How to Remove DRM from iTunes

So, fed up with the 'Digital Rights Management' system of the iTunes store? Indeed, it's sad. You want to play your music on other media players too, but alas! You can't convert these files to MP3 format, thanks to the DRM system of iTunes that doesn't let you play music on any other music system. Problem there? How about... removing DRM from iTunes forever? Strip DRM off iTunes so that you don't have to think about distributing copyright material. Agreed, Apple smartly protects the rights of the artist by restricting the user from playing their music on a non-Apple device, but sometimes, it just gets on your nerves to realize that even when you paid to buy legally purchased music, you just cannot play it on a device that doesn't belong to the Apple clan. Today, in this article, learn, in an easy way, to remove DRM from iTunes music, and grab your old MP3 player back to play music... wait, legally purchased iTunes music, on it, with pride. Know the best thing? You don't need to bear the expense of any software that removes DRM from iTunes; it can easily be done by bringing into use a CD-ROM. Check out how...

With the Help of a CD-ROM

Given that Apple doesn't let you convert its music directly to MP3, we can still burn it into a CD/DVD, and then import the DRM-free songs back to iTunes. Here go the things you'll need:

CD-ROM

Apple iTunes Latest Version (10.3)

Instructions:

1. Open the latest version of iTunes in your PC/Mac, and insert the CD-ROM in the CD drive.
2. You will have to create a new playlist in the iTunes, and for that, either select File, and click on New Playlist, or simply press Ctrl+N.
3. From your old playlists, pick all the songs you wish to free from the DRM system, and drag them into the new playlist. Name the playlist so that you can easily pick and drop all your files.
4. When you're done dropping all media files you wish to operate on into the new playlist, go to the list of playlists, select the new playlist, and right click on it. Select Burn Playlist to Disc. This will burn all media files in the playlist to the CD-ROM. Change the Burn Settings as per your requirements, but make sure the Disc Format is Audio CD. Click on Burn after adjusting the requirements.
5. Wait for a while till iTunes burns all your music to the CD, and after it has finished burning, go to Edit, and select Preferences. Then, by clicking on the General tab, select Import Settings to let the computer know the format of your encoding. From the drop-down, select MP3 Encoder.
6. Remove the CD from the disc drive, and insert it again to import the tracks into iTunes. Select Yes, and wait till it imports all media files.

With the Help of a Software Tool

Don't end up deleting all your 'secured' media files just because you cannot play them in Zune or Creative Zen. With the help of a number of software tools available on the Internet, do an easy DRM removal from iTunes, in just a few minutes. Note that many software you find on the Internet may not be free of cost, and you might have to pay for them. However, the good thing is, once you buy them, you have them forever as your ultimate multimedia friend! Following are some of the best software acknowledged for converting copyright-protected media, so that you can easily play music, not only on your MP3 player, but in your car too. Here go the names:

• Tunebite
• Daniusoft DRM Converter
• TuneClone MP4 Converter
• FairGame (for Mac only)

Removing DRM from iTunes files is one of the key achievements you can have, if you're a multimedia fanatic. Read the instructions carefully in the manual of the software you buy, and then proceed. Many of these software are free of cost, and you need to research carefully before investing money in any. So, from now on, whenever you download a media file that is copyrighted, you know what to do.