iTunes Songs Don't Have DRM, But They Contain Your Email Address
from the two-steps-forward-one-step-back dept
Apple got a lot of press last week when it announced that it was going to remove the DRM from songs it sold through the iTunes Music Store. That's a great thing in itself, since it removes the barriers legitimate customers faced in playing back music they purchased on the device of their choice. But details are coming out, and it's not all good news: the songs are watermarked (via Slashdot) with the email address of the iTunes account used to purchase them. This is certainly better than DRM, but it's still not great. The biggest issue is that it links files to a particular consumer -- which will likely lead to the RIAA using the watermarks to attempt to "prove" that people actively shared songs and sue them. It seems inevitable that the label cartel will attempt to use the marks to inflict liability on users if music bearing their email address appears online. Which is great, until a person's iPod gets stolen and the music ripped from it, or a friend grabs music off of somebody's hard drive without their knowledge. The RIAA's legal strategy has been based on flimsy evidence; removing the DRM but adding watermarks simply gives them another way to "prove" people shared music they purchased online, even though the marks won't actually prove anything.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: drm, email address, itunes
Companies: apple
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Is It In the Agreement?
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As an aside...
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Re: As an aside...
As mentioned, the songs are watermarked, not tagged, with the email address.
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Re: Re: As an aside...
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Re: As an aside...
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Re: Re: As an aside...
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One step back?
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Re: One step back?
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Re: One step back?
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Re: Re: One step back?
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Re: Re: One step back?
Like I said, they'll never feel the shaft. The RIAA targets those less able to defend themselves.
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Witch Hunt
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On the other hand, it really does depend on what happens with this information. Not only could this watermark be faked (thus implicating innocent consumers), but it also introduced perils similar to identity theft. If your iPod or laptop gets stolen, and the music collection therein uploaded to a P2P network, you could find yourself the subject of a massive lawsuit with great difficulty in proving your innocence. There's no defence other than "I lost my equipment and I didn't do it", and no marginally intelligent thief isn't going to use that defence even if they're guilty.
So, it's a slight step up, but still horrible for the privacy of legitimate consumers or at the very least a small obstacle as they strip out the watermark. Which actually still makes a FLAC download from a P2P network more desirable than actually paying money to iTunes...
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Another Angle...
It can also be used by iPods and similar devices to block music watermarked with someone's else id. That way you can't share the music with a friend....
Sure sounds like DRM to me! Maybe nicer DRM, but DRM nonetheless.
Freedom
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Re: Another Angle...
This is why DRM, or even pseudo-DRM in this case, sucks. The people actually pirating would almost certainly get non-iTunes sourced files, or those with watermarks stripped out. The only people to suffer, yet again, are the people who actually pay for their music.
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Re: Another Angle...
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Re: Another Angle...
As has been repeated here over and over, downloading or sharing music is not stealing, it is (possible) copyright violation. Stop drinking the RIAA's sweetened, fruit-flavored drink.
"It can also be used by iPods and similar devices to block music watermarked with someone's else id."
No, it couldn't. That would, in fact, require your music to be tied specifically to your device, which is the definition of DRM. Since none of the current players would support this format of DRM, it would not work. Plus, what would be the point of dropping one DRM format to replace it with a weaker one?
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Re: Re: Another Angle...
Marketing and PR.
"Since none of the current players would support this format of DRM, it would not work."
Update the software/firmware.
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drm spam
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Re: drm spam
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Re: drm spam
ANY email address is probably tied to a credit card and some online account. So what?
What are they going to do without an actual card number?
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Re: Re: drm spam
It's called "phishing". Look it up.
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Re: drm spam
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My brother-in-law's address
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It's a tag, not a watermark
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Re: It's a tag, not a watermark
Agreed. I think text of the TechDirt post should be corrected to replace the word "watermark". I understand that there may be no absolute definition of a digital watermark, but I think most tech people would agree that it's not a tag. Else why have separate terms?
When I hear the word watermark in reference to digital files, I think of something that permeates most if not all of the actual digital content itself, not just that it's in the file's header somewhere. In fact, if you can see something by opening a digital file in Notepad, I'd say that by definition, it's not a watermark.
And just because you can't see your e-mail address in iTunes (but you can in Notepad), it doesn't mean that it's a watermark. I don't know what kind of tagging that AAC uses, but with ID3, you can have a frame in a tag that stores only digital information.
Again, I think the Techdirt post should be corrected. It's misleading it its current form.
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Good Direction
Finally - privacy is a true concern. The eamil should be encoded not as a raw email, but using a proprietary text hashing algorythm (a program that converts text strings into alpha-numeric sequences). That way - spammers, other users, etc. would not be able to access it - and of course hacking the encoding would be illegal since it would be Apple's proprietary code. Also - if one's email changes, then Apple should be able to link the 2 codes so it's clear that the music is all owned by the same person.
so - I think it's a promising direction for this stuff...
