[chunk_waffle]

Anyone have some good alternatives for downloading loseless and DRM free music from artists?

For Japanese artist I use ototoy.jp but that's a small subset of my library.

Guess I better get what's on my wish list while I can!

[callalex]

The iTunes Store never went away and fits your description.

[chunk_waffle]

I was under the impression (perhaps mistaken) that music you purchased in iTunes had to stay in iTunes. Can I take my files where I please or do they have to reside in the Apple walled garden?

[callalex]

iTunes purchases have been DRM free since the mid 2000s. Most, but not all are also available in Apple Lossless format, which means you can convert them to whatever format you prefer without any quality concerns.

[piperswe]

AFAICT, iTunes doesn't sell music in ALAC, just AAC. Do you have a source for purchases being downloadable as DRM-free ALAC?

[Pxtl]

You can download AAC files that are AFAIK digitally watermarked with your Apple ID to prevent piracy, but you can use freely in all your client tools. But they are not lossless. I don't know if iTMS sells lossless music.

However, they do cap the number of times you're permitted to download our collection.

[aendruk]

I’d been wondering this myself and now suspect I’ve written off Apple too soon. If I buy music from Apple on my iPhone it’s not trapped on Apple devices?

When I first switched to iOS I didn’t see any way to play my music in Apple’s music player and I assumed the door was closed both directions.

[redwall_hp]

I think you still need iTunes on your computer for it. You have to import your music into your iTunes library and sync your phone with a computer.

Purchases, similarly, can be redownloaded on the computer. They're all DRM-free AAC, since the early 2000s.

I've mostly used Spotify in the past decade, but it seems to all work the way it always has. They just shove Apple Music (not the same as iTunes) in your face when you open the Music app, until you turn it off.

[aendruk]

Ah, too bad. Apple is so frustratingly close.

[diggan]

How much of my money goes to the artists when I purchase with iTunes Store? If I recall correctly, Bandcamp gives ~80% usually to the artists, except on Bandcamp Fridays when they give ~90% to the artists (waiving their own fee).

[redwall_hp]

iTunes, Amazon, streaming platforms, etc. do not deal directly with artists. Apple gives the majority (not sure of the percentage) to a distributor (LANDR, DistroKid, CD Baby, etc) who is responsible for the song, and then they take a negotiated cut and pay it to the artist.

DistroKid, for example, charges about $20/year to keep all of your music releases on 100 or so streaming and download services, but takes no cut of the proceeds.

This distribution method is far and away the norm nowadays, especially with dance music, because it gets music everywhere, right alongside artists signed to labels. Bandcamp appeals more to the hipster crowd.

[callalex]

I don’t think it’s a fixed amount, it’s negotiated and not public information.

[diggan]

You're right. The numbers I had in mind were averages:

> on Bandcamp Fridays, an average of 93% of your money reaches the artist/label (after payment processor fees). When you make a purchase on any other day (as millions of you have, with more than $1 billion now paid directly to artists), an average of 82% reaches the artist/label.

https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/bandcamp-fridays-update

[callalex]

Oh I was talking about iTunes. Now we’re both learning something new :)

[diggan]

Haha yes of course! I missed my own comment and thought you were talking about Bandcamp, when I was the one talking about iTunes... Sorry for the confusion :)

[thirdsun]

iTunes doesn't sell lossless music. You can stream lossless music with Apple Music but you can't buy it.