Non-motoring > Downloading music Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Bobby Replies: 54

 Downloading music - Bobby
Although I use iTunes and iPhone, I am old fashioned in that I like the music files to be stored on my hard drive for me to use whenever and whatever reason.

I know you can set up family sharing on iTunes etc but if I buy music from ITunes or Amazon, can I physically download it to my hard drive and then use it elsewhere? Could I, for instance, copy it onto usb stick to play in car? Can I give a usb stick with music on it to someone else to copy onto their hard drive?

Or does Mr Apple and Amazon code it somehow so that it can only be played via my iTunes account?
 Downloading music - Fursty Ferret
Yes. Nowadays when you order a physical CD from Amazon they give you a copy of the MP3 version for free anyway.
 Downloading music - Dulwich Estate II
I have heard that one can easily google sites that convert youtube videos to MP3 which you can then save on your HD. The cost is zilch and it's probably illegal.

I do know it works but couldn't possibly tell you how I know.
 Downloading music - smokie
The major ISPs are going to be a bit more active about trying to prevent people downloading copyright material. It seems it may be just an "educational email" for users.
www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2017/01/big-uk-isps-send-first-internet-piracy-warning-letters-month.html

Being a pusher is worse.

But as per above, if you buy the physical CD through Amazon then they give you the download tracks too. Not sure if they are encrypted, or otherwise limited, though.
 Downloading music - Ian (Cape Town)
Neither would I, Dul.
I mean *xxx* and *xxx* allow me to download all the stuff which I paid for in my youth, owned on cassette, 7" or 12", or CD, convert, and now have it on my hard drive as mp3s.

The stuff I used to play it on was top-of-the-range -my father was a honcho at one of the biggest hi-fi companies.

These days, I might wish I had the same technology - but to be honest, the average car system is better than 1980s top-end stuff.
And I could invest $$$ into a new home system, but these days the laptop and a decent set of headphones ensures my neighbours don't get too annoyed when I play Fleetwood Mac at 11 tenths.
 Downloading music - rtj70
When I last purchased digital tracks from iTunes it was in the days of protection with DRM. This meant it would only play on my authorised devices. They then went DRM free because everyone else were. However, the last album I downloaded was not only protected with DRM but it was in MP4 format and not MP3. That might make a difference to you because not all devices will play back MP4 files.

Amazon on the other hand let you download an MP3 version of the track straightaway. If you buy a CD you also get to download the MP3 version. You are sent a special link which is used in their MP3 download application to get your music.
 Downloading music - rtj70
And I use Google Music Manager to protect my music files. It sync's with Google and if it matches albums they have then nothing is uploaded. If I have something not available from Google then the file is uploaded.

It means I not only have a 'backup' somewhere else but I can play the tracks from any other device if I wanted to.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Sun 5 Feb 17 at 17:46
 Downloading music - rtj70
DRM.... well I just tried to download the DRM protected MP4 file that I'd replaced with an MP3 version.... it's still got DRM because I bought it before they removed DRM from purchases.
 Downloading music - MD
Just so you know I don't get it at all. 'It' or anything that you have been rapping on about. Not just you rt.
 Downloading music - rtj70
Bobby is wondering if the digital music files from Amazon and Apple can be stored on his local computer and even copied to USB drives or memory cards for use elsewhere.

For example, download an album as MP3 files on the computer and use it to listen on the phone or in the car from an SD Card or similar.
 Downloading music - Bobby
Yeah whilst I am "Appled" just now its not such an issue but if I ever want to move back to android, or use my music on another machine, I want to know that all my music will work!
 Downloading music - Bobby
DE 11
In the past I have used YouTube convertor sites but the one I used is no longer working!
 Downloading music - Dulwich Estate II
I am told the converter sites frequently change due to older ones being shut down. I am told this rarely presents a problem and I'm told new ones can be easily found - apparently.
 Downloading music - zippy
Please don't steal.

I have suffered significantly from people stealing my work and I have had to spend a lot of money on anti copying protection.

It galls to see people talking about it so brazenly, including sites that help you do it!
 Downloading music - Zero
>> Please don't steal.

>>
>> It galls to see people talking about it so brazenly, including sites that help you
>> do it!

I am appalled to see and read stories of artists killing themselves on drug overdoses. So for my part I go out of my way to makes sure they don't receive obscene amounts of money from me to do it.
 Downloading music - CGNorwich
It's good to see your compassionat side. I had you wrong all along!
 Downloading music - Zero
>> It's good to see your compassionat side. I had you wrong all along!

One does what one can.
 Downloading music - rtj70
In the late 70s and early 80s I clearly remember my cousin recording the top 40. And she paused the recording when there was talking. Once or twice I'd be asked to be in charge when visiting.