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Re: Good Direction
You're sounding more and more like an RIAA shill. The fantasy that IP addresses correspond to individuals is a favorite one of the RIAA (and MPAA).
Now the idea that that would prevent its being cracked is really ridiculous.
Unfortunately, that promise is rather dark.
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Good Direction
I'm not saying this is a perfect solution, but a step in the right direction as consumer rights must be balenced against copyright holder rights. It's going to take a long time to get to a viable solution.
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Paying for Tunes
Cptn. Bly
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Re: Paying for Tunes
Too bad no one has found an effective treatment for parasites.
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Re: Re: Paying for Tunes
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Dorms
If you have a roommate or someone else in your dorm rumaging through your laptop and posting your files online... let's just say you probably have other problems to deal with.
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Re: Dorms
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Not a Surprise or Big Deal
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That's life
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Re: That's life
A product, like a digital file or a gun, may have a unique identifier like a GUID or a serial number. I don't think anyone would be surprised about this nor would there be any controversy if that's all we're talking about here. But this is not just an identifier of the item itself, but direct link back to the purchaser.
If someone steals my registered firearm and it latter gets used in a crime, guess what? The police will be paying me visit and if I haven't reported it stolen, I've got a lot of explaining to do.
The key word is "registered". The fact that guns have serial numbers isn't controversial in that linking them to a specific owner (i.e. registration) isn't mandatory. But in effect, that's what the iTunes policy does by adding the e-mail address to the file, making a direct link to the purchaser.
Is the purchaser e-mail frame in a tag the same thing as DRM. No, not really. Is it watermarking? No, and to call it watermarking I think is misleading. But are people freaked out when they find out that their personal information is stored in a digital file? Of course.
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Re: That's life
Lots of things in life are unfair but that doesn't make them any more acceptable.
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Not ideal
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Watermarks, hmm?...
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You Can Put Lipstick on a Pig ...
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How long before...
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Re: How long before...
I was going to make my own post, but instead I shall reply to yours, we should all do this and insert the email addys of the RIAA Chief officers. Their whole board. Now THAT would be funny.
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3 line Python script
import re
mp3_contents = open( "test.mp3" ).read( )
mp3_contents.replace( re.findall( "w+@w+.w+", mp3_contents ).pop( ), "stevejobs@apple.com" )
RIAA will see you in court Steve Jobs :)
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Losing your iPod... and having these tags in it, are MORE LIKELY to get you your iPod returned to you than to get you targeted by a fake lawsuit or hackers.
Purchased By: Real-Name
Account Name: Email-Address
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This isn't new
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Why,. that's no moon!
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Neither a watermark nor hidden
In the case of iTunes Plus songs, neither of these are true. The e-mail address is not embedded within the music content. It is a standard mp4 tag. Any tag editor can be used to change or remove it.
Also, the tag is not "hidden". If you open iTunes and view the information about a track, iTunes itself shows you that the e-mail address is there.
Using the term "watermark" makes it sound much more nefarious than it actually is.
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Re: Neither a watermark nor hidden
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Re: Re: Neither a watermark nor hidden
BTW, those wringing their hands on this issue might consider that Apple is being pretty open about this by putting obvious ID's in the tags. Suppose there was tag with the purchase date and time. Seems harmless and few people would mention it - but that ties back trivially in Apple's databases to the account that purchased the song.
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Replace it with the email address od the RIAA!
"I bought a song as a present for their birthday -- just like I used to do with CDs."
"I bought/sold the song at a music swap/used-music meetup."
"I received the song as a gift."
"My laptop was stolen ... or lost for days, and I just got it back from the airport lost-and-found."
Hey. how long before anyone automates a little hack tool that puts the email address of the RIAA president into every song on your computer for you?
Hahahahah.
.
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If the objective of Apple (or RIAA) is to get people to pay for music, then this fails with the technically savvy, informed users. In fact, whether or not it is a watermark or tag, this now makes purchasing music from iTunes even less desirable than pirating it.
Now if you pay for music, and then either inadvertently or purposefully share it with someone else, it is even easier for RIAA to track you down. In fact, this may even allow them to "prove" damages - all they have to do is download the version with your email address from thousands of people and can "prove" damages in court.
Before, all they could "prove" was that they downloaded the single song from you, but not actually "prove" distribution. Now it seems like they can make a much better case for distribution - and hold you liable for thousands of downloads of a single track.
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Why download at all?
- CD
- Vinyl
- SACD
- DVD audio
- Live music
DRM, Watermark, Tag, Crappy Bitrate, Corrupted HDD
All are solved, and the music sounds better too :D
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how to remove drm from iTunes
music from iTunes and Windows media center wants to enjoy DRM protected media with their digital players, but it is not easy to find an all-in-one DRM removing solution http://fast-remove-drm.blogspot.com/
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Yes,if you met the same question,please follow this tutorial: http://www.removing-drm.com/player-tips/transfer-itunes-music-to-mp3.html
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my friend recommend me use drm media converter before.
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MS DRM PK APPLE DRM
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