Travel Technology - Can I put my friend's ipod songs on my laptop?

My friend and I are jointly charged with the task of supplying appropriate music for a dance at our parish hall Saturday night. We each have half of the music library that we need on our respective ipods.

The volunteer DJ wants to work from a laptop hooked into the sound system in our parish hall, as opposed to two separate ipods. So, my half of the music is already on my laptop, but I am wondering--can I just plug my friend's ipod into my laptop and download her music into my itunes file or will that mess with my itunes?

I know this question is probably pretty simple, but my friend and I are both pretty old and very new to ipods, itunes, etc., and would very much appreciate your input.

Thanks.

yeah, there are a few programs out there for Mac and PC. If you have a Mac then use a easy program called ItunesFS. Not sure about the PC users great programs.

I have a PC. So are you saying that it is not just as simple as plugging her ipod into my laptop and syncing her songs into my itunes?

I have a PC. So are you saying that it is not just as simple as plugging her ipod into my laptop and syncing her songs into my itunes?
No it is not. This is a concession Apple had to make, it would just be far too easy to pirate music if you could pull music off an ipod. If you try to "sync" her ipod with your itunes it will wipe the ipod and load content from your library.

yeah, there are a few programs out there for Mac and PC. If you have a Mac then use a easy program called ItunesFS. Not sure about the PC users great programs.

Easy to use PC version is called CopyPod.

Not new (so better may now be around), but I've been using PodUtil for years.

Plenty of discussion and links at ilounge.com (http://www.ilounge.com)

Anapod Explorer from Red Chair will do the job on a PC just fine.

or you can just "unhide" the iPod in My Computers, as it's essentially another drive and then just copy and paste the music files from it onto your HD. no extra software required.

What kind of low-rent DJ uses iPods? That's just chintzy!

or you can just "unhide" the iPod in My Computers, as it's essentially another drive and then just copy and paste the music files from it onto your HD. no extra software required.That won't work. The iPod organizes music by arbitrary file designation, not by name and not by album and, if I recall, the tags are stored separately.

This particular "low rent" DJ is my son, who will do a brilliant job if we can figure out how to make the music work. ;)

Our very best dancing girlfriend and I have each been carefully downloading all of the music that has been requested of each of us by the members of our parish to celebrate our 100th anniversary dance. The theme is "Dancing Through the Decades".

Betwen the two of us, we have found and downloaded every dance song requested by every member of our parish, from 9 to 99. The music ranges from Glenn Miller, to the Big Bopper to, Michael Jackson. Now we just need to figure out how to get all of our music together on one laptop so our "low rent" but "high talent" DJ for the night can access it.

This particular "low rent" DJ is my son, who will do a brilliant job if we can figure out how to make the music work. ;)

Our very best dancing girlfriend and I have each been carefully downloading all of the music that has been requested of each of us by the members of our parish to celebrate our 100th anniversary dance. The theme is "Dancing Through the Decades".

Betwen the two of us, we have found and downloaded every dance song requested by every member of our parish, from 9 to 99. The music ranges from Glenn Miller, to the Big Bopper to, Michael Jackson. Now we just need to figure out how to get all of our music together on one laptop so our "low rent" but "high talent" DJ for the night can access it.

Sorry! I guess I spent too many years hauling around boxes of records, CDs, variable speed turntables, variable speed CD players, professional DJ mixers, speakers, subwoofers and cables!

One option might be the ION IDJ iPod DJ Mixer.

http://www.amazon.com/Ion-IDJ-iPOD-DJ-Mixer/dp/B000AAQZO0

My aunt and uncle have a wedding business and this seems to be the mixer of choice among DJs.

Sorry! I guess I spent too many years hauling around boxes of records, CDs, variable speed turntables, variable speed CD players, professional DJ mixers, speakers, subwoofers and cables!

Old Skool FTW!

I use EPHPod... that's a good way to transfer into folders by artist/album. And, it's free.

I find copypod the best.

Cheers,

Can I offer one reminder: if any of the songs were bought from the iTunes Music Store, and you copy them to a new computer, you'll need to enter the iTMS account name and password to "authorize" the song, i.e. make it playable, on the new computer.

If you obtained the music elsewhere, then this isn't an issue.

never mind

Is it legal to do this, both the copying to another computer and playing songs publicly without paying the appropriate licensing fees?

