Filed under: iTS, iTunes, iPhone
How not to download iTunes Store tracks or previews for Ringtones
We've just received word via Engadget that you may not use iTMS-purchased music or previews as ringtones.
Engadget's awesome Nilay Patel addressed the issue this morning, clarifying that although you can legally install ringtones ripped from your personal CDs, iTMS tracks and previews are off-limits. He writes that the iTMS EULA prohibits the use of downloaded files as ringtones, probably due to its contracts with the music industry. Music ripped from CDs, however, are not derivative works and do not infringe copyrights.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Johnny Thrash said 2:08PM on 9-07-2007
lol
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David said 2:14PM on 9-07-2007
When you sign up for a ITunes Store account it specifically states in the Disclaimer that you will not use the music or previews for ring tomes. This has been in there well before the iPhone was ever released.
You checked the little check-box and you said you wouldn't steal previews or music off the site...doing so makes it illegal! I have been told this by a few people over at MacRumours...people never read the disclaimer that they effectively agree to, but it is in there!
Still, it is insane this charging you for ringtones, particularly for music you already have so...nice moral dilema.
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required said 2:17PM on 9-07-2007
sadly I won't be very surprised if this dollar per ringtone premium thingy takes off, it fits in the current shape of the world
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PSM said 2:38PM on 9-07-2007
Ridiculous. I bought the music, whether in a physical store, or online. What I do with it in the confines of my own personal use should be no one else's business. I'm not sharing it, I'm not selling it. No one even hears my ringtones except me since my phone is always silenced in public. Am I not allowed to play the music I OWN -- not rented, _OWN_ -- for my own ears, on a phone I also OWN?!
It almost makes me want to run for president, or dictator, to tell these RIAA people where to shove it, or bury them in unmarked graves. Oh, and the cell phone carriers, too.
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Johnny Thrash said 2:38PM on 9-07-2007
Shaking in my boots :P
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ryan said 2:54PM on 9-07-2007
PSM
You don't _OWN_ the music. The music was licensed to you. Think about it, do you _OWN_ OS X because it came installed on your mac? Or does Apple _OWN_ OS X. Whether it's right or not, you were licensed the music and you _AGREED_ to the terms. If you don't agree with the terms, don't let iTunes see another one of your dollars. Bitching about how you think that you _OWN_ music that you don't doesn't get you anywhere.
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Heli said 3:00PM on 9-07-2007
Picture this:
" Your Honor, I plead guilty of using an illegal ringtone on my iPhone. It sounded so good, I couldn't resist. Even worse, I almost put a second ringtone on, but my concience would not let me. Besides, it was Britney Spears. I'm terribly sorry and promise never, ever, to do it again."
A jail full of iPhone users would make quite a TV ad for Apple.
Think Different.
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Charles said 3:15PM on 9-07-2007
What's even stranger is that the description of the download for iTunes 7.4 says, "... plus create custom ringtones exclusively for iPhone with many of your favorite songs purchased from the iTunes Store." Pretty misleading.
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ian said 3:15PM on 9-07-2007
ghey.
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Shon said 3:19PM on 9-07-2007
way to cover your ass erica! seriously :)
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Steve Grenier said 3:26PM on 9-07-2007
Am I the only one here who is thinking who cares? Do it anyways. Screw paying 1$ for a 30 second ringtone when you can get the song for the same price.
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Billy K said 3:42PM on 9-07-2007
As many people howled Wednesday, "Steve Jobs is teh Devil! He maek me pay for song twise!!!!"
This isn't Steve's/Apple's doing. Thank your friendly neighbourhood record labels.
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joe said 3:54PM on 9-07-2007
you just received word? was this a question? was there an outstanding issue about whether you could do this? did you submit the request to engadget legal or something? This is the third most nonsensical post on a blog today. The second being the engadget article this refers to and the most nonsensical post of the day is Erica not understanding how Finder works with file extensions
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Heli said 3:55PM on 9-07-2007
Just put your phone on vibrate when near a cop...
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joseph said 3:56PM on 9-07-2007
you just received word? was this a question? was there an outstanding issue about whether you could do this? did you submit the request to engadget legal or something? This is the third most nonsensical post on a blog today. The second being the engadget article this refers to and the most nonsensical post of the day is Erica not understanding how Finder works with file extensions
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PSM said 4:08PM on 9-07-2007
ryan, I'm not talking about what the license says, I'm talking about what's right (thus the part about becoming dictator and executing everyone involved with DMCA). What the law currently allows is besides the point. In the future so much of our lives will be in digital format, and if this continues we won't actually have permanent ownership of anything.
It's not just Apple and it's not just the record companies and cell providers, it's happening all around the digital world. Unless you want to live in a cave with nothing but books, and communicating with smoke signals, saying "just don't buy it" won't solve the problem. I don't know how to stop it, but it is a problem.
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Pastor of Muppets said 6:59PM on 9-07-2007
WTF?! Didn't Jobs specifically say in the Keynote on Wednesday that you would be able to make ringtones out of your iTMS purchases? I watched the whole thing, and that was the vibe I got. Maybe I need to watch again.
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Pastor of Muppets said 7:03PM on 9-07-2007
Oh wait. Nevermind. It was only specific songs that are "participating" in the Ringtone program.
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Mr Lizard said 8:24PM on 9-07-2007
Ok, so if it's in the EULA does that make it illegal?
I've often wondered this. I know you agree to the terms in the EULA, but the EULA does not rank above the law.
If there's no actual law against using ITS purchases as ringtones, then just because someone puts it in an EULA doesn't mean it's suddenly illegal.
I mean, what is a ringtone, as far as the law is concerned? it's just a sound the phone makes when someone calls you. I doubt there's a law which focuses on ringtones.
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ericvicenti said 11:52PM on 9-07-2007
I assume iTunes plus tracks work fine though?
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