Who inherits your iTunes library?

[pokerfan]

Why your digital books and music may go to the grave

Someone who owned 10,000 hardcover books and the same number of vinyl records could bequeath them to descendants, but legal experts say passing on iTunes and Kindle libraries would be much more complicated.

And one’s heirs stand to lose huge sums of money. “I find it hard to imagine a situation where a family would be OK with losing a collection of 10,000 books and songs,” says Evan Carroll, co-author of “Your Digital Afterlife.” “Legally dividing one account among several heirs would also be extremely difficult.”

Part of the problem is that with digital content, one doesn’t have the same rights as with print books and CDs. Customers own a license to use the digital files—but they don’t actually own them.

Apple and Amazon grant “nontransferable” rights to use content, so if you buy the complete works of the Beatles on iTunes, you cannot give the White Album to your son and Abbey Road to your daughter.

According to Amazon’s terms of use, “You do not acquire any ownership rights in the software or music content.” Apple limits the use of digital files to Apple devices used by the account holder.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/who-inherits-your-itunes-library-2012-08-23

[RC]

1. I know iTunes can be burned to disk.

Kinda tedious, if you have a lot of music, but it can be done.

No clue as to Amazon and/or Kindle. I like paper here. Most of what I read is probably not available on Amazon anyway.

[hobbit709]

2. Screw that. If I paid for it, it's mine to do as I wish.

One of the reasons none of my media that I LEGALLY bought is kept in DRM type formats.
My music is kept as 'mp3 and my books are converted to .pdf. Same goes for my DVDs

[Mnpaul]

3. This why I don't do iTunes

Buy the CD's. You always have a backup no matter what happens. No iCrap required.