The Subtle Evil of iToons (well, not subtle).

[WDI]

You are one of the very few. And yes you need hardware components (in apple or PC) that are compatible and work well together.

I have a mac, and an iphone. I'm still a PC guy, I prefer windows. I am an IT guy and it keeps me working. I just think the apple bashing gets pretty old. No one forces you to use their products, so why does it matter what rules they are setting for them?

+1000

Buy what you want, use what you want and quit complaining. All the apple bashing gets old. I always thought it was apple users that were arogant but lately you can't go on a music related forum without the apple bashers whining and complaining.

I use pcs and apple devices. I buy from iTunes, Amazon local music stores. I buy and listen to mps3s, CDs and records.

Buy what you want. Just quit complaint about it.

Sell your music however you want.

Also, pretty sure apple mp3s no longer have drm.

 

[ZiM_XG27]

I would argue the difference is, iTunes controls what you purchase and if you are not savvy, very hard to get your stuff out of iTunes. Whereas, other sell you MP3s. Those are easier to port from one system to another. I see that as one of the major differences.

But, you're correct. No one forcing anyone to use it.

I would argue the exact opposite. Apple makes it difficult for the average joe to port from one device to the next to prevent copyright infringement. You can't just let your friend plug in his iPod and take anything he wants off your HDD anymore. He has to register his device with YOUR username and it COMPLETELY WIPES his music library. The only people that seem to whine about this are people that don't want to pay for music. And you call Apple the thief... That's also where that 30 percent goes; helping to keep your music secure and available to the public instantly. Bills have to be paid on their end and no one does ANYTHING for free. Ever thought about what it costs to maintain those massive servers? When's the last time you had Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, etc. help you out and sell your "art" for free? Or at all? Didn't think so... Does Apple benefit from this? But of course! It's a business. Not unlike any major label that ONLY has an interest in making as much money as possible. They aren't there for the artist any more than Apple is. And I'd like to add that 99 cents is a fair price for a song. Old cassette singles used to be around 2-3 bucks and half of that was packaging and store markup for the STORE'S profit. If you are getting 66 cents a song you are making WAY more than a lot of major label artists. Market yourself and get the entire nation to buy your music. That's how you make the big money. Even mildly popular bands struggle to make ends meet by just playing music.

If you still think this is all "unfair" because all these companies should be working to do you a favor for nothing, then by all means don't use them.

More people have been able to hear more music in the digital age then was ever possible before. But I guess the dream is to become one of the "elite" sell outs whose only ambition is to make sure no one else takes their money. Not to work a 9 to 5 and just be happy you have 10,000 to 50,000 people who think you rock. There have always been thousands and thousands of bands. You just weren't able to hear them or ever know they existed without living near their hometown. We can't all make the big leagues guys. Some of us are destined to play for the sheer experience of it. Which I for one am not upset with.