Riddle me this: my itunes "Trad shuffle" playlist is supposed to play random trad at me (selecting from a list of 100, which are updated by "genre=trad" and least often played). This morning it started playing Dick Gaughan and it hasn't stopped since. I've been through most of Coppers and Brass and No More Forever, and it's just cranking away.
I can only figure that my computer likes Gaughan.
(stat-heads, what are the odds of playing an uninterrupted set of 26 tracks, not in order, from a continually updated list of 100?)
One good thing from this: I'm reminded just how many tunes that I play came off that Coppers and Brass record. Great stuff...
With iTunes you can feed it a digital file (audio mp3 or wav, or the correct flavour of video mp4) from your computer or another source and it's then part of your iTunes library on your computer.
Using the right record deck / computer connections and inexpensive (or even free) software it's easy enough to backup your LP or tape onto your computer in a digital format of your choice. And you can remove clicks, hiss, and a lot of crackle into the bargain. I've backed up many of my old LPs and tapes in this manner.
Green Linnet made the album available on CD years ago. I don't know what the current availability is, but at least it's been issued at some stage.
You can also go the digitizing route, which is kind of fun, but as it happens I'd already had the album on CD.
What a pain. I just wanna buy the cd. I'm sure there's some company management issue that's keeping it unavailable---it's always the execs that make things difficult. Feh.
I was careful to indicate that it is a backing up operation for one's personal use. I always keep the original LPs and tapes. The "illegality" aspect is an example of the law not keeping up with technology. In practice, in the UK, the media companies have more important calls on their resources than to be chasing Joe Bloggs who backs up his record collection onto his computer. How are they going to know Joe is doing it, anyway?
If it were illegal then burning CDs on to your computer would also be illegal - and then you would have no iTunes library unless you downloaded everything from the iTunes store!
And yes iTunes does seem to play a game of favourites when on shuffle - having said that the likelihood of just getting Dick Gaughan for more than 2 or 3 tracks is pretty bloody remote and I would suggest it is not really on shuffle at all but is in fact just playing through your list of tracks - once you run out of Dick Gaughan it will move on to the Dixie Chicks!
Copying for your own use is fully legal; even copying a copyrighted CD and handing it out to dozens of your mates is fully defendable, if not fair towards the musicians. The beauty and trickiness of IP law.
It has come to my attention that the generic “Joe Bloggs” I referred to in my previous post is in fact a Member here (#52764). I think I should apologise for any embarrassment my reference may have caused.
Just for fun, I tried a random play on my library, first up was Fela Kuti followed by Lunasa followed by Mary Bergin and T. Rex. Kinda worked well as a set apart from the fact that the Fela track was 13 minutes long. Aha, Gaughan with Now Westlin Winds has just come on, maybe I could go on all night and report the findings in real time, ok then, next one is The Flying Cloud by Sean Doyle, brilliant song, one more then, it's Joe Cooley with The Blackthorn/The Boyne Hunt, now it's Arab Strap, no real picture emerging yet, last one, F*%K, it's Gaughan again with The Ludlow Massacre, maybe there is something. 2 Gaughan tracks out of 9 played from a base of about 15000 songs, whats the chances of that? Maybe the mathematicians or carpenters wives among you can work it out.
I'd rather have all my music backed up (in several places) than have it at risk of loss through fire, theft, earthquake, flood, or stupidity (all of these are quite possible)... than worry about copyright law where the copying is not doing anyone any harm. I've paid for the music and I intend to be able to listen to it for as long as possible.
Actually - thinking about it, it would have to be a thief with some unusual tastes to even think about stealing my music collection...
Chances of having a similar 'random' selection on my MP3 player - almost nil!
Brown Creeper:
>I'd rather have all my music backed up (in several places) >than have it at risk of loss through fire, theft, earthquake, >flood, or stupidity (all of these are quite possible
Too right.
I also make a habit of backing up all the tunes I've learned on banjo on to my mandolin just in case. I'd hate to have to start again from scratch if I lost my banjo.
