Napster + PCDJ = legal???

[chorleyjim]

i have had a search around for an answer to this,

if i subscribe to Napster and continue to pay my monthly fee to them, i can then use PCDJ ( i would prefer to use traktor as i have used it before but it doesn't support DRM music) to play my napster music at a gig. is this legal?

i realise that if i were to stop paying napster i would lose all of my music.

cheers guys, i just want to be clear before i decide on the best thing to do.

[Ryu]

sounds like a hornets nest...why not use other download sites where you keep the file, and then get a pro dub to cover your back?

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

sounds like a hornets nest...why not use other download sites where you keep the file, and then get a pro dub to cover your back?

You wouldn't need the ProDub if you weren't format shifting the downloads.:)

[chorleyjim]

sounds like a hornets nest...why not use other download sites where you keep the file, and then get a pro dub to cover your back?

i get to keep the file with napster, so long as i pay the monthly fee, or if i stop paying 79p per track. Technically they are renting me the license on a month to month basis.

[Ryu]

i get to keep the file with napster, so long as i pay the monthly fee, or if i stop paying 79p per track. Technically they are renting me the license on a month to month basis.

Hmm, not heard of that route...Are you able to copy napster tracks to a CD?

[chorleyjim]

Hmm, not heard of that route...Are you able to copy napster tracks to a CD?

you can only legally burn the track to disc if you pay for the individual track,

so if you just pay the subscription you can't burn a copy of the track to CD, if you want to burn it you have to pay extra, 79p per track or you can buy 50 tracks for £30.

[Boogie Boy]

My take on the law would be that 'renting' tracks via a subscription and subsequently using them publicly is, in fact, illegal. The subscription service is only legal for home use. Only when you pay the full 79p per track, are you completely legal to play from your laptop at a gig.

[Ryu]

My take on the law would be that 'renting' tracks via a subscription and subsequently using them publicly is, in fact, illegal. The subscription service is only legal for home use. Only when you pay the full 79p per track, are you completely legal to play from your laptop at a gig.

I agree....it seems an unneccessarily complicated way of doing things...can you get invoiced by Napster for your subscription (so as to claim it back on taxes?), What about if your PC dies? Are your rented tracks re-downloadable?

Surely it would be safer, easier and more legal to not use napster?

[andyw]

sometime you spend a lot more moneytrying to save a few quid.why pay £30 a month to rent seem a lot to me.work out how much it will cost to just download the tracks.i still think(at the moment ) the best option is to buy the cd and convert it.there is a lot of moaning about the price of the license right now, i was thinking how much did you guys have to pay when you went from vinyl to cd,what would you of said if you had the opportunaty to buy all your vinyl tracks at just 2p a track

[Boogie Boy]

sometime you spend a lot more moneytrying to save a few quid.why pay £30 a month to rent seem a lot to me.work out how much it will cost to just download the tracks.i still think(at the moment ) the best option is to buy the cd and convert it.there is a lot of moaning about the price of the license right now, i was thinking how much did you guys have to pay when you went from vinyl to cd,what would you of said if you had the opportunaty to buy all your vinyl tracks at just 2p a track

Wait a minute, we're not getting the right to buy tracks at 2p. We're getting the legal right to rip (expensive, legally bought) CDs to hard drives at 2p per track, or legally downloaded tracks to a CD back up.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I'm not sure that CDs are that expensive are they?

Morrisons have top 20 CDs for £6 at the moment and I just bought that CD you linked to for a quid!

[chorleyjim]

I agree....it seems an unneccessarily complicated way of doing things...can you get invoiced by Napster for your subscription (so as to claim it back on taxes?), What about if your PC dies? Are your rented tracks re-downloadable?

Surely it would be safer, easier and more legal to not use napster?

yes they invoice you and you can have the downloads on 3 PC's at any one time and re-download them at any time.


sometime you spend a lot more moneytrying to save a few quid.why pay £30 a month to rent seem a lot to me.work out how much it will cost to just download the tracks.i still think(at the moment ) the best option is to buy the cd and convert it.there is a lot of moaning about the price of the license right now, i was thinking how much did you guys have to pay when you went from vinyl to cd,what would you of said if you had the opportunaty to buy all your vinyl tracks at just 2p a track

its £15 per month not £30 per month

the way i was looking at it, providing it is legal, is that it is a great way for someone who is just starting out to get a decent collection of music for a fairly low initial outlay. They can then pay the 79p as and when they can afford to. It's not the most efficient solution to a digital setup but for a low initial outlay and if it is legal (which is what i was trying to find out in the first place) then i don't see a problem.

i'm off to email Napster to find out the ins and outs of legality etc

[sleah]

I have to say I'm really not comfortable with this pay monthly download as many as you like whilst you keep paying subscription thingy. It just doesn't sit right with me.
I'm sure it's fine for your average domestic iPoder.
But for us? Can of worms IMHO.
I still wouldn't use a service like that for my own use. I buy a track because I want to listen to it again and again over an indefinite period of time. Don't want to pay for the privilege for the rest of my life, or until the subscription provider goes bust.