The New iTunes
Lunden Gillespie
Issue date: 2/11/09 Section: News
On January 6th, music lovers received fabulous news last month when Apple announced their plan to remove Digital Rights Movement (DRM) from the music found on iTunes. On one hand, this announcement served as and advancement in both the downloading and music worlds, but on the other, artists and songwriters may be at a loss.
Before this transformation, DRM prevented users from sharing music they downloaded unless they went through the trouble of burning the music to a CD and re-ripping the music. Now, iTunes users are given the opportunity to share their purchased songs between multiple computers and mp3 devices.
This switch insures that users who purchase music will get their money's worth by allowing them to take advantage of their newfound ability to legally share music. iTunes will charge thirty cents for DRM removal of previously purchased songs, which means that the old music in iTunes libraries will still be unable to be shared if it isn't paid for.
High schools and colleges are both concentrated sites for illegal downloading and will be affected by the DRM removal. Rita Thomas of FSU's Computer Science Department believes that because of this change, "[students] will go crazy, now that it's legal."
The illegal downloading of music on college campuses has been an issue for several years now, and many campuses have disciplined students for this illegal act.
Before the news, people found ways to get around issues regarding file sharing on iTunes.
Programs such as Sound Taxi, Tunebite, Free Tunes, and NoteBurner assist in sharing and converting music files. Still, college officials have been able to catch these individuals by paying close attention to network activity. The old songs that still linger in music libraries may keep these programs in business, but not too many people are willing to pay for the consequences of downloading songs illegally.
The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is able to sue perpetrators for $150,000 per illegal download, according to its website. It also states that "the online infringement of copyrighted music can be punished by up to three years in prison and $250,000 in fines." When thinking about this outrageous fine, many feel that paying ninety-nine cents is a better path to take.
When asked about what this plan means for artists, Thomas responded, "it's going to be harder for them to make money; it would be nice if there was some kind of limit so that artists could still get paid for their work." It seems as though artists and songwriters would be losing out on money with this adjustment, but as many businesses and retailers say, "the customer comes first."
Before this transformation, DRM prevented users from sharing music they downloaded unless they went through the trouble of burning the music to a CD and re-ripping the music. Now, iTunes users are given the opportunity to share their purchased songs between multiple computers and mp3 devices.
This switch insures that users who purchase music will get their money's worth by allowing them to take advantage of their newfound ability to legally share music. iTunes will charge thirty cents for DRM removal of previously purchased songs, which means that the old music in iTunes libraries will still be unable to be shared if it isn't paid for.
High schools and colleges are both concentrated sites for illegal downloading and will be affected by the DRM removal. Rita Thomas of FSU's Computer Science Department believes that because of this change, "[students] will go crazy, now that it's legal."
The illegal downloading of music on college campuses has been an issue for several years now, and many campuses have disciplined students for this illegal act.
Before the news, people found ways to get around issues regarding file sharing on iTunes.
Programs such as Sound Taxi, Tunebite, Free Tunes, and NoteBurner assist in sharing and converting music files. Still, college officials have been able to catch these individuals by paying close attention to network activity. The old songs that still linger in music libraries may keep these programs in business, but not too many people are willing to pay for the consequences of downloading songs illegally.
The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is able to sue perpetrators for $150,000 per illegal download, according to its website. It also states that "the online infringement of copyrighted music can be punished by up to three years in prison and $250,000 in fines." When thinking about this outrageous fine, many feel that paying ninety-nine cents is a better path to take.
When asked about what this plan means for artists, Thomas responded, "it's going to be harder for them to make money; it would be nice if there was some kind of limit so that artists could still get paid for their work." It seems as though artists and songwriters would be losing out on money with this adjustment, but as many businesses and retailers say, "the customer comes first."
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