DRM or digital rights management is a technology used by publishers, copyright holders, electronics manufacturers in order to limit the use or restrict copying or the unauthorized copying of media content for sale or otherwise. Once DRM was implemented it became difficult to copy music and videos onto ones own computer on CD for general viewing.  Many online stores use DRM in some form or another to discourage music sharing while others no longer use DRM so that the customer is allowed to have free access to whatever music or video they purchased. DRM is still used in regard to e-books.

The problem here is that while individual songs, albums or videos may be so called DRM free there still exists technology within the audio or video players; (that actually are responsible for playing the song or video) that prevent the creative material from being copied from that computer or mp3 player to another. Could this be another way of DRM? By having digital media companies that catalog and distribute music, videos or even e-books for sale, limit the transfer of  copies of music ect. already sold through them because their "audio or music" players prohibit the transfer of the song or video ie. mp4(MPEG) to another electronic device mp3 or wav. This is because the "player" used consists of FairPlay encryption, which means that once the music, song or video content is downloaded onto the player the FairPlay encryption AAC stream will not allow you to decode your content to allow it to be played on another type of player.

Lets say someone downloads a few songs from an online store that distributes them. That online store allows you to download the songs or videos into a player that is designed or associated with that particular online store. If you purchased the songs a while ago and go back to the same website just to find that after a while your downloads are no longer  available to download unless you purchase them again.  If for some reason the DRM encryption does not allow you to store those music files to an online website or an external media device then you can possibly lose that music and video collection that you spend time and money to put together. This can occur when you download music directly onto a portable listening device other than a computer or tablet. DRM's impact will have already resulted because the player in turn is not user friendly or in compatible with the other computer, tablet or other music device for transfer that you want to use.

This can be seen as a company exercising anti-competition practices otherwise known as antitrust since the music, songs, videos or e-books themselves are not owned by the online distrubution store.  Because the content (music, video,e-books) can then only be played or read on the player or viewer it was downloaded on to. Hence, cannot be converted to another player or mp3 whose functions are quite similar thus giving the online company a monopoly on the music it distributes and in effect preventing the customer from listening to music purchased through them unless they use the same device along with products such as speakers and other connectors to enable one to listen or watch videos on a larger screen. How does one travel from one format to another without the risk of unnecessary expense?

IDEA:

The FairPlay AAC converter

AAC or advanced audio coding is used in FairPlay use as it was implemented to replace mp3 since FairPlay files are protected and mp3's are not.  This has become obvious because the FairPlay encryption will not allow mp3 conversion. What is needed is a device that contains software for AAC to mp3 or wav conversion(other formats can also be included). This device can be plugged into to headphone jack of your portable player, computer or tablet that contains the FairPlay or AAC files(music, video,e-book content) and then by usb or HDMI although you may need a mini connector depending on what device you are transferring to, you can then convert all of your FairPlay or AAC files to mp3's, wav or other format to be stored without FairPlay protection restriction.  For example: one has a portable player they no longer want to use but has their entire music,video and e-book collection on it.  Yes, it is stored away in an online storage capacity, but you still need the same type of device to access it.  Do you: A) buy everything again, like disposable diapers knowing full well mama needs a new pair of shoes? B) keep the portable player forever by cleaning it as you would suede shoes? C) starve until you are blue in the face so that you can afford the expense of another portable player just like the one you no longer want? or D) decide to step on it by by avoiding steep costs of entertainment expenses and purchase the device that will allow you to take the audio jack of your portable player and connect it to your computer, tablet by usb; which will allow a program to appear so that you can then transfer all or only those FairPlay AAC files you want to mp3, wav or other formats so you can have them at your disposal anytime and are no longer relegated to a particular type of player or portable device.  You can even use this device on the same computer to take FairPlay AAC files from your computer and transfer them to mp3 or wav.  Just take the device and plug it into the headphone jack of your computer and then plug the usb or HDMI connector back into your computer. A program will appear and you can then transfer FairPlay AAC files to whatever format you want all by using the FairPlay AAC converter. Sometimes the flight amongst the clouds takes away from instrumental divine.