So that was illegal but I think quite common. Quality aside, there's nothing stopping any of us today recording a radio broadcast of music or something online. There are apps like Audio Hijack that lets you 'hijack' the audio from an application.

The quality won't be as good as a legit download but it's possible. No different to what my cousin did in the 70s/80s?

I have a 12 month 'free' subscription to Spotify with my upgraded phone contract. I struggle to find things to listen to simply because when I am somewhere I want to listen to music I tend to listen to what I know what I like that suits my mood/environment.

I've considered some nice Bose noise cancelling headphones to block things out when working. But then I'd not hear my phone, the front door, might miss a business Skype call.... They'd be nice for holiday though :-)
 Downloading music - Dulwich Estate II
" In the late 70s and early 80s I clearly remember my cousin recording the top 40. "

In the late 1960s you'd find me recording The Top 20 off the radio on a Sunday (?) afternoon. I saved up for ages to get a reel to reel tape recorder but couldn't afford the 7 inches per second recording speed and had to settle for 3 and 3 quarters. Singles (that's small vinyl discs with an A side and a B side) were 6/8, that's 6 shillings and eight pence (33p - 34p today) which was a huge amount of money. My recorder was just under £20. For price comparison - a Red Rover one day go anywhere bus ticket in London was 3 shillings - 15p today.

As rtj70 says, it's been done since the begining of time and will continue to be - it's human nature to try and save a bob or two.

Now we have the internet it's happenning with music, TV shows, films, Premier League football and so on.

If I did it now, which of course I don't, I wouldn't feel at all bad about it. But I don't, so I don't.
 Downloading music - Zero

>> I've considered some nice Bose noise cancelling headphones to block things out when working. But
>> then I'd not hear my phone, the front door, might miss a business Skype call....
>> They'd be nice for holiday though :-)

They are excellent for that, Just used mine to listen to films and episodes of tGT I had on my pad on my recent flight to tenerife and back. They are perfect for flying, if a little bulky.
 Downloading music - rtj70
I have been tempted. Should have got the QC25's when you could still get them. The QC35 are more expensive and some negative comments.

Many years ago I foolishly kept taking new CDs to the car (Golf GTI) and left them in it. It had a 6 disk auto-changer and I used to do a minimum of 2 hours driving a day to/from work. Car stolen... disks lost.

I replaced the lost disks with MP3 files from a Russian website (now long gone) but I did not think this was theft since I'd bought the CDs and they were stolen with the car! There was a limit to what I could claim on the company insurance as it turned out. The website was in the years before we had iTunes, Amazon Music, Tesco Music, Google Play, etc. By about 10 years.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Tue 7 Feb 17 at 22:18
 Downloading music - Bobby
>>I replaced the lost disks with MP3 files from a Russian website

many moons ago I used to use LimeWire and I am not sure if it was that site, or one before it, whereby you searched for music and it came up with a list of what users who were online had that music and then you basically uploaded it from their PC to yours!

Long before I had heard of viruses, Trojans etc!
 Downloading music - smokie
That was around Napster time I think, one of the first music sharing sites.
 Downloading music - Bobby
Napster, of course!!
 Downloading music - fluffy
Is vinyl the future of music or was the MiniDisc by Sony destined to fail.

I have a cd player as well as a vinyl turntable.
 Downloading music - fluffy
The cd was invented in 1978 by Philips and Sony and released in 1982 for general release.

The first album to sell a million on cd was Joshua Tree by U2.
 Downloading music - nice but dim
>> The cd was invented in 1978 by Philips and Sony and released in 1982 for
>> general release.
>>
>> The first album to sell a million on cd was Joshua Tree by U2.
>>

According to Wikipedia (not gospel) it was Dire Straits.

"The first artist to sell a million copies on CD was Dire Straits, with their 1985 album Brothers in Arms."
 Downloading music - Stuartli
>>The cd was invented in 1978 by Philips and Sony and released in 1982 for general release.>>

You are partially right. Philips brought us Laservision, a digital 12in disk that offered music and video using the appropriate player in early 1982. Philips produced the disks at its factories, including one at Blackburn, and companies such as JVC offered the Laservision players.

Eventually Philips realised the potential of the musical (sound) side but, as was so often the case with Philips at that time, it never really had the ability to fully develop such ideas. So it collaborated with Sony who used its expertise to bring the idea to bear. The 4in CD became reality with the additional involvement of Taiyo Yuden, a leading Japanese media disks manufacturer, who produced the necessary blank media required for CD purposes.

