens of the Stone Age album again. (I had deleted some songs last year)

And better not take advice from Keith about technology, even my grandmother knew how to sync her ipod and rip CDs.

[klang]

Why do you buy music digitally?

CD's gives you
- any format you want.
- implicit backup.
- resale value.

..and, because of that 3rd point, CD's can be bought used at a reduced price or simply in a music stores bargain bin.

All songs in the iTunes Music Store cost $.99 .. even old Madonna or U2 albums that have been out for years and that ARE available for next to nothing.

[DWarrior]

How did you dl your songs again, did you have to email them?

EDIT: iTunes songs can also be any format, if you're willing to burn it to a cd (or find software). And some albums sell for aroung $4, so you can probably find the oldies at a cheap price.

Resale value of CDs is negligible, discount hassle expense and storage, adjust for inflation (assuming you're planning to keep your CDs for a few years), convenience. If all you use is an mp3 player, CDs become inconvenient.

[Daemonik]

Originally Posted by DWarrior

How did you dl your songs again, did you have to email them?

EDIT: iTunes songs can also be any format, if you're willing to burn it to a cd (or find software). And some albums sell for aroung $4, so you can probably find the oldies at a cheap price.

Resale value of CDs is negligible, discount hassle expense and storage, adjust for inflation (assuming you're planning to keep your CDs for a few years), convenience. If all you use is an mp3 player, CDs become inconvenient.

As for song formats, the music on a CD is full quality WAV. When you convert that file to an AAC, the software tosses out bits of the soundfile that it thinks a 'normal' person can't hear. Each music format does this in a different way and the same song can sound different when compressed to MP3 vs WMF or AAC.

This is important because when you burn a CD from iTunes music, it's converting that AAC back into a WAV file, but it can't replace the bits that were tossed out during the compression. If you then try to rip that CD into a format other than AAC, each format will want to throw out different bits so it will degrade the quality.

It's better to buy the CD's and rip them as you need them.

Here's another reason: Say you get tired of an album you bought on iTunes but your friend really likes them. There is no LEGAL way to transfer ownership of that album to your friend. I can give someone a CD I own or sell it to a stranger off the street. iTunes and other music download stores don't allow you to do this LEGALLY.

[dangerboy42]

yea man, fuck.

[ooda]

Originally Posted by dangerboy42

yea man, fuck.

Profound.

[klang]

Originally Posted by DWarrior

iTunes songs can also be any format, if you're willing to burn it to a cd (or find software). And some albums sell for aroung $4, so you can probably find the oldies at a cheap price.

Resale value of CDs is negligible, discount hassle expense and storage, adjust for inflation (assuming you're planning to keep your CDs for a few years), convenience. If all you use is an mp3 player, CDs become inconvenient.

After a harddiskcrash a CD becomes extreemly convenient.
Furthermore, if you say that resale value of CDs is negligble, it follows that CDs can be bought for next to nothing and that the backup of your music is very cheap.

But please, keep driving the digital download maket. CDs are not going to disappear for a long time.

[ooda]

Originally Posted by klang

After a harddiskcrash a CD becomes extreemly convenient.
Furthermore, if you say that resale value of CDs is negligble, it follows that CDs can be bought for next to nothing and that the backup of your music is very cheap.

But please, keep driving the digital download maket. CDs are not going to disappear for a long time.

Personally, I like the instant gratification, and for me cd's just take up space - something I could always do with more. I honestly can't remember the last time I bought a cd (a few years at least). Everything goes onto my Mac and iPod, so there's no point me getting a physical product in that regard.

They scratch easily, and it's just too much of a hassle to switch discs after listening to them.

I can back up my music library to a few dvds if needs be. For me at least, cd's are now just nostalgic.

[germuhknee]

Depends on where/how you listen, I guess. I am always sitting at a computer or listening to my home stereo. I don't have an MP3 player because I like being able to hear the environment around me when I'm on the move (especially useful if you commute by bike like me). I do listen to MP3s, oggs, etc, but only rips from my own CDs, or free samples. So I don't buy digital music.

Oh yeah, another thing: a lot of what I would buy if I could doesn't seem to be online for sale anyways!