How to Remove DRM from WMA - Is it Legal and Worth the Effort?
Technically, it's illegal to remove DRM from WMA protected music. Digital Rights
Management (DRM) is part of the music industry's effort to curb piracy. There
are legitimate reasons for removing it, but first understand DRM can not be
removed from file sharing network downloads. Most tracks can be legally copied 3
to 5 times, and this has been exceeded long before they appear on a peer-to-peer
network. You must have either purchased the music or have unrestricted
free music downloads.
There is
no easy way to remove DRM, but it can be removed with some effort and know-how. The
best advice is to only download music in the format you need, and that you have
the right to copy to an mp3 player, CD or other device. It's also important to
determine that the player will recognize and play the DRM protected WMA track.
What if
I Really Like the songs and Want to convert them?
Let's say
you've
already downloaded music and need to convert to another audio codec.
The common conversion method is to burn the tracks on a CD, then rip them in the
desired codec's format. Even this requires special ripping software and numerous
steps because the DRM is still embedded in the tracks. And because codecs like
WMA, mp3, OGG, AAC, etc. are lossy formats, the sound quality will be degraded.
Lossy
formats selectively discard sounds the human ear can't hear to make the file
smaller. But each format removes slightly different sounds. For example,
converting a track using a WMA to mp3 converter is now missing the sounds that
both codecs have deleted.
There are
other ways to remove DRM and convert WMA to mp3, but they require
numerous steps and more software - and they're not for the technically
challenged. Free WMA to mp3 conversion software and detailed instructions are
available on the Internet.
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