The rest, as they say, is history...:-)
 Downloading music - fluffy
Thanks for the facts about the C.D player.
 Downloading music - fluffy
I was saddened to see the demise of the MiniDisc.

I have just bought Ed Sheenham new album on C.D.
 Downloading music - rtj70
>> Ed Sheenham

Never heard of him. Is he any good ;-)
 Downloading music - Pat
*sigh*

Good manners would have ignored the typo, or the possible inability to spell and just posted Ed Sheeran...or not posted at all.

Pat
 Downloading music - Roger.
>> *sigh*
>>
>> Good manners would have ignored the typo, or the possible inability to spell and just
>> posted Ed Sheeran...or not posted at all.
>>
>> Pat
>>
I have to say that I would not have known it was a mispell, as I've never heard of either (!) of them :-)
 Downloading music - rtj70
Just looked and he's done albums called:

+ x and now ÷

So will the next one be - or maybe ∞ or even ∴? Any guesses?
 Downloading music - CGNorwich
Just bought a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphone - the wireless version. Absolutely brilliant. Goodbye noisy world!




 Downloading music - sooty123
>> Just bought a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphone - the wireless version. Absolutely brilliant.
>> Goodbye noisy world!

Which model do go for in the end, is there more than one type of them?
 Downloading music - CGNorwich
Got the Quietcomfort 35. They do a similar wired version the Quietcomfort 25. The external noise elimination is amazing. If you have a John Lewis near you you should be able to try them out.
 Downloading music - sooty123
No John lewis near us at all, the nearest ones, in Nottingham and Peterborough are three hour round trips. Although if I'm ever passing I'll pop in.
Last edited by: sooty123 on Sat 25 Feb 17 at 20:23
 Downloading music - Zero
>> Got the Quietcomfort 35. They do a similar wired version the Quietcomfort 25. The external
>> noise elimination is amazing.

I have the 25's. Yes the noise cancelling is amazing, but the bonus is they have a good audio quality as well. And being noise cancelling, you can crank the volume down a bit, which is good for your hearing longevity!
 Downloading music - Crankcase
For various reasons, coincidentally, I thought last week about getting some of the 25s or 35s, having no real idea about them.

Logged on to Amazon thinking they might be about £30 or so, and I might be able to justify that.

Needless to say I didn't go ahead with the purchase. Blinking flip! Way out of my league!
 Downloading music - Dog
Check these out Cc. Not noise-cancelling, but quite isolating:

www.amazon.co.uk/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50X-Monitor-Professional-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR86/ref=pd_lpo_23_tr_t_3/253-8100144-0140607?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=4PRT026J9G0HGZM1T55Z
 Downloading music - CGNorwich
Yes the sound quality seems really good too. Plenty good enough for me. I like the Bluetooth connection. Can just wander around with them on. Flying to Madeira next week and they should make the EasyJet flight that bit more bearable.

Only downside is now my wife wants a pair too.






 Downloading music - rtj70
I've thought about getting the Bose QC25's for ages. Done the demo win JL and was impressed. And then I start wondering if I can justify the cost.... and then you can't easily get the QC25's now and the QC35's are more.

Don't get me wrong I can afford them but do I need them. I work from home a lot and can listen to music if I want to (and often don't) and with noise cancellation I might miss calls (Skype for Business) and the door bell :-)

£329 seems a lot for headphones but I know they are really really good.
 Downloading music - CGNorwich
I might miss calls (Skype for Business) and the door bell :-)
>>
>> £329 seems a lot for headphones but I know they are really really good.
>>

They might be the answer then. They allow you to adjust the level of noise cancellation so you can still hear the doorbell and they are a fair bit cheaper

www.bose.co.uk/en_gb/products/headphones/earphones/quietcontrol-30.html
 Downloading music - rtj70
It's pretty quiet anyway when you work from home and nobody is about ;-) But noise isolation I'd like. It would be good for the gym, flying, etc.

I even have some vouchers for an award from work that I could put towards them at JL - might be about £150 of those left.

I'm not sure I can justify it. I must be a mean b*****r because I can afford it. But I don't need it.

£300 is a short break somewhere in Europe (flights and hotel).
 Downloading music - Fursty Ferret
I looked at these and bought a pair of in-ear headphones with foam plugs. Takes about 10 seconds to stuff them in, but works well. Bonus: no one will ever try to borrow them once they realise they go deeeeeeep into your ears.

 Downloading music - Stuartli
>>Quality aside, there's nothing stopping any of us today recording a radio broadcast of music or something online.>>

The BBC iPlayer Radio app does allow you to record programmes and listen to them offline for up to 30 days.
 Downloading music - rtj70
>> The BBC iPlayer Radio app does allow you to record programmes and listen to them offline for up to 30 days.

