Ryan Egan.com

While I enjoy using and purchasing music from iTunes, Apple’s file protection is poorly implemented and inconvenient for the average downloader. This tutorial will outline the steps necessary to remove Apple’s iTunes FairPlay DRM protection from downloaded songs. Please be aware, circumventing FairPlay and decrypting your protected music files is currently illegal under the DMCA. I do not advocate that anyone attempt to do this… This tutorial is provided as a "proof of concept" only.

While there are several options available for cracking FairPlay, this tutorial will focus on using QTFairUse6. It’s small, efficient and will decrypt your music without any degradation in sound quality.

For the first step, you must download and unzip QTFairUse6. The most up-to-date version (v2.5) can be found on the hymn forums, or to download it directly, click here (5.1M). Once downloaded, you will need to extract the files from the .zip archive in a folder of your choosing.

While many people claim that QTFairUse6 v2.5 works with the most current version of iTunes (7.0.2.16), I received numerous errors from QTFairUse6 when I attempted to decrypt my files. An easy way of avoiding this would be to download an older version. I recommend downloading iTunes 7.0.1 which can be found on filehippo.com. Or to download it directly click here (35M). If your version of iTunes is older 7.0.2, you may skip the next few steps.

In order to fully downgrade your version of iTunes, you must completely uninstall your current version and reboot your computer. Uninstalling leaves the iTunes database intact so all your settings will migrate over to the older version. It will also not delete any of your music files, or playlists.

Once your computer has rebooted, launch the installer (you just downloaded) for iTunes 7.0.1. Proceed through the steps to complete the installation.

When setup is complete you can begin using QTFairUse6. Return to the directory you specified when unzipping in step 1 and launch the "QTFairUse6" executable. Use of the console version of QTFairUse6 is beyond the scope of this tutorial.

Although the default set of options in QTFairUse6 are desirable for most people, for the sake of simplicity I would recommend selecting the "Process just these files" option. With this selected, you can choose which files you wish to decrypt by dragging and dropping them from explorer. iTunes protected files are easily identifiable by their .m4p extension

Once successfully added, QTFairUse will update and your list of files to be decrypted will appear in the main window.

In case decrypting should fail or you want to keep your original protected .m4p files, you should specify a folder to be used for backups.

Once you have selected a backup folder, click "Start conversion" and watch the magic happen.

Depending on iTunes, you may need to sign into your iTunes account using your Apple ID and password. This is necessary so that iTunes can authorize your computer to play your files.

If everything goes smoothly, the "success" message should appear in the QTFairUse window indicating that the decryption is complete.

As an added bonus, the newly decrypted files are automatically updated in your iTunes library so that you don’t need to worry about adding them back in. You should be able to open iTunes and play your files as usual without the need to update anything. The decrypted files can now be transported to other computers without iTunes or played on any other .mp3 player which supports the AAC codec.

Today I stumbled upon this interesting article. Apparently the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has asked YouTube to pull all OSCARS related footage from its website. They claim removing the footage will help them to “manage the value of our telecast and brand”.

Sadly, this is a ludicrous argument.

On the contrary, CBS now has the highest ratings in the broadcast industry due to their partnership with YouTube. In combination with good programming, CBS has seen it’s ratings increase by 21% from last year along.

Although, recent negotiations have failed to strike a new deal, CBS’s existing partnership with YouTube allows CBS to publish its own content online. In return, CBS gets a sizeable share of the ad revenue. The success of the existing program has been astounding, CBS and YouTube are both reaping the rewards. CBS is even enjoying a PR boost along with renewed enthusiasm from viewers.

The truth of the matter is that watching something online generates hype and boosts ratings. The AdSense market is booming and everyone especially Google is getting rich.

Perhaps at some point the media industry will grow some balls and embrace emerging technologies instead of shunning away from them. You would think that at some point the media industry would realize that their own stupidity causes nothing but financial nightmares.

I had planned on using this post to rambling on about some more website improvements, but I felt it would be put to better use if I took time to comment on an article I found recently…

This article is one of many which have surfaced recently in the media. It is actions like these which have turned the RIAA and the MPAA (in my opinion) into symbols of oppression. Regardless of political stance, the public should not tolerate antics like these anymore. Sadly there are prime examples of just how far money goes in politics.

I am legitimately terrified that the MPAA has enough political prowess and congressional support to meddle with international affairs. I would have hoped that lawmakers would be learning their lessons after their last round of blunders in international affairs. Then again, I’m not completely surprised… Deep pockets will invariably take you far in life.

Nevertheless, I am appalled by the MPAA’s actions in Sweden. They represent a blatant disregard for foreign diplomacy and shouldn’t be legal, let alone tolerated. I can only hope that some people will gain from this. Perhaps the Pirate Party will see stronger support both in Sweden and abroad. Or maybe people will start calling them out on their ridiculous double standard practices.

In the meantime, I will continue to equate the RIAA and the MPAA to hate groups and slander the DCMA until it can be reformed…

It’s ludicrous that it’s illegal for me to transcode a DVD to my iPod, even if it was legally purchased. Some MPAA proponents have even gone so far as to claim that I don’t own any of the DVDs that I legally purchase. Instead, I own the rights to play those DVDs. The difference being that the production studios choose how and where I watch the films including what commercials I am forced to view and which I can skip. Have you ever noticed that you can’t skip previews on some DVDs? - I have and it’s illegal to alter a DVD player’s software to allow for this.

I cry bullshit. If I purchase it, I own it. It’s mine. If I want to break it or fast forward through some previews, then I should be allowed to do so.

Ps. While writing this post, I realized that transcode isn’t a word… Someone needs to slap Merriam and Webster in the face and make them wakeup to the 21st century.