5 ms·
The old discussions around digital assets resurface again. My perspective is really simple: If I buy something then its mine. If I lease something then its tem
by sfgweilr4f 5y ago
The old discussions around digital assets resurface again.
My perspective is really simple: If I buy something then its mine. If I lease something then its temporary. Buying a lease is actually just leasing.
Digital assets are more often just fancy lease agreements. At best you get to keep access to what you paid for when you stop paying. At worst its literally just a lease. The real kicker is you often can't simply format shift without consequences, because it was just a lease only on that platform and the terms are: Pay for access; Stop paying and you're out. Want it somewhere else? No can do.
I wonder if I could bequeath my Apple Music collection? Probably not. That's the big reveal right there. Its not actually ever yours. Never was.
Apple Music is somewhat better than a long term lease. Last time I looked you could write the MP3s to a CD. Not sure if that's still true.
Contrast this with Spotify: pure subscription. Good luck looking for a "Write to CD" option. That's completely out of scope. And no one is surprised. At least its clearly spelt out. But still a lease. You're only buying access.
- the_other 5y agoI have come to think of Spotify only as a discovery/introduction service. It finds me music I like, and I go buy physical media or MP3 from shops that give me downloads in my browser (Bandcamp, Bleep, Boomkat...). I use it the way I used to use radio and record shops. I’m in my 40s so I grew up at a time where this was common. Record shops were on the high streets in most towns in the UK through the 80s and 90s. In my teens I started to dig deeper, into niche, side street record shops for off-mainstream music. These days, it seems all record shops are on side streets.
- DanBC 5y ago> Last time I looked you could write the MP3s to a CD. Format shifting isn't always legal. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/17/high-court-quashes-regulations-copy-cds-musicians https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/17/high-court-q...
- sfgweilr4f 5y agoApple seems to think its OK according to this: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/itunes/itns2957/windows https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/itunes/itns2957/window... There's probably a bunch of caveats why even this isn't allowed for whatever "reasons".