A few weeks ago I downloaded music off the 'net for the first time. It was the "American Idiot" album by Green Day, from Sony's on-line music store (Connect.com). I was getting it mostly for my 13-year-old so he could put it on his PSP. Well, wouldn't you know after I paid my money and downloaded the album, I could not get that music onto the PSP at all! I finally learned the copyright holders of that particular album did not allow it to be transferred to any kind of portable device. Now, isn't that special? Of course, there's no place on the Sony Connect website that I could find that out UNTIL I had already bought the download. Maybe it's there, but I could not find it. What kind of deal is that? Why don't they have to disclose exactly what it is they are selling? I know, "buyer beware" and all of that, but still I feel like I've been ripped off. Elsewhere on the site, they do say all their music can be put on a "device", although in still another place they confess that some music will not be transferrable to portable devices, depending on the copyright restrictions. It just seems to me this information should be disclosed up-front, on a per track or album basis. The way it now stands, every purchase is a crapshoot, as far as fair use is concerned.
A few weeks ago I downloaded music off the 'net for the first time. It was the "American Idiot" album by Green Day, from Sony's on-line music store (Connect.com). I was getting it mostly for my 13-year-old so he could put it on his PSP. Well, wouldn't you know after I paid my money and downloaded the album, I could not get that music onto the PSP at all! I finally learned the copyright holders of that particular album did not allow it to be transferred to any kind of portable device. Now, isn't that special? Of course, there's no place on the Sony Connect website that I could find that out UNTIL I had already bought the download. Maybe it's there, but I could not find it. What kind of deal is that? Why don't they have to disclose exactly what it is they are selling? I know, "buyer beware" and all of that, but still I feel like I've been ripped off. Elsewhere on the site, they do say all their music can be put on a "device", although in still another place they confess that some music will not be transferrable to portable devices, depending on the copyright restrictions. It just seems to me this information should be disclosed up-front, on a per track or album basis. The way it now stands, every purchase is a crapshoot, as far as fair use is concerned.