Filed under: iTunes, Podcasting
iTunes 8 adds podcast controls, terms of service geographic limit (not new)
In the iTunes 8 new features listing, a couple of tweaks may have been overlooked. Podcast subscribers have long yearned for more granular control over downloading and retention in iTunes -- "keep three episodes" might be great for Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me or Mac OS Ken, but what about Coverville or You Look Nice Today? You'd surely want to keep those & other awesome 'casts in perpetuity, and there are some podcasts that are so large you want to cull them after one download.
Now, iTunes 8 lets you apply retention policies on a podcast-by-podcast basis. Select the podcast in the list and click the "Settings" button at the bottom of the window, then UNcheck the "Use Default Settings" box to enable custom prefs for that particular show. Dee-lightful! Unfortunately, podcast-to-iPod sync settings are still one for all and all for one, but this is a step in the right direction.
Update: Comments below (and a visit to the Wayback Machine) have confirmed that the territorial clause in the iTunes store TOS is not a new addition with v8, but has in fact been in place for quite some time. It's interesting that it only came up as a topic of discussion now -- perhaps because everyone was forced to reaccept the TOS with the new version, and read it a bit more carefully? It's also looking like the clause was displayed front and center on the new TOS acceptance screen; this degree of prominence seems to be new, and probably attracted attention to the pre-existing restriction. In any case, our apologies for the error.
Speaking of minor changes that might have major implications, a number of readers have expressed concern about something that Robert originally pointed out in his rundown of iTunes 8: that the iTunes store terms of service (long a source of controversy in Europe)
10. Territory. The Service is available only in the United States. You agree not to use or attempt to use the Service from outside of the available territory, and that Apple may use technologies to verify your compliance.
There are several classes of users who might run afoul of this restriction: travelers who shop in their home stores while venturing abroad, for example, would technically be in violation... but our suspicion is that these casual, intermittent border-busters are not what Rule 10 is about. Instead, any enforcement of this restriction is likely to be aimed at users who live in one country and establish an iTunes store account in another -- allowing them to buy TV shows or movies that may not be available yet (or ever) in their localities.
Certainly the content providers who sell their wares through iTunes may choose not to sell their programs to a particular region at a particular time; that's their prerogative. It seems somewhat myopic, however, to think that enforcing restrictions by geography in the iTunes store will have any effect other than to drive revenue and customers from the quasi-legal market firmly into the rip-and-download underground.
Thanks to Eric & Mark
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
caleb said 7:01PM on 9-10-2008
Thanks for this post. The inability to set podcast settings by podcast has been a frustration for some time.
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mini-me said 1:30PM on 9-11-2008
This geographic limitation is complete BS in my opinion. I've found music on the French, German and Japanese iTunes stores that I just can't find in the US one. Why shouldn't I be able to purchase music from other stores if I have iTunes credit, or a foreign credit card?
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Galley said 4:33PM on 9-10-2008
I agree; I can import CDs from anywhere in the world. There's tons of great stuff you can't get in the U.S.
john said 9:13AM on 9-11-2008
I would add that they've pegged the Equalizer to a keyboard shortcut (cmd-opt-2) where it was previously only a menu item. Minor, but very welcome IMHO.
On the downside, they seem to have removed the dedicated "Browse" button from the lower-left corner for attached devices (it's now a menu item/keyboard command). Not sure why that one is.
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dave61 said 3:22AM on 9-12-2008
They are heading for a fight if they try to enforce that in Europe.
We are supposed to have free movement of goods & services between countries, IMHO Apple is already in breach of this. As a resident of the Netherlands I should be able to buy any thing from any other member country. However, Apple insists that you have a credit card issued in whichever country your account is registered.
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Chris said 5:15PM on 9-10-2008
This isn't actually a new restriction. It was in iTunes 7 as well. So far I haven't seen any blowback from it; I've been downloading stuff off the US store from New Zealand for the past couple of months without any issues.
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Jonny Evans said 4:19PM on 9-10-2008
Just a hunch - but might this relate in some way to the recent banning of iTunes US access from China by Chinese authorites over the rights for Tibet protest album? Perhaps Apple had to be seen to be doing something in order to help clinch the China Mobile deal?
Yeah, it's a long shot, but there could be a reason.
Also, lets face it, the labels are hanging onto territorial licensing because they fear for their pockets - after all, how can they stagger releases and charge more for music in some countries than others in a free and open market....
Great story
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Gordon Werner said 4:25PM on 9-10-2008
it has nothing to do with apple and everything to do with the content providers and their eternal quest for more $$$$$$$
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Eddie said 4:33PM on 9-10-2008
I've been calling for this level of control for years!
http://my.opera.com/usability/blog/2006/10/27/itunes-as-a-podcast-manager
.. I still think it should be done in the same way "smart playlist" is implemented, ie- podcasts put in a certain "smart playlist" (smart podcast?) all share the same download/sync capabilities. I can have a folder called "most recent episode only" and just drag my podcasts in there, and have a "keep all episodes" folder and just drag all of ones I want to keep in there.. and so on.
...but this is certainly a step in the right direction
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outlyer said 4:34PM on 9-10-2008
This is just silly. I travel a lot, so I've been buying season passes on iTunes and picking up the shows where I happen to be.
If I downloaded the shows before I travelled, or after I got back, it'd have the same effect for me, but if I downloaded the show while I was in a hotel room, it would somehow be wrong?
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Ed said 4:44PM on 9-10-2008
I'd love to know what the "rip and download underground" throwaway line is meant to mean?
People using BitTorrent, p2p?
