Buying digital content on iTunes

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ADKM

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#160365 4-Jan-2015 12:40

Anyone use iTunes and knows how it works?

I'm tempted to buy the odd music file from them, but their website tells me I don't have their
programme on my computer (which is correct and I don't want it. I prefer my own system/player etc.).

Ideally I'd buy an mp3 file to play in Winamp or my hifi via a flash drive. But a US user tells me you
get something only iTunes knows about and you can only play it on only a certain number
of devices. They don't even know what folder it goes into. (So how do you copy it somewhere else?)

What do you actually buy/get ? Is it something you can play in a normal audio player (if you know how)
or it is like a file in Dropbox and stored in the cloud, possibly encrypted etc ??

Cheers - Kirk

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2847 posts

Uber Geek

#1207987 4-Jan-2015 12:50

Ehhh? You buy a track and it gets downloaded to the folder you select. Play it anytime you want on anything (Probably not *everything* but I've never had any problems)

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ADKM

858 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1207990 4-Jan-2015 12:59

OK. Maybe I've been misinformed. But how do you download something without installing their software? I'm reluctant
to do this in case it mucks up various audio file associations, or worse!

lxsw20

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#1207992 4-Jan-2015 13:01

You dont.

Flickky

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#1207994 4-Jan-2015 13:17

You can still download iTunes but just be careful about the install and what you tick/don't tick.

Why not try Spotify premium though? Has offline mode so you can listen to your playlists while travelling etc.

ADKM

858 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1208001 4-Jan-2015 13:19

Hmmm so you must have their software to download, but then you can play what you buy on anything? Is that all agreed?

So you could install iTunes, download what you want, then uninstall it and keep the mp3's ?

But if that were true what is the reason, and how, are files limited to a certain number of devices. This isn't the
case with a normal mp3 file.

Flickky

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#1208002 4-Jan-2015 13:22

Erm.

I guess before going any further, what devices do you plan on using while listening to the music? Do you specifically need the files or are happy to use a streaming service?

Behodar

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#1208005 4-Jan-2015 13:34

Files from iTunes are in AAC format, not MP3. Most devices can play these. There is no longer a restriction on the number of devices (aside from movies); that restriction was removed several years ago.

ADKM

858 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1208007 4-Jan-2015 13:37

Flicky, I want the actual mp3 file (hopefully encoded at a decent bitrate) to add to my collection. They're played on whatever's
around - usually Winamp, but I covert some to wav and burn a CDDA to play in the car.

I've got a second computer, maybe I should just install itunes there and see what happens. With a bit of luck I get rid of it
if it causes any problems. LOL I don't like the idea of anything doing what IT wants instead of what I might want on MY computer!! You get that way when you're over 60 !!

ADKM

858 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1208008 4-Jan-2015 13:40

Thanks Behador I have things that'll handle AAC format. Is that formnat any good do you know, imagine they're not lossless ?

Behodar

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#1208009 4-Jan-2015 13:44

The tracks are encoded at 256 kb/s so aren't lossless, but seem to be "good enough" for the vast majority of people. I believe that the format is much more efficient than MP3, which is about twenty years old at this point.

gnfb

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#1208010 4-Jan-2015 13:48

Google Play soooo much easier and integrates with all your other google stuff

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jamesrt

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#1208034 4-Jan-2015 15:41

Hi,

Apple requires you to use the iTunes to download any purchased music files onto your local hard drive on a PC (I'm assuming you're using a Windows based PC at this point). However, there is nothing stopping you from installing iTunes, buying some music, downloading it, and then removing iTunes again.

The music files that you purchase from Apple will indeed be "AAC" format files (i.e. "filename.m4a") rather than .mp3 format files. This is a newer format than .mp3, and uses a more efficient compression method, so generally speaking an AAC format file will have (slightly) better sound quality than an .mp3 format file at the same bitrate. Apple gave up putting DRM into their music files a few years ago - but their Movies etc still are DRMed.

When you first install and run iTunes, it will create an "iTunes Library" for you - on most standard Windows boxes, this should be a sub-folder (Called "iTunes") off your "My Music" folder - which does make the files fairly easy to find.

*If* (because I'm assuming (again!) that you don't own an iDevice) you have an internet-connected "iDevice" (i.e. iPod touch, iPad, iPhone, etc), then your purchased music will also be available to those devices "in the cloud", meaning you don't need to download them and install them onto those devices.

Oh, and you'll need to create an Apple iTunes/iCloud account and provide credit-card details before being able to purchase music.

As stated by another poster, Google "Play Music" is an alternative, but you'll still need a Google (i.e. gmail) account with a linked credit-card to purchase music. Google has a "Music Manager" program you can download which will let you download purchased Google music to a folder of choice on your PC - these come in .MP3 format.

Hope that helps!

jamesrt

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#1208035 4-Jan-2015 15:44

Oh, and a couple of extra things:

Apple iTunes will quite happily create an audio CD of Music files for you - so iTunes purchased music can easily be written to a CD for the car.

And "WinAmp" should know how to find your apple iTunes files too, I'd have thought - so fairly easy to play them there.

ADKM

858 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1208049 4-Jan-2015 16:15

Hi James,

Thanks for all the info... been reading a bit about AAC on wiki. m4a format I cannot use disectly (I thought Adobe Audition supported AAC but it doesn't support m4a).
However I found a free in line convertor m4a-wav so that'll do. There were some pugins that claimed to work but they didn't for me.

Just one last thing, is iTunes regional ? This person in the US said they couldn't get anything from iTunes UK. The album I want is at

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/at-the-drop-of-another-hat/id722504211

wherever that is. Hopefully I can access it. No Google here for anything but a search engine., and Yes, using a windows based PC.

Will install and have a go. Thanks everyone for the help.

Flickky

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#1208050 4-Jan-2015 16:19

Here's the NZ iTunes link for that album

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