End of the road

My iTunes Music Store journey lasted exactly 217 songs, or December 2003 to November 2005. Some songs I paid for via my credit card tied to my Apple account; some were bought with iTMS gift cards.

So what happened?

Apple “obsolescenced” me, that’s what.

Back in November Apple closed the store to users connecting with iTunes 4, the version I use, to close holes in Apple’s music file DRM. I stayed with iTunes 4 — carefully avoiding the repeated Software Update naggings — for this very reason: I could remove Apple’s DRM on its music files.

Moving up to iTunes 6 would have prevented me from de-DRM’ing my music.

In other words, with music bought with iTunes 1 through iTunes 5, you can remove Apple’s copy protection with JHymn. Once you upgrade, the protection removal path is blocked (unless JHymn authors find a solution one day). The reason for Apple’s move to break de-DRM methods is pretty straightforward: it made content providers nervous, and Apple may have been under contract to eliminate popular DRM loopholes.

[Please note I’m not accusing Apple of being “evil”, whatever that means. I realize that they are protecting their relationship with the record labels, and thus their profits.]

So I was caught: upgrade or don’t buy music via iTMS.

Hint: I wasn’t going to upgrade.
What else happened?

A little bird started talking to me about sound quality. At 128kbps, the iTMS’s AAC files aren’t bad at all. But it’s the only flavor you can get, and if you think you might have a high-end stereo in your future, you may want to think twice about building up a large 128kbps AAC library. I’m pretty sure my income, and thus ability to buy a better stereo, is going to go up not down because I’m in my 30s and am still on the ascending arc of earning power.

However I can easily see anybody being happy with AAC via iPod and their home stereo, forever. Let’s be realistic: more than 50% of consumers are not going to need nor want more than 128 AAC.

And then there’s the…

And then there’s the issue of cover art: you simply don’t get any physical cover art with iTMS products unless you print it at home.

Also there’s the issue of the rarely-mentioned inability to share (and conversely, hear others’) iTMS-purchased music via iTunes’ wonderful LAN music sharing capability, unless both machines are tied to the same Apple ID. If you work in an office, you might know how good this can be.

In summary, by buying physical CDs, I pay about $4 more per album and I give up the hear it/want it/buy it instantaneous nature of iTMS purchases. But I gain

1. DRM-free music, playable anywhere and with no CD-burning limits
2. Better sound quality
3. Artwork
4. LAN iTunes sharing

It’s a no-brainer. I’m happier than I was with the iTMS, buying more music than ever both online and from local shops.
Thank God for obsolescence.