I can't speak for other countries, but in the US, copyright law is such that when you purchase a recording, you are implicitly purchasing a license to own that recording. That license includes certain rights, including the right to make archival backups in the format of your choice, and the right to make and distribute "fair use" copies. "Fair use" is a little more open to interpretation. Making a profit is illegal. Making mix CD to give to a few friends is legal. Making copies of the CD available to millions of strangers is illegal.
The license you purchased implicitly transfers with the originally purchased medium. So if you sell or give away the CD, you have to either give the archival copies to the recipient of the CD or destroy them.
Your rights and responsibilities vary with your regime.
I don't like "Genius" that much. It can be good for starting the core of a playlist but it doesn't recognise a lot of the stuff I've got on iTunes and it tends to regress toward the middle of the road
by the way, Jon Kiparsky, it appears that your "shuffle" function has been reset to "albums" instead of "songs""
Check your settings and you'll see that your deluge of Dick was no coincidence
my computer has good taste
my computer has good taste
Riddle me this: my itunes "Trad shuffle" playlist is supposed to play random trad at me (selecting from a list of 100, which are updated by "genre=trad" and least often played). This morning it started playing Dick Gaughan and it hasn't stopped since. I've been through most of Coppers and Brass and No More Forever, and it's just cranking away.
I can only figure that my computer likes Gaughan.
(stat-heads, what are the odds of playing an uninterrupted set of 26 tracks, not in order, from a continually updated list of 100?)
One good thing from this: I'm reminded just how many tunes that I play came off that Coppers and Brass record. Great stuff...
# Posted on February 5th 2009 by Jon Kiparsky
Re: my computer has good taste
How did you get Coppers and Brass in digital format? I thought it was out of print and available only on LPs!
# Posted on February 5th 2009 by kennedy
Re: my computer has good taste
With iTunes you can feed it a digital file (audio mp3 or wav, or the correct flavour of video mp4) from your computer or another source and it's then part of your iTunes library on your computer.
Using the right record deck / computer connections and inexpensive (or even free) software it's easy enough to backup your LP or tape onto your computer in a digital format of your choice. And you can remove clicks, hiss, and a lot of crackle into the bargain. I've backed up many of my old LPs and tapes in this manner.
# Posted on February 5th 2009 by lazyhound
Re: my computer has good taste
Green Linnet made the album available on CD years ago. I don't know what the current availability is, but at least it's been issued at some stage.
You can also go the digitizing route, which is kind of fun, but as it happens I'd already had the album on CD.
# Posted on February 5th 2009 by Jon Kiparsky
Re: my computer has good taste
Yes lazyhound it is easy to do, it is also ILLEGAL ( a clear breach of copyright ). Read the copyright label on the LP's and Tapes.
# Posted on February 5th 2009 by Bernie
Re: my computer has good taste
I always thought it was legal to make a backup copy, but illegal to make multiple copies to give to your mates.
- chris
# Posted on February 5th 2009 by ramblingpitchfork
Re: my computer has good taste
What a pain. I just wanna buy the cd. I'm sure there's some company management issue that's keeping it unavailable---it's always the execs that make things difficult. Feh.
# Posted on February 5th 2009 by kennedy
Re: my computer has good taste
Rubbish, Bernie. My LP and I can do what I like with it, in spite of what the record companies would like to have us think.
# Posted on February 5th 2009 by Tirno
Re: my computer has good taste
I was careful to indicate that it is a backing up operation for one's personal use. I always keep the original LPs and tapes. The "illegality" aspect is an example of the law not keeping up with technology. In practice, in the UK, the media companies have more important calls on their resources than to be chasing Joe Bloggs who backs up his record collection onto his computer. How are they going to know Joe is doing it, anyway?
# Posted on February 5th 2009 by lazyhound
Re: my computer has good taste
If it were illegal then burning CDs on to your computer would also be illegal - and then you would have no iTunes library unless you downloaded everything from the iTunes store!
# Posted on February 5th 2009 by No Cause For Alarm
Re: my computer has good taste
And yes iTunes does seem to play a game of favourites when on shuffle - having said that the likelihood of just getting Dick Gaughan for more than 2 or 3 tracks is pretty bloody remote and I would suggest it is not really on shuffle at all but is in fact just playing through your list of tracks - once you run out of Dick Gaughan it will move on to the Dixie Chicks!