In terms of the public performance, normally the venue pays an ASCAP/BMI royalty for music played (it is not up to the DJ to pay this).

I don't know about the copying on computers, since I don't download and I'm not familiar with the terms of the license. When I was doing DJ work, I always played either recordings I bought (in physical forms) or promotional copies I got from the labels.

Is it legal to do this, both the copying to another computer and playing songs publicly without paying the appropriate licensing fees?

U.S. copyright law is not straight-forward and it's also fact-driven. You'd arguably be infringing by (1) reproducing (copying) and distributing the songs to your friend, and (2) playing the songs publicly. There are also defenses/exceptions to copyright infringement, e.g., fair use. You'll need to assess the risks for yourself. I've included the ASCAP link below for your reference, in case you're curious about ASCAP's possible position on the matter.

http://www.ascap.com/licensing/licensingfaq.html

I bought a program called ilib which is supposed to let you run multiple itunes libraries on a single computer, but my son said it is just easier for him to play my songs off my laptop, and hers from her laptop, which will be connected to my computer.

It is a very private party. ;)

U.S. copyright law is not straight-forward and it's also fact-driven. You'd arguably be infringing by (1) reproducing (copying) and distributing the songs to your friend, and (2) playing the songs publicly. There are also defenses/exceptions to copyright infringement, e.g., fair use. You'll need to assess the risks for yourself. I've included the ASCAP link below for your reference, in case you're curious about ASCAP's possible position on the matter.

http://www.ascap.com/licensing/licensingfaq.html

Do you think (1) alone, without, is copyright infringement? For example, if I buy a CD, and then make a tape of a song for a friend, is that infringing?

Do you think (1) alone, without, is copyright infringement? For example, if I buy a CD, and then make a tape of a song for a friend, is that infringing?Yes, it is infringing. There are two rights that are implicated: the right to make copies and the distribution right. 17 USC 1008 precludes infringement actions based on making copies of audio for non-commercial use. There is no statutory basis, however, that precludes an action for violating the distribution right.

Do you think (1) alone, without, is copyright infringement? For example, if I buy a CD, and then make a tape of a song for a friend, is that infringing?

Yes, it is.

Music copyright is much stickier than print copyright.

Yes, it is.

Music copyright is much stickier than print copyright.I'm not sure what you mean by "stickier." The same reserved rights are in play, i.e. it would be copyright infringement to make an unauthorized copy of a photograph and give it to a friend as well. The only difference is the AHRA allows non-commercial copying of audio and there is no counterpart for other works of expression. In each instance, the distribution right is infringed.

I'm not sure what you mean by "stickier."

There's more fair-use leeway with print (books, magazines, etc.) copyright than with music.

There's more fair-use leeway with print (books, magazines, etc.) copyright than with music.

That's not really true. If you photocopied an entire book, and gave it or sold it to someone, that's not fair use.

So, without getting specific, you run the risk of violating existing licensing laws.

This is why Apple has only the ability for music copying in one direction.

That said, I highly doubt that the RIAA would go after you for sharing in a situation like this. They've been known to squeeze the small fish here and there, but it's the OiNK's that they're really after.

I wonder what FT could face in terms of liability for a thread devoted solely to sharing music without the proper license.

There's more fair-use leeway with print (books, magazines, etc.) copyright than with music.That's incorrect. Fair-use is a fact-specific, equitable doctrine. There is no "leeway" in fair use determinations. Fair use is a First Amendment balance against the absolute monopoly granted by Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. The analysis is exactly the same regardless of the form of protected expression.

That's incorrect. Fair-use is a fact-specific, equitable doctrine. There is no "leeway" in fair use determinations. Fair use is a First Amendment balance against the absolute monopoly granted by Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. The analysis is exactly the same regardless of the form of protected expression.

The analysis may be the same, but you can quote small portions from a book without permission (book publishers use the guage of about 250 words from a book of about 125 pages or more, not a short pamphlet). But music copyright holders require permission for even a phrase or line from a song, regardless of the fact that the fair-use clause exists but doesn't define how much may be quoted without permission. At least that's how it operates in the area of publishing in which I work.

Sorry, Punki. This discussion has sidetracked from your original question. However, someone needs to have a license for the DJ to legally play the songs from your computers--even though it's a small private function.

