Zach Spear
We're seeing several sources warning users about upgrading their libraries until Apple introduces more options. (Not to mention finishing upgrading the entire catalog of ten million songs, which Apple says could take until April).
For example, my library contains 536 purchased items; only several are TV shows, or free singles and music videos of the week. However, the home page of the iTunes Store only offers to upgrade 82 of them.
The number will rise eventually, but what really has folks disappointed is the "all-or-nothing" approach to the upgrade. If I want to upgrade, say, my beloved purchased Athlete albums, I can only do so if I upgrade my tracks by Lindsay Lohan (don't ask) and a karaoke version of The Killers' "Mr. Brightside" I for some reason thought was a good idea at the time.  Looking back, I shouldn't have ever paid for them back then, and I'd rather not suffer insult to injury now.
Yikes.
Also: If you bought a track or two from a protected album that has now gone DRM-free, you can't complete the album unless you first upgrade those tracks. And that means...all of them, whether you still want them or not.
None of the promotional songs I got for free (like the Singles of the Week, or that "Back to School" cross-promotion with Facebook from a few summers ago) are appearing in my upgrade offer, although we have read reports from people who are seeing those. iTunes uses your account's purchase history to present this "special offer", so you'll still spot songs you long ago banished to the Trash in disgust.
The motive behind Apple's moves aren't clear, but for customers' sake, many are hoping the company eventually delivers friendlier options by the time the store is completely DRM-free this spring.
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
126 Comments
While I understand the frustration - fortunately I have better taste in music than the author (jk, I remember a single Jack Johnson song that I finally begrudgingly upgraded a while back on the off chance someone might see it) - who's to say whether Apple has any choice in the matter?
I don't think this is good for one of the key reasons iTunes has been successful, simplicity.
Nitpicking, but iTunes didn't offer to upgrade 82 songs, but rather 82 items (68 individual songs and 14 albums). So 223 total out of 563, roughly 40% of your music.
I agree there should be some way to pick and choose which you want though.
Not sure what all the fuss is about.
The only reason to upgrade is if you plan on illegally sharing your music with other people, right?
If your music has played fine on your iPod and Mac all this time - it still will.
If you're a true audiophile (nut), then you'd be buying physical media and ripping your own. Those few bits improvement aren't going to make your iPod sound any better in the car or jogging through noisy streets anyways, right?
I have NEVER had an issue with DRM in all the years I've been using iTunes. So what's the fuss all about?
Something I noticed (and I suppose it makes sense)...
I'm an American but I was living in Australia when iTMS came out. Actually it was out for quite a while in the US before it came to AUS, and I used my US credit to purchase from the US store (not having really read that part in the T&C that says you can't do this), and after a few purchases I bought a new Mac in AUS, and as part of the initial setup associated my Apple ID with my Aussie computer somehow from there Apple worked out I was in breach and shut down my access to those songs! I was frustrated, but as it was only a couple songs I lived through it.
Eventually iTMS came to Australia, though I think even to this day not all the major labels participate, meaning the catalog is more limited. And I purchased a good number of tracks from the AUS store. I recently moved back to the US, and switched stores. I notice that none of the songs I purchased from the AUS store appear on my upgrade list, even though many of those albums are also available in the US store. AND, those long lost songs ARE there.
So that tells me a few things, which may be well known to others and quite logical. iTunes Plus is country specific. iTMS in general might be always country specific, even if a given album is available in multiple countries, buying it in one does not grant rights to it in another (and maybe this is due to different labels or subsidiaries of labels controlling rights in different countries).
I am certain I am not the only totally legit multi-country person around (dual citizen), and it will only become more common. I wonder when the infrastructure of iTMS or indeed all digital media will accommodate this scenario....