When you hear the word fairplay what comes to mind? Anything yet? If not, understandable. Fairplay isn’t a common term so for those who are wondering, Fairplay is Apple’s Digital Rights Management, which is a factory installed component on all of the files on iTunes. What does this mean? It means that Apple tells every file you download from iTunes where and how it can and cannot be played.
Should you consider removing Fairplay DRM from your files? You may be wondering why you should and if you actually need to remove Fairplay. Fairplay is, after all Apple’s technology created for their devices. Untrue to its name however, Fairplay DRM not only prevents iTunes music from being played on unauthorized devices or computers such as Linux but it also dictates how such files can be played on Apple devices. This type of territorial behavior is not new and can be found at work in many laptop computers. However, in the cases where you are purchasing downloadable files for your devices, it is not fair and unnecessary.
Apple’s ultimate purpose was to prevent the playback of iTunes music on non-Apple devices and computers. However, Fairplay can be played on up to five authorized computers, for those who are interested in going through the Fairplay restrictions and limitations of use. Likewise, the coding for Fairplay can be copied to any iPod but there are limits and in the long run, you may find that it is more of a hassle than its use or enjoyment is worth.
Thus, deciding to remove Fairplay obviously is a personal choice. If you’ve already made the decision to remove it, then you should proceed to do so. If you are still debating, you should know that one of the major reasons you should consider removing Fairplay is that it kills 8% of the battery on your iPod every time you use it. And if you happen to have an Apple battery, then you may already know that 8% is a big deal since batteries are designed to last for 2 years or 500 charges.
It may surprise you to know that the simplest way to remove Fairplay is to save your file in a different format. Converting your Fairplay MP3 is as simple as right mouse clicking the file and choosing the “Convert Selection to AAC” option. To complete this process, you must burn the file to a CD then import it back into your library. The only problem with this process is that you are subjecting the file to added compression which does affect the quality.
The best way to remove Fairplay is by using a third party software like Jhymn, an acronym which stands for the Java program Hear Your Music Anywhere. Jhymn works perfectly at removing Fairplay DRM from iTunes files for all versions except the most recent, which is Apple 6.0. It’s probably only a matter of time before Jhymn catches up and creates a newer version to keep up with Apple.
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