How do authorize iTunes songs on my computer so I can play them?

[jwnulife]

How do authorize iTunes songs purchased from the iTunes Store so I can play them on my computer if I am not online? This is an extremely annoying problem and I don't understand it because other songs I have purchased from the store will play just fine without authorization. I cannot authorize my home computer because I do not have an internet connection. Is there a way around this? I paid for the goddamned music--I should be able to play wherever I damn well please!!!:mad:

[acme.mail.order]

Welcome to the bad side of DRM. Can you drag your home machine to an internet connection to authourize it? If not, you might have to wash all the downloaded tines through a CD.

You should also be able to play them through a connected iPod, but I haven't tried this with protected music.

[jwnulife]

what do you mean "wash" to a cd? I even tried to convert them to AIFF files, hoping that it might break the code but it won't even let me do that. I have no internet connection. Oh, and what is DRM? I'm a newbie.

[appleman_design]

that is why he suggest the CD wash, encode w/ the same format.

drm- digital rights management

[jwnulife]

Sorry, I'm still confused. There has got to be a way around this. And why is the authorization only applicable to certain albums or songs? Other songs I bought play just fine.

[cpragman]

You are permitted to burn your iTMS DRM tracks to audio CD. Once you do that, you can re-inport them as standard MP3 or unprotected AAC.

[J Christopher]

Is that the computer (and iTunes installation) you used when you purchased the songs from iTunes?

Songs from iTunes Music Store that implement Apple's FairPlay Digital Rights Management (aka DRM) can only be authorized to five computers at a time. Every time the song is transfered to a new computer (without being burned to disc and reimported, which will result in minor loss of quality) it has to be authorized before it can be played. That is how iTMS is able to keep track of how many computers the song has installed on. Note that you can also de-authorize a particular computer with respect to a song purchased from iTunes, which frees up one of the five authorizations.