I’m gonna preface this by saying that I love Apple and their products and I hate the RIAA and their shortsightedness. My only complaint with Apple is the restrictive DRM built into iTunes Music Store songs (also, those new G5s could be a little cheaper).
In protest, I’ve committed a real crime and documented the entire process. But it shouldn’t be that way and that’s why I’ve done it. Come and get me, Apple! Come and get me, RIAA!
It all started with a free song code from the Pepsi iTunes promotion. I tilted several Pepsi bottles at the local Ralphs (just look for random letters under the cap), found me a winner and scored a free song.
You may not know this, but there are several tracks that you can buy from the iTunes Music Store that consist of nothing more than total silence.
Here’s one from Ciccone Youth (a Sonic Youth side project):
So I bought it.
Then, I wanted to play this song on another device other than my iPod (I own a Creative MuVo TX MP3 Player). No go. The Digital Rights Management (DRM) makes it impossible to transfer the song to my other MP3 player unless I go through some ridiculous steps which involve burning the purchased song to a CD and then ripping it. This causes a noticeable loss of sound quality due to the song being recompressed. Totally unacceptable. I want pure silence.
So I stripped the DRM using JHymn, a cross-platform application that unlocks your DRM’ed songs and keeps the original’s sound quality. This is absolutely, positively illegal according to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
One law broken, one to go.
One file is legal, the other one is definitely not. Can you spot the one that’ll get me in trouble? I’ll give you a hint: it’s the one without the little lock over its icon.
There’s just one law left to break. I’m offering this very file for download here on my website. So go ahead, download it (1.1 MB) and break the law with me. Right click, save as, and crank it up on your favorite portable electronic music player.
If this little stunt gets me in trouble, you’ll be the first to know.
You can help stop the RIAA and their nonsense at Downhill Battle.
Find out more about protecting your digital rights online at the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s website.
Silence is golden. Get involved.
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windows 98 sucks im oging to throw it out a 7 story building and laugh while it falls muhahaha!!
I wonder if you could still get in trouble, after all the id3 tag information is still in the file identifying the file as belonging to that album.
Also I wonder if the jukebox at the local bar now has to pay royalties even if it isn’t playing anything but silence over and over again?
Hmmmmm….
fight the man—-i’m all for it
No matter what people say here about never getting anywhere with this, …you did. I agree with Arago Gando, so many missed the main point you were trying to make. No matter, you made a stand and single handedly make a mockery of two supposedly untouchable entities…
T O U C H A B L E ! ! !
Rock On!!!!
Quote:
So I stripped the DRM using JHymn, a cross-platform application that unlocks your DRM’ed songs and keeps the original’s sound quality. This is absolutely, positively illegal according to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
I can’t believe that is illegal! I started using iTunes so I could legally download music for my mp3 player, rather than illegally use p2p. Upon finding their stupid m4a format won’t work on anything other than apple products, I used JHymn. I see it is legally purchasing music and modifying the file type for my own personal use. It’s just like buying a CD and ripping that to my mp3 for my own use. What is wrong with that? It has no negative effect on the industry whatsoever. iTunes should switch to a decent, more compatible format (mp3) or remove its DRM.
Fine, tackle illegal downloading of music, but don’t deprive us of using what we have optained legally in the way we want to use it.
I’m in complete agreement with you
Another way to get around the DRM is to use Apple’s own software.
Open the AAC file in iMovie then save it as an AIFF then open that in iTunes and save it as MP3.
Funny I wonder if Apple knows this trick.
The RIAA is killing music. The industry has totally alienated its consumer base through its greedy actions. I’m someone who used to buy tons of new CDs a year. In the last few years, I’ve probably purchased a total of 12 new CDs… most from independent artists.
Well done with the silence.
An awesome, defiant middle finger to the RIAA. Sweetness.
Keep it up, you’re today’s ghandi. It’d be cool if you set yourself on fire outside of RIAA HQ. That’ll show ‘em!
Why use iTunes? I use iMesh. I reccomend any one of these:
Ares
iMesh
LimeWire
Kazaa <— Not as much
(dont feel like listing any more)
iMesh recently had a major update so it’s a lot better now.
