

How to bypass iTunes music previews protection - lutfidemirci
http://alpblog.heroku.com/blog/how-to-bypass-itunes-music-previews-protection/

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jstalin
... or just use Amazon's MP3 store. No DRM, no problems with synching multiple
devices, and no "authorization" of devices/computers.

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arrrg
There isn’t any DRM protected music in the iTunes Store, either.

This is only about the previews.

~~~
udpheaders
So if I purchase some songs from this store (e.g. someone gives me iTunes
credit as a gift) I can still play them without iTunes? I don't need iTunes
installed anywhere?

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arrrg
You need iTunes to buy (i.e. you can only access the Store using the iTunes
app, not a web browser), but what you get is a completely standard AAC-encoded
file without any DRM. I think pretty much any audio player available today can
play that (as well as any mobile OS). Just drag the files in your library to
your desktop or browse your iTunes folder to find them. After that you can
uninstall iTunes and never need to see it again.

iTunes does embed your Apple ID (you need to sign up and get one to redeem
your gift card, though you do not need to enter any credit card info or the
like) and purchase date as well as time as metadata in the file, but that
information is easily removed. There are no watermarks.

~~~
udpheaders
So if I understand correctly, the answer is no.

Is there some sort of iTunes kiosk, a publicly accessible device with iTunes
installed where a customer could purchase songs, download them to removable
media and then move the songs from the media to whereever they need to have
them?

Or maybe you can use a friend's device with iTunes installed?

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arrrg
You can use a friend’s machine. Either create your own Apple ID there or
redeem your gift card using your friend’s Apple ID and buy music from their
account. After that you can just copy your music to an USB stick or to Dropbox
or whatever.

Yes, you need iTunes to buy – but once you have the music, you do not need it
anymore. They are just standard audio files that work with any (somewhat
current) player.

~~~
udpheaders
Nice explanation. Thanks for this.

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usea
The article says

> _Although downloading iTunes previews are illegal and restricted by Apple_

What does the author mean by this? If downloading the files are illegal, why
is there an API for it? And why do Apple products have features for consumers
to do it? Is he trying to make a distinction between downloading and
streaming?

~~~
alpb
Hi there I am the author. iTunes API terms state that:

> ... _music video previews; (iv) is streamed only, and not downloaded, saved,
> cached, or synchronized with video_

[http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/resources/documentati...](http://www.apple.com/itunes/affiliates/resources/documentation/itunes-
store-web-service-search-api.html#legal)

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rwolf
Sorry for the tangent, but svbtle knockoffs like the <http://wp-
svbtle.themeskult.com/> used here are annoying.

I don't want the whole internet to look like svbtle. Heck, I don't even want
svbtle to look like svbtle.

~~~
mathieuh
I think he's using Obtvse: <https://github.com/NateW/obtvse>

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w1ntermute
If this becomes widely used, it'll only kickstart an arms race between Apple
and the people trying to access the iTunes previews. Remember what happened
with the Palm Pre and iTunes syncing? Apple doesn't like unapproved devices
accessing its content ecosystem.

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wzhack
I am not sure Apple can differentiate Apple devices over HTTP except UA
header. Maybe they can develop a proprietary streaming protocol but is it
worth?

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pedrocr
There are probably a bunch of ways of checking with javascript that are much
harder to spoof than the UA.

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hmert
I am not sure related native iOS streaming libraries integrate JavaScript
security just to protect iTunes previews.

~~~
w1ntermute
That could be easily updated if necessary. Moreover, it's entirely possible
that there are dormant APIs precisely in case this sort of thing happened.

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dduck
I am not sure m4a format can be played on Android devices.

~~~
honestcoyote
Of course it can. m4p files are right out but those should be nearly extinct
by now.

The player app on my phone plays just about every audio format available,
including ogg and flac.