I meant recording to keep forever. You can also download the BBC Flash streams for TV to keep too. Well you can at the moment and they are the ones making them available.

So if I download a BBC programme tonight from the BBC and keep it (forever), who's in the wrong?
 Downloading music - Stuartli
I doubt if there are many TV or radio programmes that anyone would truly want to keep forever, but I can record both types to a Seagate 1TB Essentials external hard drive and watch them at my leisure if they especially interest me.
 Downloading music - Ian (Cape Town)
>> In the late 70s and early 80s I clearly remember my cousin recording the top
>> 40.

>> So that was illegal but I think quite common.

Yep.
After a few listens to various tracks, you'd make a decision - go out and buy the 7", or not.
Mono Radio 1 quality wasn't brilliant, but on a walkman, who noticed?
The 'Now' series put paid to a lot of that, though.

 Downloading music - zippy
Copying doesn't hurt anyone does it?

It does. I had to sell my small business in the late '90s due to software theft and started a chain of events that took years to resolve, including a police raid on my house at night (and I was the victim!), my computers confiscated, a night in clink and a huge legal bill because an a*** of a company stole my IP!

I started a small co that developed software for the financial services sector. I sold / licensed it to individual sales managers to give them an advantage in the field against their competitors. Number crunching and extra data was carried out on a server and that pulled data (at a cost) from other services. The data was encrypted on the server.

The model worked well as they were allowed to lookup 10 businesses a month (much more then they would require and any more would be charged to a credit card at an agreed rate). The software allowed the sales person to check if a new sale was worth chasing without 2 or 3 days of manual credit checking and number crunching.

One sales guy called me for a re-install. He left his employer - a big foreign bank in the city and wanted a copy of the software for his new laptop. Easily done, job sorted.

His old co (a big bank in the city) saw the software on his returned laptop, copied it to all of their sales team and they inundated my server. My server company charged me a fortune for extra data and the web services that I pulled data from also billed astronomical amounts.

I cancelled the account and told the company through my solicitors that they were using the software illegally and that they should stop and pay for my losses. I also closed the account as the data costs were not tolerable.

That's where the trouble started as their sales people (over 100) couldn't access the files they worked on.

They complained that I had committed a crime under the Computer Misuse Act by denying access to their data - that my company had paid for!!! So at 3am my house was raided front door smashed, my kids woken up, all computers including work computers taken away and I was arrested, spent the night in jail. A good solicitor sorted things out next morning but the CPS wanted to proceed. They refused to act against the real software thieves.

It was because we kept complaining about no action being taken about the bank's theft of the company's software and no action being taken against them that the case was eventually dropped. It also helped that my company was limited and I was a director and was able to show that not closing the server would have led to me trading a company whilst insolvent, which is also a crime.

The next action was to sue the foreign bank for losses after letters asking for redress were ignored. The day after the papers were filed I got another 3am police visit with an officer effectively warning me off. He wasn't from my local force. On speaking to my solicitor it was decided that the costs and trouble of going forward with the case would outweigh any benefit and there were potential risks - they had an unlimited legal budget in comparison to me.

Sales guy's disputed the charges with his credit card co and got a refund and the money was taken from my business' account.

For some time afterwards I was periodically stopped whilst driving for no real reason.

The company that owns the software now hasn't really developed it which is a real shame.
So, that's why I loath the theft of software / music, streaming when not paying etc.
Last edited by: zippy on Sat 11 Feb 17 at 13:07
 Downloading music - Dulwich Estate II
Well, that certainly puts a different perspective on things. You have my utmost sympathy for what the b*****ds did to you. As one of the "little people" you didn't stand a chance.
 Downloading music - Bobby
That's a hellish sequence of events but is a total different situation to me downloading a U2 song for free?

When it's a new artist I always buy so paid for Ed Sheeran, Adele, George Ezra etc when they first launched. However much of the music I am looking for is old 70s 80s type stuff so chances are the artist or writer may be deceased!
 Downloading music - Focal Point
One of the problems is that people do not see music as a product and do not see what went into producing it as work.

Musicians are not thought to have real jobs and the people who download music without paying for it ignore the hours of practice and rehearsal by the musicians, the process of creating the material in the first place and all that goes into the production and recording. Hours and hours of work are involved (often at anti-social times), not to mention the capital investment into hardware, from instruments to dedicated high-end computers, plus the software to make them work.
 Downloading music - Stuartli
>One of the problems is that people do not see music as a product and do not see what went into producing it as work.>>

As someone who comes from a musical family I heartily endorse your on the ball post.
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