DON’T PAY FOR A FEW MINUTES OF NOTES, TONES, VOICES, AND RYTHMS! DOWNLOAD THEM FOR FREE LIKE I DO!!!
You are a very smart man… thanks to you I’m illegal but saved 22 bucks on CD-R’s
HAHAHAH! CANADA ROX!!! IN CANADA DOWNLAODING SONGS OFF THE INTERNET IS LEGAL!…. THAT IS WHAT MY TEACHER SAID!!!!!!! I FEEL SO SORRY FOR ALL THE MUSIC DOWNLOADERS OUT THERE WHO HAVE TO DOWNLOAD IN SECRET!! KAZZA ROX!!!! EH???? EH???? I AM CANDIAN!! I AM PROUD! I WOULD HATE NOT BEING ABLE TO DOWNLOAD MUSIC! I WOULD DIE! MUSIC IS MY LIFE! I KNOW ALOT OF PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THIS! I AM SOOO SORRY FOR U GUYS!!!!SCREW THE RIAA!!! I THINK THERE BAD CONSIDERING THE WAY EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT THEM, THERE THE GUYS WHO TRY TO STOP DOWNLOADING RITE?????? EH….. ANYWAY!!! DOWNLOAD!!!!!!!1DOWNLOAD!!!DOWNLOAD UNTILL THE DAY U DIE! I KNOW I WILLLL!!! NO MAN(or women) WILL STOP ME!!!!!!!!!!! DOWNLOAD A SONG FOR ME WILL YA? AND ALSO DOWNLOAD A SONG FOR THE POPE!!!1 HE DIED!!!!!! I WAS SOOOO SAD :’( I AM CATHOLIC!!! GO POEPLE WHO BELIVE IN GOD!!!!!!! GO DOWNLOADING!!!!!!!! DOWNLOAD 4 THE POEPLE!
PS. RAP SUCKS!!! RAP SUCKS!!!!! RAP SUCKS!!! ROCK AND PUNK AND J-POP AND K-POP ROX!!!! IN FACT I’M LISTENING TO BURNED SONGS RITE NOW!!!! HEHEHEHEHEH…..EH????? EH?????? EH????EH????EH?????EH????EEH???????/ ENOUGH EH 4 YA?????
pps. i have bad spelling… a grade 6 level, isn’t that sad :’( ahhhhhh…
KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP DOWNLOADING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
not everyone ca affored CD’S…(I KNOW I CAN’T!!!!!!
) SO…. FUCK THE PEOP0LE TRYING TO MAKE DOWNLOADING ILLEGAL( AND WHO ARE KEEPING IT ILLEGAL) DOWNLOAD A SONG 4 ME…..HECK! DOWNLOAD 10…20 SONGS 4 ME!!!!!!!!!! AND RIP IT!!(PUT IT ON A CD) AND SELL MILLIONS OF COPPIES OF THAT CD!!!! AND…….DON’T GET CAUGHT!!!!! HEHEHEHEHEHHE..EHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!!!!!!!EH!!!!!
the DMCA SUCKS!!!!!!!!
test
I’m fairly certain that the Lawdude is partially right. He is dead wrong on the copyright law. The intent is to educate and the document is not copyrighted thus it is not an infringement on copyright. Someone may argue the property rights (digital or otherwise) may be in question. Xerox already fought the copyright laws regarding the mechanism used to violate a copyright. If Lawdude is serious, then he would also incriminate all copy machine manufacturers. Let us not forget cameras “accidentally” taking the picture of a book page while your grandmother reads to some kids. The only danger here is the intent. If the intent is to educate, then there is a safety zone. If the intent is to break the law, then it may be punishable.
Why not make it easier and just dl a p2p program?
If you really want to go against RIAA why not get a hacker or cracker to damage alter or down their site?