# Posted on February 5th 2009 by No Cause For Alarm
Re: my computer has good taste
The courts have regularly held that backing up your personal copy of a recording is "fair use" of copyrighted material.
# Posted on February 5th 2009 by Bob himself
Re: my computer has good taste
Copying for your own use is fully legal; even copying a copyrighted CD and handing it out to dozens of your mates is fully defendable, if not fair towards the musicians. The beauty and trickiness of IP law.
# Posted on February 5th 2009 by EastPole
Re: my computer has good taste
It has come to my attention that the generic “Joe Bloggs” I referred to in my previous post is in fact a Member here (#52764). I think I should apologise for any embarrassment my reference may have caused.
# Posted on February 5th 2009 by lazyhound
Re: my computer has good taste
'Copying for your own use is fully legal'.
Sorry, but that's certainly not the case and never has been in either Ireland or the UK.
# Posted on February 5th 2009 by Floss the Tethers
Re: my computer has good taste
Just for fun, I tried a random play on my library, first up was Fela Kuti followed by Lunasa followed by Mary Bergin and T. Rex. Kinda worked well as a set apart from the fact that the Fela track was 13 minutes long. Aha, Gaughan with Now Westlin Winds has just come on, maybe I could go on all night and report the findings in real time, ok then, next one is The Flying Cloud by Sean Doyle, brilliant song, one more then, it's Joe Cooley with The Blackthorn/The Boyne Hunt, now it's Arab Strap, no real picture emerging yet, last one, F*%K, it's Gaughan again with The Ludlow Massacre, maybe there is something. 2 Gaughan tracks out of 9 played from a base of about 15000 songs, whats the chances of that? Maybe the mathematicians or carpenters wives among you can work it out.
# Posted on February 6th 2009 by strayaway
Re: my computer has good taste
I'd rather have all my music backed up (in several places) than have it at risk of loss through fire, theft, earthquake, flood, or stupidity (all of these are quite possible)... than worry about copyright law where the copying is not doing anyone any harm. I've paid for the music and I intend to be able to listen to it for as long as possible.
Actually - thinking about it, it would have to be a thief with some unusual tastes to even think about stealing my music collection...
Chances of having a similar 'random' selection on my MP3 player - almost nil!
# Posted on February 6th 2009 by Brown Creeper
Re: my computer has good taste
Brown Creeper:
>I'd rather have all my music backed up (in several places) >than have it at risk of loss through fire, theft, earthquake, >flood, or stupidity (all of these are quite possible
Too right.
I also make a habit of backing up all the tunes I've learned on banjo on to my mandolin just in case. I'd hate to have to start again from scratch if I lost my banjo.
- Chris
# Posted on February 6th 2009 by ramblingpitchfork
Re: my computer has good taste
I can't speak for other countries, but in the US, copyright law is such that when you purchase a recording, you are implicitly purchasing a license to own that recording. That license includes certain rights, including the right to make archival backups in the format of your choice, and the right to make and distribute "fair use" copies. "Fair use" is a little more open to interpretation. Making a profit is illegal. Making mix CD to give to a few friends is legal. Making copies of the CD available to millions of strangers is illegal.
The license you purchased implicitly transfers with the originally purchased medium. So if you sell or give away the CD, you have to either give the archival copies to the recipient of the CD or destroy them.
Your rights and responsibilities vary with your regime.
# Posted on February 6th 2009 by hotsauce
Re: my computer has good taste
You havent by any chance got the new "Genius" feature of iTunes turned on that playlists music of a similar type automatically?
# Posted on February 6th 2009 by bodatcha
Re: my computer has good taste
I don't like "Genius" that much. It can be good for starting the core of a playlist but it doesn't recognise a lot of the stuff I've got on iTunes and it tends to regress toward the middle of the road
# Posted on February 6th 2009 by Bren
Re: my computer has good taste
by the way, Jon Kiparsky, it appears that your "shuffle" function has been reset to "albums" instead of "songs""
Check your settings and you'll see that your deluge of Dick was no coincidence
# Posted on February 6th 2009 by Bren
Re: my computer has good taste
Hey, watch it! There are kids on here!
# Posted on February 6th 2009 by Jameson Stew