The analysis may be the same, but you can quote small portions from a book without permission (book publishers use the guage of about 250 words from a book of about 125 pages or more, not a short pamphlet).Again, that's incorrect. Read the case, Harper v. Nation. There is also no magic quantum of protected expression that can be used without incurring copyright infringement liability.

But music copyright holders require permission for even a phrase or line from a song, regardless of the fact that the fair-use clause exists but doesn't define how much may be quoted without permission. At least that's how it operates in the area of publishing in which I work.I have no idea where you're getting this from, but it's not correct. You can quote music the same way and for the same reason that you can quote printed material, i.e. for criticism, for educational use (in very, very specific contexts).

Sorry, Punki. This discussion has sidetracked from your original question. However, someone needs to have a license for the DJ to legally play the songs from your computers--even though it's a small private function.Based on Punki's description of this particular "small private party" you'd be correct unless the particular hall has a license with BMI or ASCAP. However, if it truly was a small, private party, i.e. family members and immediate circle of friends, it would not constitute a public performance within the meaning of the law and no infringement would result from playing the music. I don't mean to pull rank here, but I'm an intellectual property lawyer and, even though this is OMNI, I don't think any interests are served by giving wrong information.

...even though this is OMNI, I don't think any interests are served by giving wrong information.

Actually you're in Travel Tech...

Actually you're in Travel Tech...Ooops. I think that says something about how much time I spend in OMNI. ;)

Short answer:
transferring songs from iPod to laptop without owning the music is a risk.

This is a travel forum. Leaving posting status aside, I strongly suggest that the mods here think carefully about threads that could be seen as promoting the illegal sharing of music.

I, personally, don't care at all. But it IS a liability.

I called itunes and they said that it was perfectly all right for me to connect my laptop to the speaker system and simultaneously plug my girlfriend's ipod into my laptop and use both libraries for our party.

As it happens, the party was amazing and everyone, whether their favorite song was "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" or "ABC", had a fabulous time.

OK, now the next question is, can I use my itunes music for my class reunion? At our last class party, we hired a DJ who had no clue about 50's and 60's music. It was dreadful.

Thanks for your assistance.

p.s. FWIW, my daughter is a musician so I am pretty sensitive about using music illegally.

I would hire PTravel to answer the question. I believe the free legal advice limit is reached. :)

I would hire PTravel to answer the question. I believe the free legal advice limit is reached. :)On the nose (with respect to the limit of what I can advise on FT), though I believe I may have given the applicable general rule in this thread.

I called itunes and they said that it was perfectly all right for me to connect my laptop to the speaker system and simultaneously plug my girlfriend's ipod into my laptop and use both libraries for our party.

As it happens, the party was amazing and everyone, whether their favorite song was "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" or "ABC", had a fabulous time.

OK, now the next question is, can I use my itunes music for my class reunion? At our last class party, we hired a DJ who had no clue about 50's and 60's music. It was dreadful.

Thanks for your assistance.

p.s. FWIW, my daughter is a musician so I am pretty sensitive about using music illegally.

If you want a DJ to play 50s and 60s music, just check that out before you hire him/her. (Disclaimer -- I use to DJ a "fifties night" every Friday night back in the 1980s (kind of a misnomer, since I played 1954-1963). ) You have to know the music and be very quick (those songs are SHORT!) and be able to take requests and know what the right version of Sh-Boom is to play. I once had a guy request "Hully Gully Baby" by the Dovells -- much to his shock (and mine) I had it there in the club and played it -- the guy was in tears, he hadn't heard that song in over 20 years.

Personally, I would never play MP3 over a sound system for a big party -- amplified, they sound awful. Go with someone with records or CDs.

Believe me, opus17, if I were the one doing the hiring, I would have most certainly checked out the music before I signed the deal. Sadly, that was not the case.

The next time around, I will insist that I supply the music, whether that be off my ipod, or laptop, or by engaging a DJ. Do you want to come DJ in Moline, Illinois in 2012?

54-63 music would be just perfect for our crowd as long as you leave out "Flying Purple People Eaters". :D :D

The quality of the music we got off of my laptop last Saturday night was fabulous for our purposes. We kept the music going until the bitter end and it was a riot to see everyone bopping and jiving as they were putting away tables and chairs and cleaning up the hall. A couple of people mentioned that being on the clean up crew was just as much fun as the wonderful party. ^