I wasn't aware there was an "underworld" anymore. That's a misapprehension that record companies and the RIAA have been laboring under for so long they're slowly choking their own industry to death.
Great as it is that Apple is leading the way (IMHO) in finding innovative ways of distributing media content - the alternative is not some kind of "underworld". There is an *enormous* community of people across the globe creating their own distribution channels as the lumbering media corporations fail to keep up with changing technology and consumer demands.
Illegal? Yes, very often. Underworld? Not since a long time. TUAW, you're out of step.
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Michael Rose said 4:55PM on 9-10-2008
Well, I said "underground" and you say "underworld" -- not precisely the same thing, with "underworld" having much stronger connotations of organized crime or illicit activity -- but if I understand you correctly you are saying that P2P and BitTorrent have gone mainstream.
I disagree.
In any event, the use of "underground" fits both the 2nd and 3rd definitions below quite well... a group or movement seeing to subvert an established order, no?
From Dictionary.app:
underground
adverb |ˌəndərˈground|
beneath the surface of the ground : miners working underground.
• in or into secrecy or hiding, esp. as a result of carrying out subversive political activities : many were forced to go underground by the government.
adjective |ˈəndərˌground| |ˈəndə(r)ˈgraʊnd| |ˈʌndəgraʊnd|
situated beneath the surface of the ground : underground parking garages.
• of or relating to the secret activities of people working to subvert an established order : Czech underground literature.
• of or denoting a group or movement seeking to explore alternative forms of lifestyle or artistic expression; radical and experimental : the New York underground art scene.
noun |ˈəndərˌground| |ˈəndərˈgraʊnd| |ˈʌndəgraʊnd|
1 a group or movement organized secretly to work against an existing regime : I got involved with the French underground.
• a group or movement seeking to explore alternative forms of lifestyle or artistic expression : the late sixties underground.
2 ( the Underground) Brit. a subway, esp. the one in London : travel chaos on the Underground.
Ed said 1:34AM on 9-11-2008
You can cut and paste bits of the dictionary all day long but your meaning is perfectly clear - you don't believe, as you say, that p2p and BitTorrent have gone mainstream.
I find it incredible that someone who writes for a tech blog is so divorced from tech reality.
I'm not trying to justify it, or somehow make claims for its legality, but the fact of the matter is that it is here, and on a global level is far more widely used that iTunes, or any other service, as a way of distributing content.
And by the way, you defend yourself from claims of condescension, and then post dictionary quotes to your readers? Lame.
Michael Rose said 9:20AM on 9-11-2008
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said 'tech reality.' I'm talking about reality-reality, not the bubble of the technological elite to which both you and I belong.
99% of media consumers would not know a torrent if it burst forth from their cable modem and announced itself as the Messiah. I do not, in fact, believe that P2P is yet a replacement for the MAINSTREAM media market, and that's why I SAID SO. You can disagree with me (and you clearly do) but I stand by the use of the word "underground."
Meanwhile, you haven't yet explained why you chose to change my term "underground" to the far more freighted and sinister "underworld" in your original comment. Freudian slip? Do you feel guilty or criminal in your P2P use? Not saying you should... but since we're talking about word choice and attitudes, I think it's an interesting path to take.
P.S. If the argument is about words, is there some rule I'm not familiar with that forbids bringing an actual reference about words into the conversation? The dictionary quote wasn't meant to condescend -- you jumped on a word and I defined it.
Rafael said 4:47PM on 9-10-2008
It's due to copyright laws. I live in Brazil and I have to say the iTunes store is abysmal here, only the app store and not even the games on that.
But the fact that some content is available just for some regions, is because of licensing contracts. Sure, if you're in the US, you can legally import a CD/DVD from Japan, but then you're paying the associated taxes to the right people. Now, if you buy online content, not only you may get content that isn't yet available legally, but also you're skipping on the import taxes governments are always so keen on receiving.
I know in this day and age this works the opposite direction, encouraging piracy and such.
That said, I've spent a *lot* of money in the US store, and sure hope I can continue to do so legally (or borderdline legally - at least I'm paying for content!). Apple, don't pull the plug on this loophole.
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sjkhuth said 5:35PM on 9-10-2008
Hell, if they're worried about getting taxes for 99 cents...
Seems like it's OK to buy most portable electronics in the US and take them home without paying taxes, but MAY GOD HELP YOU IF YOU DON'T PAY THOSE 7 CENTS TAXES!!
Adam said 4:52PM on 9-10-2008
Well I'm in Canada and I've been breaking the terms of service for years now by buying stuff off the US store....bring it on Apple (or more likely content providers...either provide us with content at the same time as the US buyers or piracy).
Just finished watching a few of the free HD episodes that are only available in the states.
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HZC said 4:54PM on 9-10-2008
"Unfortunately, podcast-to-iPod sync settings are still one for all and all for one, but this is a step in the right direction."
What do you mean by this? I've been selectively sync'ing specific podcasts to my iPhone for a long time now.
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Michael Rose said 4:59PM on 9-10-2008
I mean you can only use one set of on-device retention settings for all the podcasts you choose to sync. "3 most recent," "All unplayed" etc. applies to the entire set of podcasts checked for syncing.
http://skitch.com/mike/iwi3/podcast-sync-setting
What I want is the ability to say "Sync all the episodes of sudowrestling, but only the last 3 of All Things Considered."
colouroflight said 4:59PM on 9-10-2008
All this talk over a TOS agreement...
Meanwhile informed consumers continue to choose the convenient, DRM-free "rip-and-download underground," as you so condescendingly put it.
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