It won’t do much but if a link to your song was added it would get alot more publicity for what is trying to be done.
j0, i just downloaded the track and read through half the comments, what you did is quite frankly “spitting in their faces” the “their” is the RIAA. and its fucking awsome!!! and the track creeped me out…..bc there some bumps in it and other things….and after seeing the movie “white noise” that kinda creeps me out……yah, im paranoid, and anyways ROCK ON!!!!!!!!! ^_^
Screw the RIAA! I’m tired of their bullshit! YOU ROCK!!!
nice rules
Your site is great at explaining how to get around technical issues to allow people to get the digital rights they ought to be entitled to. But you have chosen a “safe” example. It’s not likely that anyone can copyright (or more appropriately patent) silence. There ought to be fraud penalties for those who knowingly attempt to copyright the uncopyrightable, such as the cited attempt to copyright silence.
Funny and sad. Then I found:
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/?020930ta_talk_greenman
and now I don’t know what to think.
Sigh … too much time, so little Internet.
It’s a great website of yours. I surfed by and found it very informative. Bookmarked and check you back in a while
stick it to the man!
Finger to the RIAA!
Keep it up.
but is that actually illegal? seeing as the track is silence it cannot be copyrighted since you can’t copyright silence- can you? and if it isnt copyrighted it shouldnt be illegal to distribute it and whatever else… surely?
jemma:
Well the very illegeal thing here is decrypting it… Nothing else…
Well when you decrypt the software, you’re violating certain parts of the user rights agreement that you accepted when you installed iTunes in the first place. Also I think this is a great concept, and more people should get involved. P2P is an easy way out – this has more significance.
-Ahmed
The only thing that will defeat DRM is if people don’t pay for DRMed crap(period)
Anarchy is a subtle art. Artists create without borders. Music, writing, movies, for many artists are an expression of anarchy. William Blake spent his life writing the Bible in reverse (mostly unintelligable but still…) He died a pauper and was buried in a paupers grave at Bunhill Fields. Would he, or Dali, Or Picasso have supported ad hoc drm?
This “crack” is a wonderful (almost musical) piece of anarchy.Hilarious, surreal, and worthy of exhibition in a “gallery” lol.
Great evil can begin as small good intent. I want you to imagine the potential scale of DRM! Imagine websites wholly “protected” by DRM in the maybe not too distant future.
Imagine having to pay a licence fee each time you log onto the internet.
Not so far fetched.
dg
Dude that track was awesome. I am working on a parody of that track right now, with by the way is protected by law.
regarding post 113:
mirrorman, know that you have clearly made an error by saying Linux, the GREATEST OS EVER is gay. It is shitloads more secure than amiga, and shitloads better in all other ways. do not speak upon what you have not the slightest clue about.
regarding silence for money:
bullshit. bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.
regarding the RIAA:
they suck.
I really enjoyed that stolen silence even though it’s not in the charts and quite old by now. It’s far better than any silence I tried to do myself. It’s a pity that it is only 128 kbit. I would enjoy it even more in a better quality (it sounds slightly numb).
Anyway to support your nice effort, I’ll start seeding it on Bittorrent right away! (Probably others done it before, but I’m to lazy to read them all.
Huh
you’re doing a great thing, let me tell you. you’ve also given me an excellent source for my P.I.G. paper. I intend to not only credit this act but show great support for it.
where can i find free movie downloads
hey great info, i’m tryin to find out how to get around imesh’s new drm bullshit does any one know how? does the same program work as well or is it just for ipod songs? any info would be great.
thanks
http://www.plasticbugs.com/blogimg/02 (Silence).m4a
But it’s not silent.
The most common anti-pirating argument out there is the need to support the artists we like. Yay. The rebuttal? How much of the $0.99 we pay per song actually goes to the artist? I’ve downloaded music “illegally,” sometimes I even feel guilty about it. You know what I do when I find an artist I really like? I buy the freakin’ CD; even if I’ve already downloaded most of it.
Why not make a way to send a PayPal donation to the artist for songs downloaded through P2P or whatever? Just a thought.
Yes, I did it. I broke the law with you.
Cool idea. Really cool.
webastian
What ever happened with this? Were there any negative consequences.
hmmm…. i thought this looked familiar. I downloaded it, and it is BIT-FOR-BIT COPY of a previously-copyrighted silent piece. Not only are we all lawbreakers, but Ciccone Youth themselves are potentially in deep doo-doo with Jonh Cage’s estate.
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