In light of the American Gothic iTunes-only release, and the subsequent argument that happened on that thread, I wanted to know if signing up for iTunes is really worth it at all.

I'm very much a late adapter, and am frankly not very fond of Apple products (the people who swear by them seem to develop chips on their shoulders). My MP3 player is a Zune, and my standard music-listening software is Windows Media player. I feel like I'm already at music max capacity and am not really looking to purchase a lot of tunes.

So, enlighten me: why would iTunes be good (or bad) for me? Would signing up just to get the American Gothic EP worth it? Does iTunes have any consistant trouble-shooting problems? Does membership cost anything?

Thanks,
the technology noob

itunes is free so is limewire, or torrent sites, or all other p2p programs....hehehe. except you have to pay for the songs on itunes...

im not wasting any money on american gothic like i spent 60 dollars worth of zeitgeists...(i know im an idiot) so i dont owe billy anything. im downloading it for free, and i advise most people do the same, and if its worth the 5 dolalrs i will buy it

Trillian wrote:

So, enlighten me: why would iTunes be good (or bad) for me? Would signing up just to get the American Gothic EP worth it? Does iTunes have any consistant trouble-shooting problems? Does membership cost anything?

Thanks,
the technology noob

OK heres some answers for you (note I'm using Itunes in UK)

It doesnt cost anything to download the Itunes program or set up an account. You only pay for the music you download.
they have relatively recently also introduced a higher quality download option, however you pay slightly more for this.
As far as trouble shooting goes, in all the time ive used it (at least 2 years...possibly more) I havent come across any glitches and very few updates have been required.
I'm not 100% sure how/if you can change the format of the download to standard MP3, but I know you can convert the file using various methods.

Personaly I realy do prefer using Itunes as opposed to windows media player, as I find it allot more easier to browse through my songs etc and its simple enough to add your current music to the Itunes library. But thats just my own preference.

Im actually currently deciding if I am going to get myself an upgrade on my current 4GB IPod and go for the 80GB

mediamonkey ftw.

And what, praytell, is Mediamonkey?

ever since I downloaded rarities and bsides for 10$ off of iTunes I have been using it.

same rivers. It was a good day when i saw that price. but at least itunes keeps music circulating with currency. it's better than piracy.

What?!?!
When was it only $10?!?!

I think the $10 Rarities and B-Sides was a mistake of some kind…either that or a one day special, because the price quickly went back up. But several lucky people got in on that price.

i got rarities and b-sides of itunes canada for $11.99 sweet deal ever since then i haven't bought music anywhere except for itunes, the only issue i have with itunes is that they take albums off for some reason, i tried to purchase the pikul ep by the silver sun pickups and they took it off same with the white stripes album elephant that doesn't make sence to me but other then that bullshit itunes is great to use!!!!!!!!!!!.

what???
Rarities and B-Sides says $119.99 for me!!!

How did everyone get it for so cheap?

july or june i didnt buy it since i had everything....i mean nothin on there is rare, cept maybe infinite sadness, already had it from MP though

HeavyMetalMachine wrote:
what???
Rarities and B-Sides says $119.99 for me!!!

How did everyone get it for so cheap?

As per previous posts (above)
Itunes made a mistake and it was listed for something really cheap for a couple of days earlier in the year. Here in the UK it was £10 (normally £100).

So thats 197 of your US dollars. Damn You get it a lot cheaper than us anyway...grrrr

Semi back on topic
Got myself a new iPOD for my birthday last Friday 80GB
Im loving it.

My biggest problem with iTunes (even though I don't use it) or any other online music retailer is that they sell mp3's, and mp3's suck. If I'm going to buy music, I want it to be completely lossless. It wouldn't be so bad if they sold .flac files or something, sure mp3's are small, and we all use them most of the time for portable music, but I want to be able to listen to the best quality that I can possibly get my hands on.

Then theres the physicality of having a cd and artwork and such, even though some companies charge an arm and a leg for it.

RJK, when you're listening on an iPod like many people who use iTunes, the lack of lossless formats doesn't matter that much. The ipod is more of a trendy, convenient device. It's EQ is not very good, as there are only presets, not customizable.


I'm happy enough with itunes. I use my ipod at work to pass the time. If I really want to listen to music, I do it in my car where I can really get into it.

Don't get me wrong, I understand where you're coming from. I listen to mp3's when I'm on the move, but I'm not always on the move. There are times where I will sit at home and want to listen to it at the best quality possible on a system that doesn't fit in the palm of my hand. Not to mention DRM, if I buy the cd, I can make as many mp3's as I want, at whatever bit-rate I want. I would not be able to stand DRM.

If they sold that box set in .flac I might actually consider getting it.

If you played an iTunes track and compared it to a standard cd track, I guarantee that the majority of the public could not tell the difference. And by majority, I mean 99%.