DRM Protected Music on Linux?!

[adaml]

Hello People!

I was wondering is there anyway that i can play DRM protected music on linux? As im about to make the switch from windows. The only thing that is stopping me is my subscribtion to Napster to go! Which requires XP and Windows Media player. So my solution to that problem is using Virtual PC 2004! So i can easily switch to XP if i need to download or update my mp3 player with more music!

But i still need to be able to play my drm content on the linux side! Is there anyway to do this or is there a subscribtion music store like napster out there that supports linux?





Thanks!!!






Adam

[techieMoe]

That's a valid question, to which I personally have no answer. I do have a suggestion, however. Have you considered downloading non-DRM music from sites like Magnatune? The artists aren't the ones you hear on the radio but the music is quite good, IMO. You get the option to download in several formats including full CD WAV, which would let you rip the tracks in whatever format you like. Just throwing out ideas here.

As for your particular problem, hang in there. Perhaps someone else has more experience with this particular issue.

[adaml]

I like my music and to know who they are! I used to downlad all my albums with BitTorrent but then it was getting annoying and slow! Napster to Go is really good at only £15! I can download as much as i want and they have everything!


Does anyone have any ideas?

[burnit]

I've read somewhere (maybe newsforge?) that gstreamer library help writing multimedia applications supporting DRM limited files.

This is a news, so maybe this feature is not available at the moment, but maybe this is trasparent to the programmer, so compiling a program using gstreamer version supporting DRM, you'll be able to play DRM limited music...

Btw, you should investigate about the DRM support by gstreamer... maybe is still developemental...

[adaml]

Iv had a look and it looks like they made a version, but cant get it hosted! Lucky iv got a huge server that needs filling up!

I will have a look and see if i can get hold of the plugin to add DRM support!

[PsypherPunk]

As i understand it you're allowed to burn DRM-protected music to disc a few times...? If that's the case you could do that then play it in Linux.

One 'solution' i read about was to do the above but rather than burning to a disc, burn to an disc-image (Nero has a plugin for this as do several writers). In Linux the disc-image can just be mounted/played/ripped as needed.

[adaml]

I wish i could, my music is from a napster to go subscribtion so im only allowed to use it on my computer or mp3 player. It saves alot of money as i can download as much as i want! As soon as i stop paying i cant use any of it though

[techieMoe]

I wish i could, my music is from a napster to go subscribtion so im only allowed to use it on my computer or mp3 player. It saves alot of money as i can download as much as i want! As soon as i stop paying i cant use any of it though

See, to me that's a waste of money rather than a savings. I like to have full control over the music I download. Quality over quantity. But to each their own.

[bryansmith]

As i understand it you're allowed to burn DRM-protected music to disc a few times...? If that's the case you could do that then play it in Linux.

One 'solution' i read about was to do the above but rather than burning to a disc, burn to an disc-image (Nero has a plugin for this as do several writers). In Linux the disc-image can just be mounted/played/ripped as needed.

Okay, this sounds like a much more efficient method than writing a music cd and ripping. Could you please exapnd on this? I would really appreciate it.

Bryan

[adaml]

I think hes meaning that if you have Nero, instead of burning to a Disc, you can write to an ISO / BIN file and then use an application to mount the image disc. That way you can have an extra CD / Drive avilable on your computer and mount it with disc images so theres no need to keep spending time on burning everything to discs.

Theres something called Damon Tools which allows you to have Image Drives on Windows. Not sure on one for Linux though. You can either mount disc images that are DVD Sizes or normal CDs!

You cant however use Damon tools to mount a disc image and then boot from that disc, as it requires the O/S to be active. Which is disappointing! But im sure theres an application that could cope with that!


Anyway back to the DRM's! techieMoe where do you get your music from? Yes Napster might be a waste of money, but its legal and theres everything i need. Im trying to find an alternative as i dont fancy switching O/S everytime i want to listen to some music!